Author: Team Kennet Administrator

West Berkshire Quadkids Athletics Festival took place on Saturday at Park House School after a 2 year gap, 21 schools took place on the day with 420 excited Youngsters battling it out.

Team Kennet and School Sports Partnership who run the event, hailed it a great success and with the weather being amazing for any athletic event made sure it was a great day.

Park House School and St Bartholomew schools helped with Young leaders taking the groups around for the 4 hour competition where each child has to run a Sprint (50m yr3 / 4)(75m yr 5 / 6) and distance run (yr 3 /4 400m)(yr 5 / 6 600m), standing Long Jump and Vortex Howler throw, gaining points for each event on their times or distances achieved.

The year 5 /6 Competition was the closest ever in the 14 years of the  event.  John Rankin School came out as winners by just 1 point scoring 1559 over Falkland in second place 1558 who had won all previous competitions, with Francis Baily taking 3^rd spot with 1435 points.

The individual top 3 performances on the day for the boys saw Vinnie Bardsley from John Rankin School take overall with 248pts, Noah Lauder-Clarke from Francis Baily runner up 239 points and Louie Braidwood from Hungerford third with 232points.

The girls was so close only 1 point separating top 2 girls, it was Hallie Reed from Hermitage taking the win with 205pts from Emerald Hill-Sawyer from Hungerford 204 and Ella Cronk from Curridge 3^rd place 194.

The Best performances from each event on the track, the 75m Sprint for Girls Emerald Hill-Sawyer ended up fastest out of all boys and girls clocking 11.1, with the boys fastest Louie Braidwood 11.4, the 600m again Hill-Sawyer was the girls fastest 2.06 and the Boys Vinnie Bardsley from John Rankin clocking 2.00, the Field saw Falklands Alfie S. throw 36.70m in the Vortex and Nina Reid from John Rankin 28.90 for the Girls, the Standing Long Jump saw a massive jump from Olivia from Falkland School with 2.06 longest jump of the day recorded, and in the Boys Josh Brian from Parsons Down lept 2.01.

The year 3 / 4 saw Falkland crowned champions with 1392 points from Francis Baily in second 1287 and John Rankin taking third place 1258.

The individual placings in the Girls saw a superb all round performance from Falklands Ella Larkin score 178 points to win, Chloe L also from Falkland came 2^nd 166pts and third place went to a joint score of 165points from Emily Mussy Francis Baily and her team mate Ella McDonald.

In the Boys competition Malik Gaye scored a huge 206 points from Spurcroft School just ahead of Alex C from Falkland 204, and third place went to Harry B also from Falkland 185 points.

The Best Performances on the day for each event, saw Ella McDonald from Francis Baily  jumped the furthest of all year 3 /4s leaping 1.84m, Ella Larkin from Falkland claimed the fastest times in the 50m sprint 8.6 and 400m 1.18mins and Sophia Kocovska from John Rankin throwing 26.80 in the vortex, with the Boys Alex C from Falkand threw 28.30 in the Vortex, Aymans from Falkland lept 1.80 on the standing long jump, while the track events were both shared, the 50m Sam Atkins from Spurcroft and Alex C Falkland both clocking 8.3 and Alex C 1.18 and Malik Gaye Spurcroft clocking 1.18 in the 400m same time as the girls.

Team Kennet claimed 9 new COUNTY CHAMPIONS for this season in Berkshire, they were;

George Down was rewarded in the under 17s mens age group Long Jump with a massive personnel best of 6.48 and to break the club record, Eliska Simpson in the under 13 girls took two county titles, first in her Shot with a 7.32 and then last field event of the championships the Discus title with a throw of 21.43, in the same age group Zoe Dickson  was crowned champion in the Javelin with  a throw of 15.86 a personnel best.

William Mcdonald also threw a new personnel best in the under 13 Boys Javelin taking the title with a throw of 32.97, yet again in the Javelin this time in the under 15 girls Clare McGonnell won with a throw of 28.60. 

Ben East in the under 20 mens age group also took the Javelin title with a huge throw of 62.10 and to cap this the clubs Javelin Coach Luke Angell made sure he kept up with his Javelin throwers by being crowned Senior Mens Champions with a throw of 54.42.

