Young athletes nab a finish in top three
Chichester followed up a fine third place in the opening fixture by once again notching up another top three spot in the Sussex Sportshall League at Worthing.
In a three hour programme involving six age groups and 300 athletes from eight clubs, Chichester held off the home club to finish close behind winners Crawley and runners-up Brighton & Hove.
Many of Chichester’s upand-coming young athletes will be in the frame for selection for the inter-county match at the end of the season.
It was the U13 boys who produced a near flawless display with multiple track victories and a triple clean sweep in the field events, long jump, triple jump and vertical jump.
Sprinters Leo Hardwick and Levi Pearce had runners-up spots in the sprints before Max Gayle and Ivo Edgar crushed the opposition in the four-lap while Joe Stewart combined well with Pearce in the six-lap.
With Reuben Shewan joining the quintet at the end, such was Chichester’s dominance in the relays they had over five seconds to spare in the eight-lap paalauf as well as in the 4x2-lap relay.
With Shewan and Edgar dominating the long jump, Frank James joined Stewart in the triple jump with Thomas Kelson joining Shewan making it a double win for Chichester in the vetical jump. Reserve Reuben Hughes was busy in track and field.
The U13 girls had another successful match with a wellbalanced squad – Olive Pring, Maya Stair, Isla Pearson and Sohpie Platt doing battke on the track with a couple of second places from Pearson and Stair among results.
Chi enjoyed success in the field events with Grace Frith and Juliette Stangroom in the long jump and triple jump before Frith joined Pring in the vertical jump while Stangroom teamed up with Pearson in the speed bounce for a double win.
The club’s six U15 girls showed versatility. A new pair of Ashanti Walker and Evangelins Allen started proceedings in the two-lap with Macie Ship joining Walker in the four-lap while Elodie Hill and Hazel Peters did battle in the gruelling six-lap race.
Kitty Goodband headed up the jumps with the rest of the squad playing a part.
The U15 boys were hampered by a lack of numbers but those in action made their mark and added their share of points to the total.
Austin Stack produced the performance of the day with his winning standing long jump and teamed up well with Ben Stewart in the paarlauf, this after Stewart had been edged out of first in a fast four-lap. Harry Cruttenden, in the six-lap, was pipped for the win in the last few strides.
Chichester fielded a large, improving squad of U11 boys and girls.
Isaac Page, Jack Ford,nathaniel Jolly, Charlie Peters, Rocco Hughes, Noah Piredes, Oliver Lowery,eddie Richards, Sebastian Berger, Fraser Boden, Finlay Hill, Ethan Hill and Alfie Luxford did well, as did Billie Sutton, Abbie Cruttenden, Matilda Hammond, Imogen Younghusband and Leah Stopps.