Josh Olawore and Alex Law will both be representing the English Schools’ team in the Indoor Combined Events International in Glasgow in December after fantastic performances in this weekend's National Schools' event at Exeter. Josh won Inter Boys' Octathlon gold in a closely fought battle where the lead changed hands several times. After his second-longest winning long jump of 6.93m, Josh added personal bests in the discus (36.42m) & javelin (41.14m) before a 52.46s 400m run left him in second place with 2552 points, some 85 behind leader Nicholas Hunt (Dorset) after Day 1. Day 2 saw Josh open with a big hurdles win in 13.33s to retake the lead but a 1.77m high jump saw him slip into second place and a winning shot PB of 12.72m meant he lined up for the final event the 1500m some 38 points adrift of leader Nick Hunt. A 1500m time of 5m 07.33s was just outside his best, but it proved enough to bring Josh home for gold 25 points ahead, scoring a new club record of 5200 points, ahead of Kent's David Hall who moved through into silver spot with 5175 points, with long-time leader Nick Hunt dropping to bronze in 5140 points as the top six competitors all set new bests.  Alex Law had earlier set not one but two club records in winning bronze in the junior boys' pentathlon on Saturday. He got off to the best possible start with a winning hurdles PB & club record clocking of 11.25s, and after a below par shot put of 11.30m a long jump of 6.40m put him back in front. A disappointing high jump clearance of 1.68cm saw him lose ground again & start the 800m event in second place. In heavy rain Alex gave it his all and was rewarded with a five second improvement on his best with 2m17.75s which secured a fine bronze and England Schools' selection in a yet another club record of 3040 points.  His medal led the Essex team to victory. added 17/09/11 Pic: Ian Law

Mercy Gutteridge broke her club Under 15 pole vault record, and also bettered the U17 and U20 marks, as the Eastern Young Athletes squad ended their season on a high note in placing second in the league trophy final behind hosts Chelmsford on Sunday. Mercy’s winning vault clearance of 2.56m added six centimetres to the U15 girls’ record of 2.50m she had cleared several times since May, but it also took her past Angela James’ U17 & U20 records of 2.55m.The U17 Men shared first place with the hosts, after scrutiny of the results, and there were runners up spots for the U13 and U15 Girls. Havering’s second place was their third such finish in recent years but it’s now nine years since they lifted the Trophy as Chelmsford made it five successive victories in this end of season competition, winning four of the six age categories. League champions Stevenage & North Herts, who had comfortably lifted the league shield, could only finish fourth.  added 12/09/11 Pics 14/09/11 

Danny Wilson threw a personal best & second longest ever discus throw by a club U17 of 46.27m to win bronze medal for London in the UK Schools Games at the weekend.  And the versatile Campion sixth-form student capped a fine weekend by running a 50.0secs 400m leg as the London team won silver.  There was a strong showing from club athletes in Essex colours at the Eastern Inter Counties meeting at Cambridge on Sunday. Zoe Young was in fine form setting season's bests in the 100m, long jump, high jump & javelin winning the B long jump. Claire Brennan won both 100m & 400m hurdles  string races and Kate Cowley was another winner in the B pole vault. Vicky Smith ran her fastest times for a couple of years in both the 3000m & 1500m, winning the B string of the shorter event. In the senior men's competition Jimi Tele warmed up for his Commonwealth Youth Games International with victory in the triple jump and Adam McCarthy improved his PB in finishing second in the 400m hurdles. For the U17 Men Josh Olawore doubled up with wins in both 100m hurdles A & triple jump B and Hoseah Gikungu improved his nest to win the 1500m. Dale Marks-Swain was another winner taking the B string honours in the 400m flat, while George Hadler was second in the 400m hurdles equivalent while Patrick Lear was second in the B javelin.   added 6/09/11 

