Sportshall Match Report – Sunday 19th February
Published: 24 February 2017
Match 4 of the Sportshall series took place at Witney Leisure Centre on Sunday 19th February 2017. It was a pleasure to see all our athletes arrive on time which really brought down Denise’s blood pressure!
The U11 girls had a blistering start in the Obstacle Relay however after touching the backboard we then forgot to touch the back of the next athlete so the delay resulted in us losing our first place spot and the gap was just too wide to close. Annie Jonkers came away with a very creditable performance in the 3 lap coming joint second with a time of 42.20. The standout girl of the match was Charlotte Ashby who showed immense determination in the ‘B’ team relay pulling back 3 positions to take the first spot from Bicester right on the line. It was a truly amazing effort and a prime example of not giving up; she fought hard right to the very end. The overall performance of the whole team was really encouraging and positive.
There were a few new U11 boys competing: Francis Garcia-Shapley and G Lyayl who showed great courage and just got stuck in. The combined efforts of the two relay teams banked the team a well-deserved 6 points. Gospel Kanu produced an amazing standing long jump, a whopping 2m 38, exceeding the efforts of all other athletes across all age groups.
Rasool Aminu was the sole U13 boy competing which was very disappointing. So for him it was all about personal development and preparation for the outdoor season. Jack Judson was also the sole U15 athlete and competed in the 2 lap, long jump and shot banking himself 58 points out of a possible 60.
The U13 girls are currently the closet contenders for a possible medal. Sharon Kanu gave us an entertaining display in the Obstacle Relay with a very unique demonstration of the high stepper; I’m still convinced you missed some out…. There was a three way tie for the quickest 2 lap at 25.7 for Imigen Bowen. Imigen Bowen and Olivia Barton continued their dominance in both the four lap and paarlauf and it is hoped that further endurance training will equip them to challenge for one of the indoor records next season. The quartet of Olivia Jones, Sophie Hector, Lily Peach and Sharon Kanu are to be commended for their relay. Lily took her lead from Charlotte Ashby and really dug deep to pull back a couple of places before handing over to Sharon – a fantastic end to the day.
The final match of the season will be hosted by Oxford City and held at The Park, Wheatley on Sunday 12th March. All offers of assistance will be gratefully appreciated. Athletes please confirm your attendance and for those of you who have been reading the match reports but have not taken part and would like to do so, please give your name to Denise Shorter, Team Manager, sooner rather than later.
