Our Juniors Make EYAL & Club History in Claiming Their Third Successive League and Cup Double.

Victory at Melbourne Park for our girls and boys in the EYAL FINAL to go alongside the league title - an achievement that any of the clubs involved would be proud of but to complete the double for the third successive year is an accomplishment for I can find no records of this being achieved in the league previously. Full marks to all the youngsters involved for even those points gained outside the top two in events were vital in the final score. We must also give credit to the coaching team that have aided the performances throughout the campaign.

Final score reads as.. 1st CHELMSFORD 673 points, SSAthletis/Enfield 624, Havering 579, Shaftesbury Harriers 557, Norwich 451 and Stevenage 447. In addition, two age groups topped their groups for further awards and we will start with these.

With 122 points our under 17 girls built up a lead of 24 points, ahead of Havering on 98.  Obviously, there were many individual performances in this success including maximum points in several events. No surprise that the throws should lead the way for this has been the case throughout the season. In the shot putt Matilda Hewitt and Monica Malagala set the trend, come the discus and Matilda was now joined by Maddison Poulter who rose to the occasion with a pb of 30.04m. With only one competitor required in the hammer Monica Malagala won with an impressive 50.34m - going beyond the 50 metres for the first time. On the track Amelie Scott took her first win in the hurdles and Chelsea Clarke made this a double by taking the `B` string. This pairing came close to another double with Amelie winning the long jump with Chelsea this time placing second.  In the sprints Lily Hartman placed second in both 100 and 200 with Michelle Shadipe winning the`B` 100 and Alicija Yalaju second in the 200 having earlier come up with a pb of 1.60m in the high jump for second place whilst Amy Pugsley won the second string. In the 300m it was second place for Stephanie Smith followed by first spot for Lucy Bulman. No surprise that the 4 x 100 relay should feature another first place. Only weak spot in this age group was the middle distance for none of those members who have gained medals in championship races during the season made themselves available. Full marks to Madison Poulter for stepping into the breach in events unfamiliar to her, the 1500m and pole vault just to earn the odd points. Well done for taking these on.

The under 15 age girls gained our second age group award with 111 points, an advantage over closest rivals of 17. Again, the throws brought a glut of these points Olivia Mullineaux winning the hammer and discus whilst placing second in the shot - an event which saw Shindra Ayo-Adeyemo winning the `B` string. The discus had also provided a win in the`B` via Timmy Osei. The 100 metres brought full points through Abigail McElroy and Morinsola Adenugu with Abigail following up with second over 200m - Katie Lowe took third in this, The 800 metres was another event bringing full points via Ava King and Isla Kehoe and then at 1500m this was repeated with Erin Kelly and Francesca Philips taking the honours. Again there was victory in the relay.

No winners from the under 13`s although Breanna Dosumu took second in the 100m and high jump and completed a busy day with third in the high jump with Macie Hall taking second spot in the `B` result. There was a solid run from Bella Kehoe to finish second in the 800 and a gallant run by Abigail Knight who seemed dwarfed by her opponents and needing three strides to their two. Over the hurdles Laurel Chandler finished in third place. It was to be second place for each of the three age group, the under 13`s only 6 points adrift of the combined team of SS Athletics and Enfield who also topped the under 15`s by 21. The under 17`s went to Havering by a margin of 9.

The day started bright for the under 13`s with maximum points from the hurdles with Jacob Allam and Luca Wright. Over at the long jump Jack Armbruster took second with Toby Stothard winning the `B`. In the 100m Jacob placed third but in the `B` race it was a first for Jack. Moving to the 200m and Issac Coleman was a winner with Toby Stothard taking a second place. Issac also had a second placing - in the shot behind Franklin Johnson. The middle distance came into the picture with Dylan Law second in the `A` 1500m with Freddie Blacketer winning the `B` category. It was the middle-distance scoring best from the under 15`s for in the 800 metres the pairing of Khaya Fakazi and Jake Boarer took the honours whilst on to the 1500m Fred Ferman second and Joshua Dalton first ran them close. For the star performance at this age level, we must take the high jump with Jake Reed winning with a height of 1.85m – Edward Delaney placed second in the`B`. Jake also had a third in the hurdles in which Felix Churchill-Brown claimed a first. In the discus there were two second placings via Hector Johnson and Bevan Dove the later having started the day with a win in the hammer event, Good also to see points being claimed in the pole vault by Toby Tubbs in third place.

No surprise that the under 17`s hurdles see Harry Lee taking the leading role for he is indeed ranked number three in the UK. His win here paved the way for Marcus Fazackerley to win the `B` string. A competitor of many talents for Harry also won the discus event in which there was a second placing for Dan Brown. Dan also had a second placing in the long jump and with Jeremy Andersen in the major role in the shot putt brought about full points. The javelin also claimed two firsts with Zak Williams and Jeremy Andersen our pairing. On the track the 800m saw Thomas Carter finishing second in the `A` race with Daniel Pollard taking the `B` race. With only one competitor per club in the pole vault Ed Hughes moved up from the under 15`s to this under 17 level and gained a third place. Now for the real five-star performance of the day, not just from a Chelmsford athlete but from the meeting as a whole. It came from the high jump and as the height increased brought much attention from spectators around the area in front of the refreshment hut. All others had been eliminated as the bar was raised to 1.98m and Charlie Pyner had the stage to himself. Already number seven in the UK rankings at 1.95m he now cleared the 1.98m and moves to number five in the UK. GREAT PERFORMANCE - WELL DONE

For the full gallery click here

Report written by Roy Meadowcroft.