NAL Championship South Round 1 – Crawley – 23 May
Great Britain’s European under-20 400m champion Charlotte Henrich tested out her speed in 100m and 200m wins as she helped Blackheath and Bromley Harriers (BBH) to beat Crawley AC in the first Championship South match of the season.
A winning time of 11.60 over the shorter distance improved significantly on her previous best of 12.32, though it was the 19-year-old’s first 100m race in four years. Her 200m clocking of 23.55 narrowly missed the PB she set in Stratford last May bt 0.05 seconds.
The recent World Relays competitor wasn’t the only teenager from her club to impress. 18-year-old BBH long jumper Daisy Snell – who jumped what had been a brilliant breakthrough personal best of 6.30m in the opening round of last year’s season – made headlines again with a 6.25m jump to win by 28cm with a distance that bettered the Premiership result. Snell, who was a European under-20 finalist last year, will have to jump at least 6.30 again this year to reach the standard for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships before 19th July.
The club also won three track races in quick succession as Bailey Stickings and Zoe Austridge came through to win the 400m hurdles A races in respective times of 52.10s and 65.36. Joseph Scanes took the 800m in 1:52.22, by a margin of nearly five seconds, while field event wins came through the likes of Zara Obamakinwa with a 56.84 discus throw, Dillon Claydon 54.77 and 17.13 discus and shot put double, along with Kelechi Aguocha’s 1.86m high jump victory.
One of Crawley’s highlights was a women’s 4x400m triumph via a quartet of Anna Duncan, Jennifer Klein, Jessica Lister and Alice Cox, though bizarrely only two teams finished the race, with everyone else disqualified apart from City of Portsmouth. That followed Sophie Hogton winning the women’s 100m hurdles in a time of 14.40.
In third place overall were Herne Hill Harriers. Another emerging youngster had a moment to shine for them when Jaydan Roberts-Edwards, who is just 16, took the 100m in 10.73. Earlier in the day, Sophie Tooley had won the 800m in 2:08.33.
Vojtech Berger recently won a British Universities medal for the University of Portsmouth and he again hit the heights for the city’s club this time with a long jump and 200m double victory with respective marks of 6.97m and 21.15s.
Behind them in fifth overall, Jordanna Morrish was best of all in the high jump for Basingstoke and Mid Hants with 1.56m, before Stefan O’Loughnane took the 400m in 48.97.
Aaron Marlow was one of Kingston AC and Poly’s best performers, achieving three 4th places across the shot put, discus and hammer, as well as 5th in the javelin.
NAL Championship East Round 1 – Chelmsford – 23 May
Former world under-20 heptathlon champion Niamh Emerson continued her comeback trail with a personal best and a double victory as Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers (SBH) won in the Championship East.
In doing so, SBH started off their quest for promotion back to the Premiership in perfect style, beating hosts Chelmsford AC by just 16 points.
Emerson was one of a host of recognisable faces turning out for SBH. She broke new ground with a 14.37 in the shot after throwing the javelin 38.78 in just her third competition in the discipline since 2022. Former UK champion Jade Ive won the pole vault for the club with a best clearance of 4.05m, but others hauled hatfuls of points in other events.
Victories for the club came the way of Greg Thompson in both the discus and shot put (56.00 and 15.29). Tami George went one better by claiming the 100m and 200m (11.67 and 23.77), before sealing a treble in the 4x100m. Kenan Stephens led a men’s long jump one-two with a leap of 7.14m, before coming second to under-18 athlete Harley Henry’s 15.06 triple jump.
Chelmford’s moments of joy included Oliver Graham’s 61.26m hammer victory as he won by 10 metres from Thompson. On the track, James Becker sprinted to maximum points in the 200m with a clocking of 21.58s.
Thaila-Jade Mason led a one-two for third-placed Havering AC in the long jump with 5.71m, before Chloe Williams won the 100m hurdles.
Belgrave Harriers’ distance runners held up the fort, with Lara Mangan’s 2:16.71 800m victory getting their ball rolling.
