Author: Team Kennet Administrator

Team Kennet started the Wessex Young Athletes League with a excellent 2^nd place overall at Abingdon On Sunday.

With numbers down due to other winter sports, a good start to the season is always hit and miss, the 40 strong squad made sure of a clutch of wins to give them that great start.

Match score on the day was

Camberley           488.5

Team Kennet      416.5

Abingdon             337

Southampton      315

Slough                  312

Fleet                     166

On the Day the under 15 girls won their age group, the clubs biggest squad on the day, in the field events Eliska Simpson won the Javelin 18.54, and her B string Zoe Dickson made it a Double, The discus saw another Double win from Simpson 20.22 and Evie Lewis 19.90 and in the Shot Lewis had to settle for 2^nd 7.56 and Simpson won the B string 6.72, elsewhere on the field Charlotte Bailey cleared 1.30 in the High Jump for 3^rd A string and Chloe O’Reardan  came 2^nd in the B 1.25, The long Jump Ellie ross came 4^th A string.

On the track new comer Melisa Kalikwani started her debut wit ha win in the 75m hurdles 16.2, A double win came later in the 300m Bailey and O’Readan, in the 1500m Bailey came 2^nd in 5.32.3 and Lola Mitcham winning the B string 5.59.6, In the shorter 800m O’Reardan came 4^th 2.55.6 and Ellie Ross 2^nd A string. The sprints saw Ava Brade come home in 14.6 for 5^th place and Kalikwani in 3^rd B string 15.1, earlier Kalikwani came 5^th in the A string in the 200m 31.7.

The 4 x 100m relay team had to settle for 4^th place 59.7 made up of Bailey, Ross, Brade and Kalikwani.

The under 17 men came 2^nd in their age group on the day, Seb Simpson left off as he did from last year, winning his Shot 11.47, the Discus 38.19 and the Javelin 29.74, The Long Jump saw newcomer Ivan Pathirathna jump 5.24 for 2^nd place and Isaac Mitch taking 2^nd b string.

On the Track Pathirathna came 2^nd in the 100m Hurdles 16.90, the 1500m saw a great run by Isaac Mitcham taking 2^nd place in 4.38.1

The 100m Pathirathna came 4^th in 11.9 in a very close race on the line, Caden Thomas came 2^nd in the B string 12.8, Thomas also took part in the 200m clocking 26.4 for 5^th place.

The under 13 boys came 3^rd in their age group, the 1500m saw a great run by Euan Jones to take 2^nd place in 5.27.8, B string Liam Neil won this string in 5.37.3, elsewhere on the track, Noah Lauder-Clark won the B string 200m 30.5, Josh Ladds coming 6^th in the A string, in the 100m Ladds had to settle for 6^th A string and Jones 4^th B.

On the Field Josh Brian came 3^rd in the A string 3.86 and a B win came from Jones 3.57, Rueben Kuijten came 3^rd in the Shot 5.73 and went one better in the Discus 15.78, while in the Javelin Lauder-Clark came 2^nd with a throw of 28.74 and another B win came from Ladds 20.05.

The relay quartet came in 2^nd pipped right on the line in 62.4, Ladds, Lauder-Clark, Jones and Brian were the quartet.

The under 15 boys were 4^th James Simmons took part in the sprints 100m 12.6 for 4^th and going one better for 3^rd place in the 200m 26.1.

Ethan Kuijten ran a great race in the 1500m to win in 4.47.4 and later on clocked 43.2 in the 300m for 4^th place.

On the field Will McDonald won the Javelin with a throw of 31.15, The Discus Turkay Altuntas came 2^nd with 27.88 and McDonald taking 2^nd in the B 15.79 and in the Shot Altuntas also came 2^nd in the A string 10.09 and Kuijten had another win in the B string 7.44, The Long Jump Simmons jumped 4.37 for 4^th A string and McDonald 3.96 for 3^rd B string.

The under 17 Women had to settle for 3^rd in their age group, Zoe Allen won the 80m hurdles in 14.6, she threw 10.32 to win the Shot with Clare McGonnell winning the B string 7.20, McGonnell also won her Javelin with 30.80 throw. Amelie Ross came 3rd in her 200m B string which was matched by Allen in the A string 28.0.