Seven club athletes competed for Essex in the U15 and U20 Inter Counties at Abingdon on Saturday. Lydia Hallam was the pick of the bunch winning the U15G 800m in 2m 21.74s and Laurence Goodacre was second in the U20 shot throwing 13.77m while Kike Oniwinde's 43.68m javelin effort earned her third in the U20 competition.  Mercy Gutteridge again equalled her pole vault best and U15G club record of 2.50m in placing fourth but Georgie Taylor was below par in placing fifth in the U15G discus with 30.80m.  Katherine Knight (28.09m - discus), Ellie Watson (4.27m - long jump) and George Hadler (400m - 54.43s) also saw action for the U20s.  added 28/08/11 

The Men's British League team confirmed their Division 3 status for next summer when a hard-working squad finished sixth in the final match at a wet and windy Swansea on Saturday.  With the promotion and relegation issues virtually settled after the first three rounds, there was little to play for but the smaller than usual Havering Mayesbrook squad kept battling to the end. Isaac Ogunlade turned in a starring display, again running close to his 400m hurdles best in finishing second, and stepping up to the A string 400m spot and finishing third in that event too. Runs in both relay squads completed a busy day. Promoted Glasgow & Kingston are replaced by relegated Southend & Trafford (Manchester) to join Swansea, Channel Islands and Yeovil who remain in the Division with Havering Mayesbrook. Victoria Park/Tower Hamlets & Southampton are promoted from Div 4 as Leeds drop out and Cambridge Harriers are relegated.   added 28/08/11 

Josh Olawore had a brilliant day at last weekend's England Athletics Championships at ~Bedford, winning two medals and setting two club records. Just eight days after narrowly breaking the club U17 long jump record. Josh added almost half a metre to his club best, cutting the sand in a superb 7.20m leap to take long jump gold. He rushed off to compete in his 100m hurdles heat, shaving 2-100ths off Jack Edgar-Hill's club best with his 13.38s clocking, and two hours later in the final further improved this mark to 13.35s in winning bronze. Alex Law had to settle for U15 long jump silver after his 6.37m jump, and pulled out of the 80m hurdles with a tight hamstring. Georgie Taylor was edged out of adding U15 discus gold to her English Schools' title when Birchfield's Adele Nicoll's UK Leading throw of 39.97m bettered Georgie's 39.58m best. Lydia Hallam was fifth in the U15 girls' 1500m with 4m 46.35s and Karl Tucker wasn't far off his 100m hurdles best with 14.56s added 26/08/11 

Havering Mayesbrook's Southern League squad finished their season in style to win by almost 50 points at Battersea on Saturday to seal promotion to Division One for next summer.  Zoe Young starred for the ladies with five wins and Claire Brennan almost matched her with four wins. Vicky Smith showed her usual superb team spirit tackling four track events and winning three. The men were not so dominant but scored strongly. Grant Twist won the 1500m and also the B string 'chase with Rob Warner taking A string victory. Adam Wileman had a win double taking A string 400m hurdles in a new PB and winning the B triple jump. Mark Bishop was victorious in sprint hurdles and pole vault and was second in the high jump. The win ensured that the squad won one of the three promotion places. added 26/08/11  & pics

A holiday-affected Havering Mayesbrook Eastern Young Athletes League suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Chelmsford in the final league fixture at Braintree on Sunday but did enough to earn place in the end of season Top 6 Trophy Final. Only the Under 15 Girls came out on top in their section, thanks to nine wins, five in A strings and four in B string events. The Under 17 Men lost out by a single point and the five athletes did all they could to stave off defeat as each of them notched up at least one victory. Both Under 13 teams were second, the weakened U15 boys were third and just two ladies contested the U17 women's events. added 15/08/11  & pics