Harry Booker just missed his club record to win the under 20 mens Discus with a throw of 37.80.

There were also a clutch of Silver Medals won, Oliver Ford in the under 20 mens Discus throwing 36.61 just behind his team mate, in the Under 17 mens age group Seb Simpson threw 33.42  for a new personnel best  to claim Silver, Amber Stiles equalled her best in the under 13 girls High Jump with a 1.30 for 2^nd place only on count back. Eve Brown took part in the under 17 womens Javelin to earn herself a Silver with 28.80, In the under 15 Boys Javelin James Fenner threw 37.60 for his Silver and yet again in the Javelin in the under 13 boys Noah Lauder-Clark threw 22.39 for 2^nd place. Zoe Dickson claimed Silver in her discus 17.33 a new p.b.

The Bronzes went to Josh Ladds again in the under 13 boys Javelin 16.39 to make a 1-2-3 for the 3 lads, Oliver Ford came 3^rd in the under 20 mens Shot 11.73 just 6cm short of the clubs record, Seb Simpson u17 came third in the Shot 9.87, Zoe Dickson made it a hattrick of medals in the Shot 5.43.

Harry Booker just missed out on a medal in the under 20 Shot coming 4^th place 10.93, Another 4^th came from Josh Ladds in the 75m hurdles he also came 7^th in the 75m final, Claire McGonnell came 2^nd in her u15 300m heat 44.83 for a new p.b. to later coming 4^th in the final 45.28, Ella Cronk came 5^th in the under 13 girls High Jump with a 1.10, Amber Stiles earned herself a p.b. in the u13 girls 600m 1.56.02for 6^th place  and Ella Cronk 7^th with 1.59.54 also a p.b.Ella also did the Long Jump coming 6^th wit ha leap of 3.32.

George Down came 2^nd in his 200m heat in 23.6 to make the final but pulled out. In the under 13 boys 1500m Elliot Murphy came 7^th in 5.00.76 just missing that 5min barrier.

Team Kennet were in action in their first Wessex League match of the Season at Swindon, in a thrilling match that saw a much depleted squad due to Easter Break come fourth place with adjusted Officials score moving them up to third place

The Match score on the day was

Swindon                              479

Waverley                            413.5

Slough                                 359.5

Team Kennet                     320

Portsmouth                        277

Dorchester                         76

The under 15 girls defending their own age group title from last year started of this season wit ha good 2^nd place, Claire McGonnell and Bethany Maclean teamed up in the Javelin for a Double victory McGonnell throwing a UK Grade 1 throw of 26.53. Zoe Allen added another win in the Shot with a 9.92m throw with Suki Humphreys taking 3^rd B 6.18, and in the Discus Two 2nd places came from Humphreys 20.37 and Maclean 15m. The High Jump saw another Double win from Neve Wright and Mia Wright both clearing 1.40m in the Long Jump Neve Wright came 3^rd A with 4.28 and Emelia Lunn taking 2^nd B 4.26

On the Track Allen came 3^rd in the 75 m hurdles 14.1, the 800m Maclean was 3^rd A with 2.42 and Leilah Gaye came in 2^nd in the B string 2.55. the 300m Allen had to settle for 4^th A 46.6 and a great run by McGonnell in the B string saw her come home wit ha win in 46.9, the shorter sprints in the 200m Lunn came 4^th A 29.9 and McGonnell 2^nd B 28.55 and the 100m both Lunn 14.9 and Gaye 15.7 came 4^th places, the 4 x 100m relay team came home in 2^nd place 56.0 which were Lunn, Allen, Maclean and McGonnell.

The Under 17 men also came 2^nd on the day most of the points were picked up in the Field events, George Down lept his way to 6.35cm in the long jump for a good win. Brandon Carter won his Javelin with a throw of 43.15, Seb Simpson won the Discus with a throw of 30.93, he came 2^nd in the A string Shot 10.34 by just a few centimeters and Carter winning the B string 8.27. Simpson came 2^nd B string in the Javelin, while in the High Jump another win came from Euan Avery with 1.63.

