Fylde coast junior athletes get season off to a fast start

Although not as many were in attendance compared with the Blackpool Open a few weeks ago, there were still 35 BWFAC members competing.

In the sprints, the best performance was posted by Under-15 runner Mary-Jayne Broomhead, who was second (13.2s) in the 100m and won the 200m in 27.4s.

In the male category, James Nicholas, whose principle event is normally the 400m, concentrated on the shorter sprints by finishing third in the 100m (12.2s) and second in the 200m (24.1s).

Under-17 runner Jake Dudley’s first official 800m ended with him winning in 2:04.9 with James Smith (2:14) in fifth.

Dudley also tackled the 3,000m, finishing second with 9:39.4.

Another Under-17 runner, Jack Tickle, started his track and field season with a PB of 4:40.0 giving him second place in the 1,500m.

His sister, Lucy, was also second in the Under-15 girls’ 800m in 2:36.4.

In the field events, Scott Sinclair posted three impressive performances, starting with a win in the Under-15 boys’ long jump with a PB of 5.16m, before posting a PB of 14.9s for the 80m hurdles and equalling his high jump PB with 1.60m for third place.

The Under-15 girls’ events saw Leah Howard second in the long jump (4.62m) and the high jump (1.40m) as well as third in the 75m hurdles (13.2s).

Natalia Luczak was also third in the long jump (4.45m), while the Under-13 boys’ long jump saw Thomas Wilkinson second with a PB of 4.42m.

As for the throwing events, Natasha Webster (30.93m) was fourth in the Under-17 javelin, Kacie Calvert (21.16m) third in the Under-15s’ section, Charlotte Jones (27.60m) second in the Under-15s’ hammer and Kieron Howard second in both the Under-13s’ shot put (7.64m) and discus (18.47m).

Away from the track three Under-17 men made a significant contribution as the BWFAC open team finished third in the first Inter Club race of the season at Stanley Park.

The two-lap, four-mile race featured Jake Dudley (13th, 22:41), Danny Fletcher (18th, 23:04) and Jack Tickle (28th, 23:35).

Jess Rogers finished as the first junior lady and second female and was instrumental in helping the BWFAC ladies team to first team place.

Holly Tickle (23:51) achieved a 41-second PB at the 5K Blackpool parkrun, while Aimee Harling ran 10:10 in the 2K Park View junior parkrun.

Lytham St Annes Road Runners Club juniors were also in action at Witton Park with seven athletes taking part across 14 events.

Under-13 girl Amara Thorpe was the first to fly the flag for Lytham, finishing third in her 100m heat in a time of 15.9s.

She went on to compete in the 200m, finishing in 33.8s, and long jumped to 2.88m.

All-rounder Sophie Bohannon, in her second season on the track for Lytham, ran in a very competitive 800m for the Under-13 girls.

She finished strongly to take second place in a PB of 2:34.7.

Under-15 girl Brogane Murphy, who is in her first season with Lytham, ran well in the 1,500m to claim fourth place in division two with 5:47.8.

She also competed in the long jump with a best distance of 3.24m.

Next to toe the line for Lytham was Under-13 boy Frankie Ball in the 800m.

Not only was it his track debut for Lytham but it was also his first track race.

Despite his inexperience, he ran an excellent race by taking the lead after the initial mad dash.

He was never in danger of being caught, finishing first in 2:38.4.

Ball also ran an excellent 200m, finishing third in the fastest heat in a very credible time of 29.2s.

Also making his debut for Lytham on the track was another Under-13 boy, Morgan Pritchard.

He chose the 1,500m for his first track race, putting in an excellent sprint finish to record a time of 5:33.4 for second place in division two.

He also ran the 200m, finishing third in his heat and fourth in division two in a time of 33.1s.

In her second season on the track, Laura Bremner ran in the 1,500m where she finished second in division two in a time of 5:57.1s.

Under 13 girl Rebecca Fisher continued to impress by taking second place in her 70m hurdles heat with a PB of 13.7s.

She also took part in the high jump, taking top spot in division two with a height of 1.2m.