Sunday saw hot and sunny conditions at the Wellesley Track in Gt Yarmouth where Waveney Valley Athletic Club travelled for round 2 of the East Anglian Athletics League to compete against City of Norwich AC, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Colchester and Tendring and Gt Yarmouth & District AC.
Waveney took in excess of 40 athletes to contest the fixture, Building on a solid round 1 score of 210 points for the team, in this fixture, Waveney improved to score 266 points overall which was enough for 5th place, a fine result with no U17s and only limited seniors competing. Waveney faired much better in the individual categories, with the under 13 girls placed 3rd with 59 points and just 11 points from 2nd placed Gt Yarmouth (an improvement from 4th in round one) which was matched by the under 15 boys with 54 points who were also just 11 points from Gt Yarmouth in 2nd. The under 13 boys were placed 4th with 59 points also 11 points from a place improvement, with the under 15 girls 5th with 46 points, the men 6th with 16 points and the ladies 6th with 32 points, just a point behind West Norfolk.
The under 11s compete as ‘non-scorers’, with 6 girls and 5 boys representing the club. Maisie Elvin-Andrews, Grace Forster, Maddie Archbold, Brooke Oram, Libby Mayall and Shamara Hammonds pulled on the vest for the girls with Joel Burgess, Theo Hudson, Jacob Bendall, Benjamin Cone and Reuben Harvey competing for the boys in the events of 80 metres, 600 metres, shot put and long jump.
In the girls under 13 category, just Harriet Gooch, Hannah Mayne, Ellysia Bendall and Mia Hopson completed the team and ended the day with 3rd place overall and 2nd in the relay. Hannah again won 100m (13.6s – PB), 200m (29.0s) and Long Jump, whilst Harriet recorded a PB in her 100m race with 15.1s, and 3rd place in the shot put with 5.52m. Mia ran a great 200m to record a PB of 30.0s and 2nd place, with 2nd also in the hurdles and a 3rd in the javelin with 13.61m. Elly won the ‘B’ shot put with a throw of 4.71m.
The under 15 girls were represented by Harriet Lyman, Lily Collins, Emily Archbold and Lauren Oram. It was difficult conditions for both Harriet and Lauren in the 800m with times of 2:50.9s and 3:01.1s respectively, but Lauren performing in the discus for the first time, won with a throw of 16.08m. Emily equalled her PB of 1.35m in the high jump for 3rd, with Lily winning the ‘B’ javelin. The girls claimed 5th in the relay.
A larger under 13 boys team saw Ethan Lee, Callum Hopson, Sam Stevens, Leo Joscelyne, Tai Elvin-Andrews, Alec Wilson, Tom Carter, Jamie Besford and Dylan Harvey competing with PBs again tumbling all round. There was many notable track improvements and PBs with Tai performing particularly well in the 1500m in the heat with a 3rd place and time of 5:21.5s. He also claimed a PB and 2nd in the high jump with 1.25m. Dylan performed well in the shot, discus and javelin throwing for the first time with admirable results. Both boys relay teams competed in tough races.
The under 15 boys were represented by Jake Block, Leon Cousins, Dylan Davies, James Russell and Aidan Hewitt. Jake again ran a good 200m for 3rd place in 26.7s, with Aidan also again running a great 300m for 3rd in 43.2s. James competing for Waveney for the first time, claimed 2nd in the high jump with a PB and club record of 1.40m. The boys ran a fast relay to claim 3rd in a club record 54.1s.
The Ladies were represented by Karen Archbold, Michaela Gooch, Caren Elvin, Tracy Cone, Yvette Hammonds, Tamsin Desborough and Mia Williams-Mather with Simon Bunting, Bill Kingaby and Andrew Brown the compact Mens team. The ladies relay team improved upon their Norwich performance with a club record run, and for the men, Simon competed well in the throws, and was pleased to break the 3m barrier in the long jump with 3.08m, with Bill just 0.2s over 12 minutes in the 3000m. Andrew recorded 2:48.7 in the 800m.