The 100m saw another Double win from George Down clocking 11.6 and Euan Avery 12.2 

The 4 x100m quartet of Down, Simpson, Avery and Carter came home in 2^nd place 51.4.

Elsewhere in the other age groups the under 13 boys took 3^rd place Harry Fenner taking a win in the Discus 17m with Ben Daley 2^nd B string, a superb Double win came in the Javelin Will McDonald 31.42 and Fenner 28.27, Fenner also 3^rd in the Long Jump 4.23 and Aiden Fleming winning the B string in 4.12.

On the track in the longer distance races 800m Fleming came 3^rd in 2.55.4 and Mcdonald came 4^th in B string 2.58.9, in the 1500m Noah Lauder-Clarke 4^th 5.31 and Frank Edwards 5.59 was also 4^th in his string. In the sprints again 4^thplaces came in the 100m Fleming and Lauder-Clarke, the 200m Joshua Ladds came 5^th A and Lauder-Clarke 4^th b.

The Relay Quartet Fleming, Fenner, McDonald and Ladds took 3^rd place in 60.8

The under 15 Boys were 5^th overall James Fenner winning the Javelin 39.49, William Appleby taking 3^rd in the Discus 17.16, on the track Fenner was best placed with 13.9 in the 100m B string taking 2^nd place, James Simmons also took place in the 100m and 200m clocking 13.7 and 29.1

The under 17 women came 5^th place Eve Brown just being pipped on the line in the 800m for 2^nd2.30.7 and Alanna Smith taking the B 800m in 2.55.4, both teamed up in the 300m Brown in 4^th47.3 and Smith 3^rd B 51.7 and again they teamed up in the Javelin Both coming 2^nd places Brown 29.79 and Smith 25.99. Kirsten Fraser threw the shot to gain 4^th place.

Team Kennet Quadkids were in action in their first Wessex League match of the season at Swindon on Sunday.

A young team turned out for this match with most of the athletes from the club in school year 4, they produced some great results and set up a good two years in front of them in the same age group.

On the day the main match score was

Swindon                             1621

Portsmouth                        1420

Team Kennet                    1243

Slough                                 1199

Waverley                            1087

Havant/SETAFA                 883

Dorchester                         773

On the day the boys section were 3^rd, with Malik Gaye finishing 10^th overall with 203pts, Maliks best event was the 600m clocking 2.02.7, also clocking 12.0 for his 75m, and a 3.08 for his long jump. Euan Jones scored 177 pts with his best event being 600m in 2.08.7 and throwing the Vortex 23.79m the best throw from a TK athlete on the day.

Harry Smith 2.10 and Luke Stiles 2.12 both ran well in the 600m, Stiles clocking a fast 12.4 in the 75m. Noah Horton also took part gaining good experience.

The Girls came 4^th overall with newcomer Quinn Joyce top TK scorer with 141pts, her best event was 600m clocking 2.22.6 and just ahead was Penelope Lyth clocking 2.22.1 in her 600m.  Both girls were very close in the 75m sprint Lyth edging it again 12.6 and Joyce 12.7, Joyce was the clubs best long jumper on the day leaping 2.78 just ahead of Isla Ladds 2.77, all the girls scoring good points till the vortex which needs some work on to score higher points.

Other girls taking part were Ella McDonald, Edith Evans and Grace Cooke all putting in fantastic performances.

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Team Kennets Emma Davies took part in the Portsmouth Goodwood Spring Duathlon on Sunday at Goodwood Race Circuit in the Tristar 3 age group for ages 13 and 14 year olds, Emma had a great Competition finishing in 2^nd place to kick Start her duathlon/triathlon season off.

Team Kennet had several athletes compete in the Bracknell open Meeting, the first of the outdoor season.

Seb Simpson in the under 17 mens age group took Gold in the Hammer with 36.32, he finished 2^nd in the Discus with 32.53 and also threw the Shot 9m for 4^th place.

William McDonald won his Javelin to earn a Gold medal with a throw of 28.14 for a new personal best in the u13 boys, in the under 13 girls Amber Stiles also struck gold in the high Jump clearing 1.25m.

