Tough call choosing top athletes after region’s showpiece event

AFTER another excellent North East Counties Track and Field Championships, held at Middlesbrough Sports Village for the first time, all that was required to tidy up the loose ends was to select the athletes of the championships.

Championship secretary Keith Willshire said: “With so many records falling selecting the winners was always going to be difficult, but I would rather have it that way as it shows that the standard of athletics in the North East is extremely high.

“We had 13 new records last year and 12 this time round.

“We are forever grateful to Start Fitness, our county championships sponsor, who give us a huge amount of support as well as sponsoring the athletes-of-the-championships awards.

“On the first day we have gone for Darlington’s Charlotte Rutter and Morpeth’s Andrew Knight while the second day’s winners are Sam Charlton, of Wallsend, and Gateshead’s Lucy Giles.

“Charlotte broke the 1994 under-15 girls 75m hurdles record - 11.6s set by Jarrow and Hebburn’s Cheryl Kennedy – with a time of 11.57secs while Andrew, with a put of 16:91m, bettered the old under-17 figures of 15:28m which Elswick’s Dale Hewitson set in 2001.

“On day two one of the oldest championship records was broken when Sam ran 8:43.33 to win the under-17 3,000m. The record of 8:47.0 was set by Gosforth’s David Miles way back in 1982, so it’s taken 36 years to break that record.

“The final award goes to Emily, who won the under-17 women’s shot put title with 12:07m which added 27cm to a record which had been held by Middlesbrough’s A Hall since 1981.”