THE TRACK and field season has started with April filled with opportunities for athletes to stretch their legs, blow the winter cobwebs away and find out how the winter training has gone.
The Rugby & Northampton AC Open got the season under way for five Stratford AC juniors, with U13 Tom Weaver throwing a personal best in the javelin of 31.53m and throwing 6.60m in the shot.
Seb Hillard has moved up to the U13s and jumped a PB in the long jump of 4.19m and then ran a promising debut in the 800m of 2.48.0.
Seb’s sister Niamh ran a PB in the U13 1,500m in a time of 5:31.1 and she was joined by two of the club’s triathletes – U15 Charlotte Marshall who ran 5.25.2 and Molly Bullock (5.48.1).
Another welcome debutant on the track was another triathlete, Martha Bullock, who ran 2.15.8 in the U11 600m.
Despite limited training due to preparing and going on to win titles in the UK Skipping Championships, U17 Evie Lowe competed in the high jump and finished with 1.45m.
Four U20 athletes travelled to Loughborough and in his first year as an U17 Lewis Byng started where he left off outdoors last year by going straight to the top of the UK shot rankings with a mighty heave of 18.35 – a new PB.
Byng said: “Training is going well and I know there’s more to come.”
With the U20 European Championships as his main objective this year, that distance also puts Byng fourth in Europe and seventh on the all-time UK rankings.
Imogen Sheppard established a new outdoor PB in the 400m of 58.97 and she was followed home by sister Jess in a time of 59.73s. Jess also ran 26.70s in the 200m.
Harry Allwood is a 400m specialist but to get some speed training in he ran in the shorter 100m (12.66s, PB) and 200m (25.09s).
Meanwhile, at Stourport Daisy Musk was coming off a good cross country season and started her track races with a 600m. After a fast first lap of 63 seconds, she went on to finish third with a three-second PB of 1.42.0.