In the under 15 girls Claire McGonnell took a bronze in the Javelin 29.61 clocking 2.42 in the 800m and 29.8 in the 200m.

Elsewhere Suki Humphreys took part in the Shot throwing 6.72, Joshua Ladds throwing u13 javelin 15.54, his sister Isla took part in the 75m 13.3 and 150m 26.7

The West Berkshire  & North Hampshire Primary Schools Cross Country got back in to action again at Newbury Showground after a 2 year gap due to Covid on Tuesday, Organized by Team Kennet Athletics over a New Course with all four races on the same route over 1.28miles.

The Event now in its 24th year saw 44 schools compete with 1211 finishers really amazing numbers after what has happened in past two years.

The first Race year 3 / 4 Girls saw 261 finishers, two runners battled it out till the last 200m where Ella Larkin finally broke her rival to take the win representing Falkland, Quinn Joyce (Fir Tree) came in just a few seconds behind for second and Maisie McCurtin from Falkland took third place, for the Team awards, Falkland took the team victory over Thorngrove and St. Nicolas in third.

Race 2 the year 3 / 4 Boys again saw another two way battle till last 300m, Alexander Crosse came out the strongest to win from Falkland, Ronny Bowsher from Thatcham Park took second and Malik Gaye from Spurcroft taking third place, the Teams it was Falkland again taking the win, with St. Nicolas second place and Springfield third team, 304 finishers in this race

Race 3 the Year  5 / 6 Girls saw 314 finishers, yet again another two way battle up front down to the last 100m that saw Erin-Rose Dunk  from Pangbourne just edging in front for the win, over Anna Hall from Falklnad and Sefahian Siabulu from Long Lane taking third place, The Team victory went to St. Gabriels, with Streatley taking second place and Thorngrove third.

Race 4 the Year 5 / 6 Boys saw the biggest field of 332 finishers, Aiden Fleming from Bucklebury started off with a lead that he never gave up to win by 100m, Beau Williams from St Nicolas taking second place and Jacob Nowak from Speenhamland third place, The Teams first place went to John Rankin School, with Falkland taking 2nd place and St. Nicolas third place.

The overall winning school went to St. Nicolas by a single point while retaining champions Falkland took runners up and Thorngrove taking third place and the first Hampshire Schools Trophy, fourth place went to John Rankin  and making up top 5 teams Francis Baily.

The small Schools Trophy went to Streatley and the Overall B team (second teams) went to Thorngrove.

There is now a League System set up of 3 Divisions, In Division 1 St. Nicolas School were crowned Champions with Falkland runners up and John Rankin Third, In League Division 2 Thorngrove won with St. Gabriels taking Second and Pangbourne third place will all get promoted to top Division. League Division 3 saw Long Lane take the win, The Winchcombe taking runners up and Hampstead Norreys third place all being promoted to Division 2

The 25th Annual Newbury Town Civic Awards presentation took place at Newbury Town Hall on Wednesday 16th March 2022. The awards presented included the Newbury Town Civic Award, the Newbury Town Young Person’s Civic Award, the Newbury Town Business Civic Award and the Newbury Town Environmental Contribution Award. The awards recognise the town’s unsung heroes who go above and beyond to help make an exceptional contribution to the Newbury community on a voluntary basis. 

The Mayor of Newbury, Cllr Billy Drummond, said “We received so many fantastic nominations for this year’s awards. All nominees showed dedication and commitment to their voluntary causes, and the variety of nominations show what a wonderful town we live in where people are willing to give their time and energy helping the community” 

For this years awards Team Kennet and Nick Bull each received a nomination. Team Kennet in the Business Civic Award category for providing children and adults access to exercise, promoting a safe and welcoming environment, following Covid restrictions. Nick Bull in the Newbury Town Civic Award category for Organising the yearly Primary School Cross Country competition for the past 20 years. 

Unfortunately TK and Nick didn’t win on this occasion however this is a fantastic achievement for both the club and Nick to be recognised. 

For more information on the awards please visit https://newbury.gov.uk/news/newbury-town-civic-award-2022-winners-announced/