A HOST of athletes from the region set new personal bests at the Bill Whistlecroft Spring Open, which was held over two days this Easter weekend at Yeovil.

The first day took place on Saturday, with day two on Monday.

The hurdles events were one of the highlights on day one.

City of Plymouth’s Adam Dingley broke his 100m hurdles PB with a 14.06 second run, which moved him up to third in the UK under-17 rankings. He also leaped 1.50m in the high jump.

Also in the sprint hurdles there was a new PB for Plymouth’s Leonie Dyer in the girls’ under-15 75m event with a 12.97 second run, while Henry Curtis clocked 15.24 second in the under-20 110m hurdles. Curtis also ran 11.52 seconds for the 100m flat and Dyer ran a PB of 14.06 seconds for the same event.

In the longer hurdles races, Poppy Northcott clocked a new PB to win the under-17 girls’ event over 300m. She clocked 45.44 seconds, which was a new City of Plymouth and Cornwall record. It also ranks her fourth in the UK. Club colleague Kate Gray was third in the same event, clocking 47.36 seconds, which puts her in the country’s top 10.

Toby Clayden enjoyed an encouraging run over the 400m hurdles, clocking 61.04 seconds. It was only the second time he has run that distance. The last time was two years ago when he ran 69.9 seconds.

Plymouth’s UK-leading under-17 discus thrower Nubia Evans-Shield had another solid outing throwing 38.85m, while Tavistock’s Edward Fileman moved third in the UK under-20 rankings with a season-opening mark of 47.48m.

On day two of the meeting on Monday, City of Plymouth pole vaulter Noah Jones finally achieved a 4.00m jump.  Jones beat everyone at Yeovil and moved into the UK top 20 in his first season at under-20 level.

There was also a PB for Ella Isaias in the under-20 women’s high jump. She leaped 1.65m to take victory. She also finished first in the long jump in her age category with 4.69m and threw 22.28m in the javelin.

City of Plymouth’s Jacob Lamboll produced an impressive run in the under-20 400m. He clocked a new PB of 49.69 seconds to move into the UK’s top 20. It was only the second time he had gone under the 50-second barrier.

In the sprint events, Plymouth’s Connell McCarthy clocked 11.54 seconds and 22.98 seconds in the under-20 100m and 200m, respectively. In the same age group and events, Jacob Michaelides ran 11.51 and 23.97 and Zachary Griffiths-Moreton 11.72 and 24.01.

In the under-17 100m, Tavistock’s Rory Summers ran 11.74 seconds, while Plymouth’s Andreas Isaias clocked 11.92 and Thomas Sanders 12.45. In the 200m, Isaias ran a PB of 23.76 seconds and Sanders ran 25.07.

Meanwhile, City of Plymouth’s Poppy Tank was back in the UK competing at the weekend. She ran in Comeback 5,000 at Battersea Park, where she came eighth in a strong women’s race in 16:33.25.