County team make fine progress - The Redditch Standard

County team make fine progress

Redditch Editorial 20th Jun, 2019 Updated: 20th Jun, 2019   0

HEREFORD & WORCESTER Schools’ Athletics Association athletes enjoyed a very successful day at this year’s Mason Trophy competition.

The Inter-County Schools’ Track & Field Athletics event is always fiercely contested and Saturday’s 2019 version at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham was no different.

Athletes were selected to represent their county, based on their performances in recent competitions, in particular the H&W Schools County T&F Championships the previous Saturday.

Nine other counties were competing – Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Shropshire.




The Hereford and Worcester team finished a position higher this year, in fourth with 366 points, which was an excellent achievement. Greater Manchester were overall winners with 403 points.

For some athletes, it is a chance to achieve/repeat an English Schools’ Entry Standard (ES) ahead of the forthcoming selection for who will represent H&W at the National Schools’ Championships which also take place in Birmingham in July.


H&W athletes gained 20 medals – three gold, ten silver and seven bronze – with another five close to a podium finish in fourth place.

The intermediate boys (school years 10 and 11) were the most successful age group, achieving 102 points. Josh Leonisio from Bromsgrove School won two silvers in the discus and hammer competitions.

Matt Burke, also from Bromsgrove School, joined him on the podium in the hammer after finishing third to add to his silver from last year.

Luke Richardson set a personal best in finishing second in the 800m and Matt Griffin came third in the 100m hurdles. Both are pupils at RSA Academy Arrow Vale in Redditch.

Another bronze, with an ES, went to Ben Brinsdon (Heathfield Knoll School, Wolverley) in the 400m. Brinsdon and Griffin were part of a very successful 4x100m relay team which came third with an ES time alongside Callum Brassington-Meehan (Pershore High School) and Sam Jones (North Bromsgrove High).

George Harrhy from John Kyrle High, Ross-on-Wye, finished fourth in the 400m hurdles and sixth in the high hump.

The intermediate girls team gained 93 points, with Lily Saxon (South Bromsgrove High) contributing ten by winning the 800m title with a personal best time.

Lily Fennessy from St Mary’s HS, Hereford, achieved silver in the javelin and also threw the discus, Nikita Gotthardt-Mills (St Augustine’s High, Redditch) took bronze in the 200m and Jorja Hope (King Charles High, Kidderminster) was sixth in the same event.

Another bronze went to Amber Dunkley-Darby from Woodrush High in Wythall and Gotthardt-Mills also ran the 100m and featured in the relay team alongside Hope, Dunkley-Darby and Millie Clemson (Prince Henry’s High, Evesham) which placed fourth.

An ES was achieved by Felicitas Zahlbruckner, from Bromsgrove School, who jumped 5.43m to finish fifth in the Long jump.

The junior boys hammer competition was dominated by two Hereford & Worcester athletes. Dylan Menhennet (John Kyrle HS, Ross-on-Wye) and Adam Rutter (King’s School, Worcester) claimed gold and silver respectively with ES throws (54.33m and 45.11m), way ahead of the rest of the field.

In the triple jump, Dan Vassell from Bromsgrove School finished second and in the shot, another Bromsgrove School athlete, Zach Armstrong, was third.

Oliver Blunt (Royal Grammar, Worcester) placed sixth in the shot and in the 80m hurdles it was fourth and sixth for Bromsgrove School’s Louis Upton and Billy McDonough, whilst fourth place went to Karnell Nunes-Smith from Hagley RCHS.

In the junior girls team, Charlotte Colbert gained two ESs and two medals in winning the javelin and placing second in the hammer. Colbert is a pupil at St Mary’s HS in Hereford.

Another ES was achieved by Poppy Elton (Malvern St James) who was second in the 800m and the relay team of Abigail Rickard and Erin Lomax (both Hagley RCHS), Izzy Thompson (Royal Grammar School, Worcester) and Eva Tyler (Hereford Whitecross) capped off a fine day with another ES, placing fifth. Tyler was also fourth in the 200m.

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