CITY of Plymouth youngster Jed Hutchings is edging ever closer to breaking the four-minute barrier for the 1,500m.
Hutchings, who is the UK’s top 10 at U17 level for the 3,000m, ran a 4:01.95 personal best for the metric mile at the BMC PB Classic in Street on Saturday.
He has knocked nearly nine seconds of his 1,500m time this season alone and is ranked in the UK’s top 20 now.
He was pushed by his older club team-mates Ben and Jacob Harrison at Street. Both of them, who compete at U20 level, also claimed new PBs. Ben ran 4:01.67, while Jacob clocked 4:02.42.
There was also a 1,500m PB at Street for under-15 athlete Barnaby Hutchings, who clocked 4:46.01, while City of Plymouth team-mate Holly Reid ran 4:55.41.
Also at Street, Tavistock’s Emma Ryder ran a season’s best 800m time of 2:16.26 to finish second.
Ryder had a busy weekend as on the Sunday she competed for the Armada team at the opening South West Athletics League event at Exeter and impressed in the 400m and 1,500m.
She ran the 400m first and clocked 61.77 seconds to finish second before destroying the women’s 1,500m field to win in a new PB time of 4:42.74. Club colleague Nikki Kelly was third senior woman in that event in 5:02.77.
Lewis Cotterill, running for Armada on a break from his studies in America, won the men’s 1,500m at Exeter in 4:14.37, with Dan Newman second in 4:19.76. Cotterill had also ran the 400m, finishing third in 52.08, with Armada team-mate Christopher Richardson second in 51.25.
There were also big 1,500m PBs for under-15 athletes Isaac Lamerton (4:42.85), Isabella Trowell (5:12.05) and Florence Riggott (5:18.15).
There was also another PB for Nicolas Maczugowski in the under-17 400m. He clocked 51.87 seconds, which moves him into the UK’s top 40 for that event.
Jacob Lamboll, who is ranked in the UK’s top 10 at 400m at U20 level with 48.7, ran another sub-50 second lap at Exeter to take victory for the Armada team in 49.51. He then ran a PB in the 100m of 11.27 seconds to take second place behind Cornwall AC’s Micho Tao, who clocked 11.14.
Fellow U20 Plymouth sprinter Connell McCarthy ran in the men’s 100m and clocked 11.66 seconds to take third with the same time as the second athlete. Brook Adnitt was just behind in 11.76.
Plymouth’s Mali Heard moved into the UK’s top 20 for the 300m at U17 level with a 41.08 second run at Exeter.
Henry Curtis ran a season’s best time of 14.93 seconds to win the men’s/U20 110m hurdles, which moves him up the UK rankings.
Ella Isaias won the U20/senior women’s high jump with 1.60m. She also picked up valuable points in the 100m hurdles with a 16.66 second run and in the triple jump with a leap of 9.72m.
Nell Maguire just missed out on a win in the U13 high jump on count-back with a PB leap of 1.30m.
Team-mate Owen Fileman won the U15 hammer with a throw of 27.96m, while Noah Jones triumphed in the men’s/U20 pole vault with 3.80m.
Olivia Divall took victory in the U13 girls’ 70m hurdles with 12.98 seconds, while Samuel Gibbs took second in the U13 high jump with 1.35m and came second in the shot with 6.92m.
Meanwhile, the third Armada 5k Summer Series run of the season takes place tonight at Saltram House (7pm). More information can be found HERE.
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