Kentish Express Ashford & District
Ashford duo win bronze medals
Ashford AC
The South of England Under-13, 15 and 17 Championships staged at the Julie Rose Stadium at the weekend provided an excellent opportunity for Ashford AC’s younger athletes to compete against top opposition on home soil.
The championships involved top young performers from as far afield as Norfolk, Cornwall and the Channel Islands.
Two Ashford AC members won medals.
Michael Alajiki took bronze in the under-17 triple jump, a competition that had a high calibre field, including Ashford’s Kevin Masindo in his first championship.
The medal places kept changing but Alajiki eventually jumped back into the top three to add bronze to the Kent titles he won earlier this year.
The other medal came on the track, for cross-country expert Louis Small, who won bronze in the under-17 1,500m. His brother, Jack, also made the final.
Other athletes who missed out on medals included Kent champion Kristian Samwell-Nash, who even though one of the fastest qualifiers for the under-17 200m final, was unable to repeat his indoor South of England silver medal from earlier this year.
Heptathlete Libby Turbutt continued her busy season and decided to concentrate on the track with the 200m and 75m hurdles.
Three other under-15 athletes gained valuable championship experience, Nadia Sadler-Reeves and Jack Saxby in their 200m races and Jack Butler in the high jump.
As always Ashford were well represented in the under-17 women’s long jump, with Sarris Teale Imogen Davis and Yasmin Sadler-Reeves.
Elisha Roger made the final of the under-17 800m.
This year’s event also included the under-13 age group and Ashford AC had three very nervous athletes all competing in their first major championships – Liam Woodham 200m and 800m, Callum James 800m, and Violet Maxted 200m and 800m.