NUBIA Evans-Shields, Phoebe Milburn, Nicolas Maczugowski and Alice Oldman all broke championship records as they won Devon Schools’ titles at Exeter on Saturday.
Double English Schools’ champion and UK under-17 number one Evans-Shields (Plymouth College) broke the intermediate girls’ discus record that had stood for 25 years with a throw of 43.90m. That broke the old record by more than four metres.
Tavistock College’s Milburn broke her own intermediate girls’ hammer record by more than three metres with a throw of 52.78m. Mount Kelly’s Louisa Hess took second with a PB throw of 47.29m, with their Tavistock AC club colleague Ella Patterson also claiming a PB to take third with 42.90m. Milburn also claimed a bronze in the shot with 9.15m.
Maczugowski (Tavistock College) broke the championship record in the intermediate boys’ 400m hurdles with a PB run of 54.44 seconds. That broke the previous record that had stood since 2007 by more than two seconds and has moved him up to second in the UK rankings. He also won the 400m flat in 50.46 seconds, with Mount Kelly’s Rory Summers taking second in 51.12 seconds.
Ivybridge Community College’s Oldman broke the junior girls’ 300m record with a run of 44.02 seconds. Devonport High’s Leonie Dyer was second in that race, but did win the 75m hurdles in 12.35 seconds.
Other athletes to break track records on the day were Great Britain middle distance star Innes FitzGerald, Josh Taylor and Eden Robinson.
FitzGerald smashed the oldest female track record with a 4:20.14 minute run to win the senior girls’ 1,500m. The previous record was 4:29.1 and had stood since 1975.
Taylor broke the intermediate boys’ 100m hurdles record with a 13.18 second run, while Robinson rewrote the intermediate girls’ 200m record with a 25.48 second run. Evie Lacey was third in that 200m race in 28.15 seconds.
One of the highlights of Saturday’s championship was the clash between Tavistock College’s Joe Wake and Coombe Dean’s David Oldfield in the junior boys’ 100m and 200m events.
Wake ended up with two gold medals but only by the smallest of margins.
He won the 100m final in 11.71 seconds, having run 11.70 in the heats, with Oldfield second in 11.86 (11.84 in the heats), while they both clocked exactly the same time in the 200m final of 23.95 seconds, with Wake just getting the nod on the photo-finish. Fellow Plymouth & West Devon athlete Frankie Maund was third in the 200m.
There were two sprint gold medals also for Tao Cabarga in the minor boys’ 100m and 200m, while Tavistock College’s Thomas Hennessey broke his personal best to win the minor boys’ 800m in 2:14.54, which moves him up to third in the UK under-13 rankings. He won by nine seconds.
In the minor girls’ 800m, Zoe Bigham and Elsie Goodspeed were separated by just 0.04 of a seconds as they finished second and third.
Tavistock College’s Evie Palmer impressed in the junior girls’ category. She won the javelin with a PB throw of 32.77m, which ranks her in the UK’s top 10 at under-15 level. She also came third in the 100m with 13.31 seconds.
School colleague Orla White won the junior girls’ discus with 25.70m, with team-mate Tegan Brown third. Brown, though, did easily win the hammer with 41.33m, with Devonport High’s Hazel Stead second with 35.50m. Nell Maguire took bronze in the high jump in that age group.
Mount Kelly’s Caleb Gifford-Groves produced a PB run of 2:10.33 to win the junior boys’ 800m, while Tavistock College’s Josh Allott triumphed in the junior boys’ 80m hurdles and came second in the high jump (1.64m). Team-mate Coel Hickman took top honours in that age group’s hammer with 24.89m, with George Brown second. Alex Whittacker was second in the triple jump (10.81m) and Luke Hayes came third in the junior boys’ 1,500m with a 4:32.40 run.
Verity Tank produced a good run in the intermediate girls’ 1,500m steeplechase to win a PB time of 5:40.01 in only her second outing at the event. Bella May took silver in 5.53.70.
In the intermediate girls’ 3,000m, Molly Gilbey took victory in 11:36.02 and Tavistock’s Katelyn Milburn secured gold in triple jump with 9.80m and Elsie Maguire triumphed in the javelin with 22.17m. Tara Green was third in that age group’s 80m hurdles and Sophie Benn also took bronze in the 800m.
Tavistock’s Owen Fileman claimed two golds in the intermediate boys’ age group. He won the discus with a PB effort of 34.29m and the hammer with 37.30m.
Coombe Dean’s Josh Nichols won the intermediate boys’ 100m in 11.59 seconds and he was second in the 200m in 23.47. Mount Kelly’s Josh Bratt topped the podium in that age group’s shot with 9.78m. Ethan Mason was third.
Devonport High’s Gregor Norster was a dominant winner of the senior boys’ 800m in 1:58.13, while Ivybridge’s Matthew Gilvear took victory in the 1,500m in 4:23.10.
Plymstock School’s Thomas Elliott claimed gold in the senior boys’ 400m in 51.04 seconds, while Noah Jones won the pole vault, Andrea Isaias was second in both the 100m (11.82) and 200m (23.44) and Josh Michaelides was third in the 100m (11.92).
In the senior girls’ category, Tavistock’s Hannah Walker won the hammer with a throw of 31.85m and came second in the shot, while Devonport High’s Ella Isaias triumphed in the high jump (1.60m). Devonport’s Mali Heard and Mount Kelly’s Annabelle Hess came second and third in the senior girls’ 400m in 1:01.30 and 1:01.93, respectively.
On the same day, the Cornwall Schools’ Track & Field Championships took place at Par.
City of Plymouth’s Connell McCarthy won both the senior boys’ 100m and 200m in 11.2 and 22.6 seconds respectively. Tavistock AC’s James Wheeler was second in the 100m in 11.3 and Joe Wheeler won the 400m in 52.0 seconds.
Torpoint’s Kate Gray triumphed in the senior girls’ 400m hurdles, while school colleagues Josh Bloxham, Maddie Turley and Saskia Brisley also won medals. Bloxham claimed the junior boys’ 800m title in 2:13.0, Turley picked up gold in the intermediate girls’ javelin (23.59m) and Brisley secured silver in the junior girls’ javelin (23.61m).
Saltash’s Holly Reid won the intermediate girls’ 1,500m in 4:53.2, with Abbie Chapman third. Another Saltash athlete Jacob Robinson won bronze in the intermediate boys’ 1,500m (4:33.5).
In the junior girls’ category, Charlotte Doney took top honours in the discus with a PB throw of 30.66m, which puts her in the UK’s top six at under-15 level. She also came second in the 200m (27.4m). Isabelle Doney won gold in the 300m (46.1) and was second in the discus.
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