Stratford AC's Charlotte impresses the selectors
FIVE Stratford AC junior athletes were involved in the Leicestershire and Rutland County and Open Combined Events Championships.
With the Gloucestershire Schools team yet to be selected for the Combined Event Regional finals, Charlotte Gravelsons had one last chance to impress the selectors and made the most of the opportunity.
Gravelsons gained three personal bests on the day, 75m hurdles (15.33s), long jump (3.88m) and the 800m (2.40.60) as well as showing solid form in the shot put (6.37m) and the high jump (1.29m), to give a PB total score of 1,917 poiubts finishing in eighth place overall, putting her 90 in the UK for the U15 girls' pentathlon.
Shortly after the event, Gravelsons was told that she had been selected to represent Gloucestershire Schools in the South West Regional Final held in Yeovil later this month.
Maddie Clark, who had already been selected to represent Warwickshire Schools in the under-15 girls’ pentathlon in the Midlands Regional Final to be held in Milton Keynes, used the day for competition practice and showed that she is currently in good form with two personal bests in the 75m hurdles (13.38s) and long jump (4.33m).
She also secured a season’s best in the high jump (1.35m) and produced a good performance in the shot put (8.52m).
After four events, Clark had scored 1,811 points and looked set for a score well over 2,000.
However, due to injury, Clark did not start the 800m and if not all events are at least started in the pentathlon then no finish, and hence no points total, is recorded overall.
After a sparkling, multi-point winning, performance in the Heart of England league the day before, Freddie Clemons showed he has great stamina to complete another full day of athletics in great style, finishing in second place overall in the under-13 boys’ pentathlon with a total score of 1,684 points.
This was also the second best performance in the UK so far in 2017. Freddie picked up two personal bests in the high jump (1.44m) and long jump (4.58m) and put these together with good performances in the 75m hurdles (13.73s), shot put (7.19m) and 800m (2:33.9).
Both Harry Gravelsons and Eleanor Clark are still developing their pentathlons and both showed steady progress in the U15 boys’ and U13 girls’ events respectively.
Harry Gravelsons was suffering with a cold that tempered his performance and he completed the 80m hurdles in 19.8s and the 800m in 3.00.11s, achieving 1.23m in the high jump, 3.55m in the long jump and 4.76m in the shot put for an overall score of 681 points, finishing in ninth place.
Eleanor Clark was full of bubbling positivity as she achieved two personal bests in the 70m hurdles (15.88m) and 800m (3:22.37s), a season’s best 3.06m in the long jump as well as 1.05m in the high jump and 4.43m in the shot put for a combined total of 924 points for ninth overall.