Herts Phoenix weren’t able to score in some events, but their athletes made up for that elsewhere. Louise Grenfell led a one-two finish in the 400m hurdles (61.21), before Eloise Harvey matched that in the triple jump (11.27) and George Ward did the same in the 1500m (3.59.95).
NAL Championship North Round 1 – Liverpool – 23 May
City of Sheffield and Dearne won a hard-fought Championship North contest to finish 34 points ahead of City of York in Liverpool. The scores would have been even closer, but York were 20 points lower on officials points.
Sheffield were strong across the board, with Leonie Ashmeade taking a 100m and 200m victory on the track of 11.53 and 24.32 respectively. Heptathlete Jo Rowland achieved similar in the field by winning the shot put and javelin, as well as coming second in the long jump.
Robert Shipley impressively extended his unbeaten record in NAL 800m races to seven (1:52.86), with team-mate Saskia Huxham helping the club lock out the two-lap races (2:12.04).
York’s distance runners stole the show as they achieved a one-two in both the men’s and women’s 5000m. Jessica Robertson-Dover leading Christine Dover to match the feat that Mark Bolland-Cage and Simon Bolland had achieved less than an hour earlier.
Finishing third overall were a Notts AC contingent that received a helping hand from Amelia Briggs-Goode’s 60.54 400m hurdles win, while Archie Small got a personal best of 61.13 for maximum points in the hammer, before Harry Whyley’s high jump clearance of 1.96 saw him get the better of team-mate Brooklyn Crooks.
After warming up with a 100m non-scoring victory, Liverpool Harriers’ sprinter Ryan Mostyn took the 200m in 21.27, before bringing the baton round safely for top spot in the men’s 4x100m. That added to winning performances for Eoin Sheridan (50.43) in the discus and Ffion Mair Roberts (55.84) in the 400m.
After a disqualification to the only other competitor believed to be in the field, Sale Harriers’ Imani Modahl 8:28.93 is the only athlete on the result sheet for the women’s 3000m chase. The Manchester club achieved fifth overall to pip city rivals Trafford, who were a little down on numbers. Still Ben Verbickas had reason to smile with a 52.71 400m hurdles win which preceded a 4x400m triumph, before GB junior international Halle Ferguson topped the high jump standings with 1.78m.
NAL Championship West Round 1 – Yate – 23 May
NAL newcomers Swindon Harriers performed brilliantly to secure victory in the opening Championship West fixture in Yate.
Perhaps the most astonishing result of the day was their one-two in the 5000m, with Ella Spencer remarkably given the same time as Freya Davidse (22:10.40). The pair could only be separated by 0.004 seconds in a remarkable photo finish across the line after twelve-and-a-half laps of racing.
Teresa Iannetelli produced the first winning performance of their addition to the league, with a 400m hurdles victory in 62.64, before combining with Khaya Swaine, Kayah Trybala-Lugembe and Kalina Karacheva to set a club record of 3:59.59 in crossing the line first in the 4x400m.
Cardiff AAC’s World F44 medallist Funmi Oduwaiye helped their promotion push with discus and shot put wins (35.48 and 10.43). Alex Azu achieved a strong sprint double (10.66 and 21.42), while Toks Akanbi Mortimer not only followed that up with a 100m B race win, but also triumphed in both the shot put and discus following Rebecca Chapman’s long jump victory in the field.
Third-placed Yeovil Olympiads started off strongly through Emma Greenaway’s hammer win (50.86), before Lewis Guest impressed with a high jump and triple jump double (1.81 and 13.77) and U18 athlete Isaac Slight won the pole vault with a personal best of 4.15.
12.07 was the clocking for Isabelle Walkey, who took the 100m for hosts Yate and District. Behind them in the table sit Bournemouth AC, who had William Launder topping the long jump charts with 7.05, before Rob Woolgar won the 110m hurdles by more than four seconds (15.22). Winchester and District’s Leslie Parkes threw 52.08 in the men’s hammer, winning by more than eight metres.