A fifth place finish at Kingston by the senior men's squad ensured another year in National 3 Division of the British Athletics League on Saturday. And Josh Olawore marked his BAL debut by jumping 6.76m to beat the club U17 long jump record. There were no individual victories but Richard Morrissey, in his final races of the season, was second in both 100m & 2400m, and Shaun Stewart was also second in the B 400m and B long jump. Jason Lendon was runner up in the B 'chase and Adam McCarthy (400m hurdles B) and Mark Bishop (Javelin B) were also second in their events. With the final match at Swansea in two weeks the team are fifth in the league and although on paper are not 100% safe from the drop, it's unlikely that seventh placed Cambridge Harriers can turn things round in the last fixture.  added 14/08/11

There was a win for Faye Fullerton and personal bests for Lauren Deadman and Nicola Hill as the trio raced against good opposition at Watford and Loughborough. On Wednesday in the BMC Gold Standard race at Watford Faye took a step back towards her past form when she won the A race in a season's best of 4:20.88s. Behind her Lauren Deadman reduced her PB to 4:22.29s to cement her position at number 8 on the club all-time list. Today at Loughborough in the LEAP meeting Nicola Hill showed her improved speed when she twice bettered her previous best clocking a legal PB of 14.39s for 100m hurdles and trimming this to 14.37s in finishing second in the B final, although the wind was just over the limit. Her time took her up to third on the club all time list. added 10/08/11

Rising stars Alex Law and Georgie Taylor each added a pair of medals to their ever-growing pile of silverware at this weekend’s South of England Championships at Ashford. Alex won 80m hurdles silver in 11.44s on Saturday and returned the following day to go one better with gold in the Under 15 boys’ long jump with his 6.42m leap. Georgie edged training partner Rachel Forder out of the medals as the duo finished third & fourth in the shot, but UK Number 1 discus thrower Georgie was victorious in her speciality, throwing 36.95m with Rachel missing the cut in ninth with 25.90m. Bethany Chambers was fifth in the U17 triple jump with 10.34m, Patrick Lear threw 44.03m for eight in the U17 javelin and Karl Tucker was fifth in his U17 hurdles heat. added 8/08/11

A fourth place finish at a very wet Grangemouth Stadium on Sunday ensured another season in the UK Women’s League Division 2 for the senior ladies squad. Arriving in Scotland in rainy conditions on Saturday, more overnight rain and conditions getting progressively worse on Sunday the ladies turned in another great all-round team display. Vicky Smith kept up her fine record in the steeplechase adding another convincing victory, to add to her win at Wigan last time and Zoe Young won the B javelin. The fourth place league table finish capped the best season from the ladies for several years, achieved despite two potentially difficult away fixtures in Wigan and Scotland. With promoted Glasgow and Wigan and relegated Wakefield & Medway to be replaced with four clubs from the south of England, summer 2012  ought to result in three matches closer to home.  added 8/08/11

Kike Oniwinde gave a good account of herself on her Great Britian debut at the European Junior Championships at Tallinn, Estonia. Although ranked last but one of the 23 competitors in Saturday’s javelin qualifying completion, Kike punched above her weight to place 17^th with her second longest ever throw of 48.39m.It would have taken a PB & club record of 50.54m to make the final 12. The other two Britons had mixed fortunes, UK Number 1 Freya Jones made the cut and finished 10^th in Sunday’s final but Izzy Jeffs whose PB is 54.89m also went out in qualifying.   added 26/07/11

There was a disappointing end to the National Junior League season as a depleted squad at Peterborough on Sunday did their best but lost any hope of making the promotion final.  

