FIVE Stratford Athletic Club juniors had plenty to smile about after competing in the Leicestershire and Rutland County and Open Combined Events Championships.
With the Gloucestershire Schools team yet to be selected for the Combined Event Regional finals, Charlotte Gravelsons had one last chance to impress the selectors and made the most of the opportunity.
Charlotte gained three personal bests on the day – 75m hurdles (15.33s), long jump (3.88m) and 800m (2:40.60s) – as well as showing solid form in the shot put (6.37m) and high jump (1.29m), to give a personal best total score of 1,917 points, finishing eighth overall, putting her 90th in the UK for the U15 girls’ pentathlon.
Shortly after the event Charlotte was told she had been selected to represent Gloucestershire Schools in the South West Regional Final in Yeovil later this month.
Maddie Clark, who had already been selected to represent Warwickshire Schools in the U15 girls’ pentathlon in the Midlands Regional Final in Milton Keynes, used the day for competition practice and showed she is currently in good form with two personal bests in the 75m hurdles (13.38s) and long jump (4.33m), a season’s best in the high jump (1.35m) and a good performance in the shot put (8.52m).
After four events Maddie had scored 1,811 points and looked set for a score well over 2,000. However, due to injury, Maddie did not start the 800m and if not all events are at least started in the pentathlon then no finish, and hence no points total, is recorded overall.
After a sparkling, multi-point winning, performance in the Heart of England League the day before, Freddie Clemons showed he has great stamina to complete another full day of athletics in great style, finishing second overall in the U13 boys’ pentathlon with a total score of 1,684. This was also the second best performance in the UK so far in 2017.
Freddie picked up two personal bests in the high jump (1.44m) and long jump (4.58m) and put these together with good performances in the 75m hurdles (13.73s), shot put (7.19m) and 800m (2:33.9).
Both Harry Gravelsons and Eleanor Clark are still developing their pentathlons and both showed steady progress in the U15 boys’ and U13 girls’ events respectively.
Harry was suffering with a dreadful cold which tempered his performance and he completed the 80m hurdles in 19.8s and 800m in 3:00.11s, achieving 1.23m in the high jump, 3.55m in the long jump and 4.76m in the shot put for an overall score of 681 and ninth place.
Eleanor was full of positivity as she achieved two personal bests in the 70m hurdles (15.88m) and 800m (3:22.37s), a season’s best 3.06m in the long jump as well as 1.05m in the high jump and 4.43m in the shot put for a combined total of 924 and ninth place overall.
