THE FUTURE looks bright for Rugby & Northampton Athletics Club (R&N) after its young stars claimed 11 medals at the Midland Championships in Birmingham.
Kiona McLennon led the charge in the Alexander Stadium by winning two medals in the field.
McLennon first picked up gold in the under-17 shot put by throwing 12m 69cm before launching the discuss 32.72m to claim second place.
It was the same result for Oli Lambert who triumphed in the 80-metre hurdles, pipping his nearest rival to victory by one hundredth of a second in a thrilling race, before grabbing a personal-best time of 23.28 to seal silver in the 200m.
That effort was one of a number PBs in an impressive showing from the club, with Evie Harris-Jenkins setting her new record distance in the U17 javelin. A huge throw of 41.75 earned Harris-Jenkins the silver medal, a distance only beaten by the UK number one.
There were two more silvers in the age group for the girls, with Milan Clues’ time of of 50.16 a new PB on her way to a medal in the 300m hurdles, while Lily Carmichael also took second place on the podium in the 1,500m steeplechase, racing around in 5:57.86.
Josh Faulds’ good form continued in the male U17 section after he earned silver in the 400m hurdles with a PB of 58.10.
For the under-15 girls, two young athletes picked up bronze medals over varying distances on the track.
Katie Print took third place in the 100m-sprint with a fine effort of 12.95, while her club-mate Amy Walker excelled in the 1500m by crossing the line in 4:56.46.
Bronze was the colour for Joe Musgrove too, courtesy of a 2:06.44 in the U15 800m event, while club-mate Adam Searle secured a respectable fifth place in the 3000m with a PB of 9:37.68.
Fellow under-15 athletes Lucy Laight and Iola Grant also put in strong performances, with Grant continuing her recent progress by setting a PB in the long jump with a leap of 4.42 and Laight’s time of 27.27 earned her fifth place in the 200m.
Running alongside the Championships was a quad event, where under-13 athletes compete in the 100m, shot put, long jump and high jump.
The Watford twins excelled in the event, with Ella and Millie finishing in third and fourth place overall, and Millie set a PB when taking first place in the high jump, leaping 1.41m for victory.