Nicola Hill took an important step back from injury when she won bronze at this weekend’s England Athletics Championships at Bedford.  After an injury shortened 2010 campaign and an injury-delayed start to 2011, Brunel student Nicola qualified for the final of the 400m hurdles with a season’s best of 61.74s and took another half a second off that in Sunday’s final recording 61.28s to cross the line fifth, but winning English bronze as two Irish-qualified athletes were ahead of her. Faye Fullerton was the only other club athlete in action, finishing sixth in a slow-run 1500m final. Eight club athletes were in Essex action at the Southern Inter-Counties at a wet & windy Hemel Hempstead on Sunday. Emmanuel Quarshie's winning shot effort of 13.34m moved him up to sixth on the club all -time list and Jimi Tele's 14.44m triple jump also took the honours.  Vicky Smith tackled the 3000m steeplechase for the first time placing an excellent second in 11m 56.77s and Rob Warner was third in the men's equivalent in 9m 46.04s. Kate Cowley was third in the vault with 3.40m and Shaun Stewart set a season's best of 6.73m for fourth in the long jump and was fourth in the B 400m with 50.28s. Chloe van Wulven was fifth in the 100m hurdles with 16.11s and Adam McCarthy seventh in the 400m hurdles with 56.93s.  added 19/07/11

Kike Oniwinde faces the biggest challenge of her athletics career when she competes in this week's European Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.  After a record-breaking season which has seen the 18 year old improve her PB and club javelin record to 49.35m Kike has won her first GB vest joining Freya Jones & Izzy Jeffs as a trio of UK javelin throwers.  The going will be tougher than in any competition Kike has faced as she is ranked 23rd of the 24 entrants who line up for the qualifying competition next Saturday.  added 16/07/11

Club young athlete squads returned from Braintree last night with three gold, a silver and two bronze medals from the Essex County relays.  The U17 men harvested two golds & a silver with the powerful 4x400m squad of George Hadler, Dales Marks-Swain, Danny Wilson and Josh Olawore proving much too strong for the opposition winning in 3m 31s.  The U17M medley relay squad of Harry Phillips & Danny Wilson (200m) , Dale Marks-Swain (400) and Hoseah Gikungu (800) also struck gold while the 4x100m quartet of Harry Phillips, Oliver Garwandoe, Karl Tucker & Pedro Malungo had to settle for bronze.  The U13 girls foursome of Tolu Akingbade, Annie Maguire, Sophia Sharpe and Modupe Shokunbi topped the podium with a fine victory in 55.8s and the U15 Girls squad placed second, thanks to Emma Whitby, Chenice Constable, Tayla Humm and Tomi Akingbade who clocked 52.7s for silver. Another medals came courtesy of Jessica ward, Emily Marshall & Amy Baggs who won bronze in the U13 Girls 3x800m relay event.  added 16/07/11      Pic: Clare Whitby

There were five medals, two of them gold, at this weekend’s English Schools Championships held in fine conditions at Gateshead. Georgie Taylor and Kike Oniwinde both struck gold. Top ranked Georgie did not disappoint as she maintained her number 1 status but was unable to match her recent form close to 40m as her 34.91m throw was just enough to take the Junior Girls discus title. Rachel Forder improved her PB to 29.34m to place seventh in her first national competition. Kike in contrast had to overcome UK number 1 Freya Jones to clinch the senior girls' javelin title throwing 47.08m for victory as 52m thrower Jones could only manage 45.51m on this occasion.  Kike awaits the selectors’ verdict for the European Junior Championships (team to be announced Tuesday). Alex Law once again improved his club U15 long jump record with a 6.52m final round effort but he was thwarted in his search for gold by Essex team mate Ola Aina, from Campion School, who jumped two centimetres further for victory in an Essex one-two. Lydia Hallam fully justified her late call up when she won bronze in the junior girls’ 800m in a new personal best of 2m 13.57s – the fastest time by a club u15 for over 30 years and the fifth fastest ever behind the club’s all-time great youngsters from the late 1970s. Jimi Tele, competing for Norfolk, broke his triple jump best to leap close to 15m and his 14.95m effort which won him a bronze medal in the senior boys age group. Josh Olawore was however outside a medal place in the Inter Boys' triple jump with his 13.95m leap placing him sixth while Danny Wilson's 41.63m discus effort earned him seventh place and Laurence Goodacre signed off from these championships with fourth place and a new PB of 14.35m in the senior shot. added 01/07/11 & updated 04/07/11