The under 13 girls saw only 4 girls take part and came 4^th overall only 1 point behind 3^rd, Ella Cronk won her high Jump with a great effort of 1.30, She came 2^nd in the Long Jump 3.65 with Jess McCurtin taking 3^rd B 3.02, in the 1500m McCurtin came 2^nd A string 6.29 and newcomer Elena Wilkinson won the B string 6.33, a superb double win came in the shorter 800m Emerald Hill Sawyer stalked her rival to ease past in the final 100m in a fast time of 2.36.8 and Cronk made it another win for her in the B string 2.59.1, Hill Sawyer also took part in the sprints 200m coming 3^rd in 29.4 and 100m also 3rd 14.2, in the B string 100m McCurtin also came 3^rd 16.2 and Wilkinson 4^th B in the 200m 35.2, the 4 girls also took part in the 4 x 100m coming 4^th in a nail biting finish where the girls led for 75% of the race.

Team Kennet had lots of non Scoring athletes in the under 20s 200m Euan Avery clocked 25.1 and Digby Riggal 25.5, both ran in the 100m Avery and  Riggal both clocking 12.4, josh Brian clocked 15.6 in the u13 100m

Under 20 Charlotte Absolom broke the clubs u20 Shot record throwing 9.89 and also threw Discus 24.42, and under 20 Brandon Carter threw the Javelin 40.59.

Results link above

Team Kennet Stuart Bladon came 3^rd in the Patriot Indoor Track & Field Championships taking part in the Heptathlon at the Annapolis MN indoor Arena in America Recently.

Stuart broke 6 Club Records on his way hitting 5098 points to rank him 16^th in the UK Rankings for Indoor Heptathlon in Senior Ranks, But top 5 in the u23 age group.

He Clocked 8.58 in the 60m hurdles, throwing 11.81 in the Shot, Jumping 6.69m in the Long Jump then clearing 4.10 in the Pole Vault as well as sprinting 7.32 in the 60m sprint all setting new club records, he jumped 1.88 in the High Jump and then clocked 2.45.99 in the last event of the day 1000m.

Team Kennet had several athletes compete for Berkshire in the Inter Counties Cross Country at Prestwold Hall in Loughborough.

In the under 13 Girls Charlotte Baileys Training has been paying of as she finished 134^th out of over 300 girls on a muddy and undulating tough course. She helped the Berkshire team finish 7^th overall out of 46 Counties.

Isaac Mitcham took part in the under 17 race finishing 255^th and Ethan Kuijten took part in the Under 15 Boys race finishing 268^th.

Team Kennet juniors were in full action on Sunday in the Destination Cross Country League, in Basingstoke hosted by the club, over a slightly hilly course with turns and a few straight runs, Team Kennet saw some 50 plus juniors turn out to challenge for top 3 individual and team awards, not only that their own club championship league points were at stake in some close age groups.

The under 9 Girls were last years winners of their own league, the girls were home and dry before todays fixture, but made sure they stayed unbeaten in any event since the pandemic, Ella Larkin led from the gun again and stride by stride she pulled away to win her race and be crowned under 9 champion, she was backed up by Masie McCurtin who earned her 2^nd place on the day and to finish second overall, not to miss out Orlagh Stratford came home in 4^th place but this was enough for her to move up to 3^rd overall. Matilda Saunders was next home in 6^th place, Elodie Burdett improving each match came 7^th, Evie Kearney 15^th, Sophia Barnett 20^th and Evelyn Barker 23^rd for the B team and Jasmine Hemmings 25^th out of a field of 31 girls.

The under 9 Boys had to settle for 3^rd team Overall, Gethin Thomas was the clubs first runner home in 7^th with Josh Kuijten 8^th and new comer Chester Bailey 10^th  and Jacob Williams 21^st for the scoring team, the B team Alex Cameron 22^nd, Max Burt 25^th and Seb Lauder-Clarke 27^th in a field of 38 finishers.

The under 11 Girls as the season went on got stronger and stronger, they secured their 2^nd win in a row, and to move them to 1^st place overall on count back over Aldershot Farnham & District. Harriet Saunders timed her run amazingly to finish 3^rd on the day wit ha strong finish, Quinn Joyce held on to 4^th place and to take 3^rd place individual overall, Ella McDonald was next home in 7^th closely followed chasing her down Matilda clare in 8^th, Penelope Lyth came home in 13^th with Penelope Gorbold 33^rd and Affra Bailey 34th that saw over 50 girls start the race.

