St Albans secure fifth place in Eastern Young Athletes Final

ATHLETICS: ANOTHER consistent performance by the outstanding U17 Boys squad was the feature of the St Albans AC effort in the Eastern Young Athletes League Final on Sunday.

As the squad secured 13 individual event wins, nine were contributed by the

U17 Boys who won their age group cup in the last major team event of the outdoor season at Stevenage.

Jake Awe landed the 100m and 200m, while James McMurray came out on top in the 1500m.

B String victories were contributed by Luke Yaxley (100m flat, 100m hurdles and 200m) plus Christian Gaddes (long jump).

The points earned steered the Westminster Lodge-based club to fifth-place in a tight six-team final which was won by Chelmsford.

Other A string wins came from Kate Jones in the U17 high jump and Alicia Tymon-McEwan (U15 75m hurdles).

While B-string victories were earned by Molly Baillie (U13 100m), Gemma Haines (U13 high jump) and Nicholas Isiekwe (U13 discus).

Although not enough to win, there was also a performance packed with promise from U13 Letitia Hatton with a 1.35m clearance in the high jump.

Commenting on the performance, coach Tim Higman said: “Athletes had to produce something special to win any of the events on a very competitive day.

“This is the second year we have reached this final and we finished last 12 months ago, so we have made progress.

“But there is still alot of work to do. We were up against some very big clubs who boast many atheletes who have been competing at the biggest competitions all summer.”

FINAL STANDINGS: 1 Chelmsford 515.5pts; 2 Stevenage 505; 3 Havering & Mayesbrook 500; 4 Bedford 494; 5 St Albans 442; 6 Basildon 415.5 .