Wilkinson in semi-final double feat
THE England Athletics Indoor Age Group Championships 2019 in Sheffield saw 30 athletes from Stockport taking part.
In the U15s, Charlotte Wilkinson, competing in her first indoor Nationals, ran superbly in both the 60m and 200m, running a PB of 8.24 seconds to qualify for the 60m Semi-Finals where she matched that time exactly before returning the next day and setting a huge PB of 26.32 to qualify for the 200m Semi-Finals, taking 0.65 seconds off her previous best time.
There was another 5.98m PB and Silver medal in the U15 Long Jump for Jack Doodson after initially ranking 7th going into the competition.
This was Jack’s first National Medal and just a single centimetre off the Gold. Jack Doodson also set a lifetime best of 1.70m to finish 4th in the High Jump Final.
Another medal came from Holly Murray following a confident and well-judged series of runs to win her heat and final before taking the Bronze medal in a close and competitive U17 Women’s 200m final in a time of 25.38.
This was Holly’s first National medal of any kind in an individual race and was thoroughly deserved. Abi Pawlett also won the U17 Long Jump Title.
The cross country season came to a close in the beautiful grounds of Harewood House at the National Cross Country Championships in Leeds.
The event attracts athletes from all over the country and is a true test of endurance and speed not least because of the uphill start.
The U13 Girls kicked off the day with 12 Harriers taking part against a field of 418.
The top three positions went to Freya Murdoch (15th), Sophie Ellwood (35th) and Saffron Meade (176th).
The U13 Boys fielded five athletes with the first three back over the line being Harvey Murphy (199th), Sam Elliott (304th) and William Dewsbury (346th).
Josie Driver was the first Harrier back in the U15 Girls in 252nd place, with Isabel Brundrett in 287th and Lauren Dewsbury in 306th.
Finley Mayoh had a particularly good race in the U15 Boys, finishing in 67th place. Jack Catterall (119th) and Harry Ellwood (160th) also placed well in their fields.
Lauren Burgess and Mollie Cooke were the only Harriers in the U17 Women but both put in great performances and came in the top 200.
In the U17 Men, Flynn Walsh finished 93rd, with Edward Corden close behind in 115th and Jacob Wood-Doyle chasing in 164th place.
George Cooke was the solo Stockport Harrier in the Junior Men’s race and finished an impressive 106th out of 201.
Considering the Harriers have a large Senior Women contingent, it was a rather depleted team of five that took part.
The most impressive performance came from Lizzy Apsley who finished 56th out of 1034.
The second and third Harriers were Louise Geldart (301st) and Lesley Sinclair (452nd). Most people stayed to watch the spectacle of the Senior Men’s start as 2008 competitors bolted from the pens at the sound of the gun.
Of these, four belonged to Stockport, with Jack Morris having a fantastic race and finishing 81st.
Grant Anderson, James Corden and Iain Murdoch also had great runs to end the season with a bang.