RUGBY & Northampton competed with the country’s best club athletes at the Youth Development League Upper Age National Finals in Bedford on Sunday where they achieved an outstanding medal tally of 28, including ten golds.
There was a pair of dominant 100 metre displays as R&N’s under-20 Men won the double at Bedford’s International Athletic Stadium.
Rico Ewer produced a personal best time of 10.52 seconds to win the 100m and Caleb Downes completed the set with a B-string 100m victory in a season’s best 10.72 seconds.
Theo Walkley-Bartlett took a 400m hurdles silver medal with a personal best 60.80 seconds, before setting two more PBs in the 110m hurdles (15.08) and pole vault (3.05m), despite missing out on a place in the top three.
Joining Walkley-Bartlett with silver medals was Zachary Stapleton (22.09) in the 200m and 400m runner Jack Hocking (50.18), while Jack Bond (9:04.04) achieved a bronze in the 3000m race.
Three medals and four personal bests were set in the U20 field events. Alex Hamling (13.01m, PB) completed the shot put in second place and, over in the B-string shot put, Josh Arimoro (12.13m, PB) won a silver while also setting a PB in the discus throw (39.21m) on his way to a fourth-placed finish.
Jason Dankyi (1.75m) set a new personal best in the high jump but was unable to break into the top three, but he did leave with a bronze medal after a strong triple jump (12.09m) performance.
The track was the scene for most of the club’s U17 Men’s success with a pair of gold medals being won over the hurdles. Joshua Faulds (57.52) beat his 400m-hurdles competitors to take top spot while Jay O’Leary (13.95) won the B-string 100m hurdles.
Sprinter Franklin Fenning (11.02) set a PB en route to silver in the 100m race and a powerful run by Aidan Leeson (22.34) secured a second-place finish in the 200m. Adam Searle’s time of 4:21.16 over the 1500m saw him earn bronze, which was the medal Sam Owusu won in the triple jump, thanks to a leap of 12.53m.
A strong throwing display was the highlight of the U20 Women’s team. The two shot put events were dominated by R&N athletes Kiona McLennon (11.81m) and Rhoda Woller (9.95m) as the pair won the A and B-string events, respectively.
The B-string javelin event was won by Tia Clues (27.02m) with a personal best throw, while Evie Harris-Jenkins (37.82m) finished second in the A-string. Harris-Jenkins (25.05m) went on to take bronze in the B-string hammer throw.
Eleanor Broome continued her outstanding form with a leap of 6.15m to win the long jump gold. Broome also achieved a bronze in the 100m (12.46); Emma Bond matched the feat with a personal best time of 10:35.2 in the 3000m and, in the U17 1500m, Amy Walker (5:28.76) also crossed the line in third.
R&N also shone in the relay races with the U20 Men’s 4×400 setting a new club record. The quartet crossed the line in 3:21.60 to win the race, while the U17 Men’s 4×100 (44.18) also took to the podium in top spot. The U20 Men’s (43.67) and Women’s (50.54) 4×100 achieved a silver and bronze medal, respectively.
