On what was a quieter weekend of local club athletics action for Herne Hill Harriers, the number one Under 17 women’s long jumper from the 2017 UK rankings Ore Adamson leapt into 2018 with an emphatic win at the London Under 13/Under 15/Under 17 Games indoors at Lee Valley on Saturday. With a best jump of her series that was almost 50cm further than her nearest rival, Adamson secured a clear victory that moves her to equal third in the country in her Under 17 age group for this year to date.
Another Herne Hill athlete competing in a field event was Under 17 Memphis Ayoade, who high jumped 1.75m and also took to the track to finish third in a 200m heat in a PB 23.82. Also on the track a race winner at this meeting representing Harriers was Morgan Lewis, who triumphed in his Under 17 men’s 60m heat, clocking 7.42, while in one of the Under 17 women’s 60m races Monae Winston placed fifth and Chira Hussey sixth in times of 7.91 and 7.98 respectively.
Dante Clarke was second in one of the Under 13 boys races in 8.15 and also emulated this position in another race with 8.17. Sapphire Haley placed second in an Under 13 girls 60m race in 8.36, while over 200m Noah Ojumo placed third in his heat in 24.06.
Clarke had a busy weekend following up his Saturday 60m races with a 200m win in 26.99 on Sunday, with Dwayne Francis winning another Under 13 boys 200m in 28.04. Makarios Mensah placed second in a heat of the Under 15 girls 200m in 28.17. Michaela Mensah was fifth in one of the Under 17 women’s 300m races in 51.45 and Dwayne Francis was the winner of a 60m hurdles race for Under 13 boys in a time of 10.23.
Outdoors some Harriers athletes were in action at the Surrey Schools Cross Country Championship at Reigate. Olivia Stillman placed a good sixth in the Senior Girls race, with Annabel Hobday finishing nineteenth in the same race. Charlie Krammer placed eighteenth in the Intermediate Boys race.
Older athletes were also racing over the weekend and results included a M55 gold medal for Gary Ironmonger at the Veterans AC club cross country championship on Wimbledon Common, where Andrew Simms placed second M50, Dan Hallam third M40 and Mary Setyabule third W50.
Elsewhere there were parkrun wins for Nick Bester 16.46 (PB) in Burgess Park and Tony Macdowall 17.21 in Barking and a road race win for Alex Hobley 34.34 in the Victoria Park 10k. Stacey Ward was second woman over 10 miles on the road in the Fred Hughes 10 in St Albans, while other notable parkrunners were John Foxall was ninth in Brockwell Park in 18.33, Jack Dickenson third in the Wimbledon parkrun in 18.46 and James Ward ran 18.47 in Dulwich. Only a few seconds behind Ward was the first female finisher at Dulwich, Herne Hill’s star Under 13 girl Phoebe Bowen in a very impressive time of 18.54.
Geoff Jerwood