As our junior section is growing we had a few athletes wanting to test themselves against some of the best young athletes in the North.
So we decided to jump into the deep end and take three teams to the Northern Road Relays held at Sports City Manchester next to Manchester City Etihad stadium.
We took two under 13 girls and one under 17 girls teams. It was an early start for 23 hardy Juniors and supporters.Elswick Junior section haven’t competed as a team out of the region for some time. This turned out to be great experience for everyone.
In the under 13 Girls there were 41 teams competing ,the races were very competitive with some exciting finishes. Results as follows .overall winners were Rotherham Harriers with a combined time of 39.48. Our A team came 9th 1st Leg Lucy Milburn (27th)14.51 2nd Leg Poppy wilde (12th) 14.06 3rd Leg Poppy Old(9th)combined time 42.44.
Our B team came 25th 1st Leg Bella Russell (28th)14.55 2nd Leg Sophie Henderson (31st) 15.36 3rd Leg Erin Blight (25th) 15.14. Combined time 45.45. We were the first North East team.
In the under 17 Girls there were 24 teams . The winners were Salford Harriers with a time of 40.58. We came 10th 1st Leg Suzy Fielding (16th) 15.04 2nd Leg Charley Lee (15th)16.13 3rd Leg Hannah Tumia (10th) 14.58 combined time 46.15 .We were the 2nd North East team after a very strong Houghton Harriers who came 6th with a combined time of 44.16.
We hope this will be the start of Elswick Juniors spreading their wings in various competitions out of the region.Thanks to all the supporters who came along and a special mention for Harry (our club chairman )and Kim for making the journey with us. A special thanks to the committee for their support for this event.
The Club received a note from Bill MCGuirk, Chairman NE Counties AA: “Sorry I missed last weekend’s Northern Road Relay Championships in Manchester especially when NE youngsters did so well. I was delighted to see so many Elswick young athletes among the results after a long lean period. Hopefully, it will be the springboard to many more opportunities which can only be a good thing for the club. Well done to everyone who took part as well as the coaches and supportive parents”.
Also competing nearer to home in the Ken Jefferson Memorial Races at Farringdon on Saturday, Imogen Bungay came 6th in the Under 15s with a time of 12.08 and Sydney Bungay came 10th in the Under 13s with a time of 13.24. Well done girls.
Cheers, Jan&Ken.