WINDSOR, Slough, Eton & Hounslow (WSEH) Athletics Club finished as runners-up in the opening match of the Under-13/15 Youth Development League at Walton on Saturday.

WSEH

recorded a total of 526 points to finish behind match winners Team Dorset (598) with Bournemouth & New Forest (416) in third position.

The strong wind in the finishing straight pushed many of the sprinters to personal best times.

The U15 boys 100m saw a winning double from Basil Tuma in 11.5 seconds (secs) and Nick Mannke (12.6secs). There was another

WSEH

victory in the U13 boys from Rashaad Derby in 13.1secs.

The best of the girls came in the U15 race where Liana Williams was second in 13.0secs.

Success continued in the 200m where Mannke (25.6secs) and Adrian Nuhu (25.9secs) both claimed second place finishes. Derby continued his run of form in the U13 race in 27.4secs for second place.

The distance runners were in dominant mood. Luke Birdseye produced perhaps the most impressive performance with his win in the U15 800m in two minutes and 15.5 seconds (2:15.5).

There was top points in the U15 boys race with wins for Nathan Rollins (2:26.8) and Zavier Zinman (2:37.6).

Not to be outdone, the WSEH girls were also prominent. Summer Chapman won the U13 event in 2:31.9, while Daya Baga took second in the U15 race in 2:33.6.

The 1,500m races again saw the WSEH distance athletes leading the way with maximum points in the U15 girls courtesy of Natalie Camp (4:54.7) and Jessica Hatch (5:16.5).

The U13 boys repeated the feat with wins from Ben Dewar (4:57.6) and Marcus Hibbins (5:10.0).

The 1,200m event produced further wins for the U13 girls via Annabel Bailey (4:13.9) and Amy Cooper (4:18.6).

The field events realised more valuable points for the local club. The hammer provided a victory in the U15 age group for Chris Williams (35.94m).

More points accrued in the U15 girls with second place for Abi Woodford (24.06m). Lucy McCourt won the B string with 23.95m.

Finlay Moore was on top of his game with victories in the U15 javelin (42.76m), this discus (28.36m) and the B string hammer (28.05m). He was supported in the discus by Nafay Khan, who won the B string with 23.74m.

Woodford was back in action in the discus, placing second with 19.74m.

The shot event continued to pile on the points. Chanel Lovelock won the U15 girls event with 8.83m and Nina Balut placed second on 7.88m. Williams made a succesful return to the circle with his second victory of the day with 8.02m.

Lovelock added to her points tally with second in the long jump on 4.49m. Tuma turned his speed to good effect by winning the U15 boys event with a leap of 5.00m, with Demari Gumbs in second spot on 4.23m.

More good results came in the U13 boys event with second place finishes for Derby (4.20m) and Xavier Williams (4.01m).

The best of the high jumps came in the U15 boys where Oliver Lewis was the unexpected winner on 1.45m.

The relays were the last events of the day and saw more points added to the WSEH tally. The U13 boys 4x100m team of Derby, Evan Hardy, Williams and Ben Dewar sped to a win in 56.8secs.

The final event, the U15 4x300m relay, ended on a high for WSEH with another victory in 2:15.6 via the input of Adam Sfendla, Toby Spencer, Birdseye and Aman Marwaha.

This weekend is a busy one for the club with an Alder Valley Boys League match switched to Eton from Bracknell on Saturday. WSEH travels to Reading for the opening match in the Under 17/20 Youth Development League on Sunday. Both matches start at 11am.