The biggest Field of the day was under 11 Boys where 66 started and finished, Oskar Larkin was the clubs first home in 6^th place just missing out on top 3 overall, Harry Smith was 11^th, Euan Jones 14^th and Liam Neil 16^th, Luke Stiles led the second team home in 23^rd, Ben Doherty 24^th, Elliot Bell 25^th and Samuel Atkins 26^th, the Third Team was led by Malik Gaye 29^th, Henry Bell 36^th, josh Bailey 47^th and Lestyn Thomas 55^th, Cameron O’Riordan 61^st and Alfie Cronk 66^th saw 14 boys from TK take part in this race, The boys came 3^rd overall in the league behind Aldershot winners and Basingstoke runners up.

The under 13 girls had almost secured their League, Charlotte Bailey gave it a good go and had to settle for 2^nd place on the day, this was good enough to take 2^nd place overall, Emerald Hill Sawyer was next home in 8^th place, Amber Stiles 9^th and Ella Cronk 11^th, Lola Mitcham was 13^th and Chloe O’Riordan 14^th, as the girls came home in 1^st place on the day, In a very close team competition with 4 clubs all within 5 points, the win made sure of the under 13 girls taking the league title.

The under 13 Boys Aaron Carter led the A team home in 9^th place with Ben Daley hot on his toes in 11^th, Noah Lauder-Clarke wasn’t to far behind in 13^th and Marlowe Barber 15^th for 3^rd place on the day, Charlie Adams was 17^th, Harry Barnett 18^th and Rueben Kuijten 21^st

The under 15 Boys Ethan Kuijten came home in 3^rd place as per last match to help him take 3^rd overall, and Max Adams took another 4th place to move him in to top 6 individual placings.

Team Kennet saw over 70 youngsters compete for the club this season, which was a record number.

The Oxford cross country league round 4 took place on Sunday at Cotswold Farm Park. Last year the weather was cold, wet & windy but this year sunshine and good underfoot conditions were the order of the day.

In the men’s race representing Team Kennet, Andy Colling again led the way finishing 69th with Mitch the Postie next in 182nd.  Simon Hockaday 209th & Simon Gale 212th completed the line up.

The ladies race amazingly started with no sign of the traditional torrential rain that usually greets the runners, Susan Francis was 48th & Katie Reynolds 64th.

Team Kennets Emerald Hill-Sawyer under 13 age group was gifted with an invitation to the Ayo Falola Dram Mile held at Lee Valley Athletics Centre on Wednesday Night. Emerald was in the under 13 Development 800m race where she finished 5^th out of 10 competitors in a new personal best time indoors of 2.37.41 just outside the clubs indoor record.

Team Kennet had several athletes take part in the South of England Cross Country Championships held at Beckenham Place Park in Kent, over a undulated course with a few twists.

The under U13 girls had a full team and were placed 22^nd overall (2^nd Berkshire team) first home was Charlotte Bailey in 83^rd, followed by Amber Stiles 137^th, not far behind were Emerald Hill-Sawyer 156^th and Chloe O’ Reardan 168^th.

Andy Colling took part in the senior race coming home in 438^th place.

Team Kennet had several Athletes compete in the South of England Indoor Track and Field Championships held at Lee Valley over the weekend.

TK secured one Bronze medal in the under 13 girls 800m as Emerald Hill-Sawyer clocked 2.40.73 to take a 3^rd place.

George Down just missed out on a medal in the under 17 mens Long Jump finishing in 4^th place with 6.12.

Luke Stiles also came 4^th just missing out in the under 13 Boys long jump leaping 3.86 which was a new club record for indoors, he also broke his own club record in the 800m he set 2 weeks ago coming 5^th with 2.48.29. Luke also took part in the 60m sprint coming 6^th in his heat 9.54.

Clare McGonnell took part in the under women 400m clocking 67.48 for 4^th placed in her heat, she also ran in the 200m coming 6^th in her heat with 29.09.

Amber Stiles took part in the under 15 girls, she came 4^th in her 800m heat 2.45.74, 11^th in the Long Jump pool 3.65 and 5^th in her heat of the 60m hurdles 11.54.