This was another very successful season for the athletics teams. The school teams were undefeated on Thursday matches, winning three out of four Saturday fixtures (coming second in the other match.) The Senior team were again our most successful year group in the Saturday matches, defeating all teams apart from Oakham - continuing their record from previous years.
The Senior team had an excellent season under the captaincy of Dan Strang. There were many fine performances with Alex Lambert’s new School Record in the 1500m being a major highlight. On the track we were normally able to score maximum points in the hurdles with Christian Grauers being ably supported. In the 100m James Lishman and Christian Grauers were often 1st and 2nd with Christian just shading the total number of victories. However, James was unbeaten in the 200m. Chris Evans competed very effectively in the 400m along with Dan Strang, who managed to run the fastest time and nearly equaled the school record. Dan was unbeaten in the 800m and with help from Alex Lambert and Tom Shanahan, we were able to score maximum points in most competitions. In the 1500m Alex dominated and was also undefeated. With John Whitehouse, we accrued maximum points from this event.
In the field Rob Whitehouse and Tom Arnold proved to be very competitive in the long and triple jumps although we did miss Simon Bright for most of the matches due to injury. Ed Houghton and Tom Shanahan supported Rob in the high jump. Christian Grauers and Tom Shanahan often gained maximum points in the javelin with both always throwing over 40 metres. Matt Keylock and Chris Evans were effective competitors in the shot and discus.
The U17’s had a successful season. On the track Tom Chalkley regularly won the 100m and 200m and was ably supported by Chris Rosin and Tom Bradshaw. Tom was also very successful in the hurdles along with Jo Hone. Chris Rosin and Jon Proud competed well in the 400m. Drew Masters, Jo Hone, Angus Phillips and John Harris all produced some good performances in the middle distance events. In the field Chris Rosin, Drew Masters and Jo Hone produced some excellent performances in the jumps. Giles Ellison, Jo Brady, John Hamblin and James Kendall were all successful in the shot and discus. Oliver Parry and Alex Chadwick threw well in the javelin along with Jack Read and Angus Phillips.
The LVth team had a very successful season, winning all their matches against King Edward’s, RGS Worcester, Warwick, Arden, King Edward’s Aston, King Edward’s Camp Hill and Handsworth Grammar – generally by large margins. A number of members of the team also participated with distinction in the UVth team, notably Nick Marsh, Adam Hughes, Adam Harkin and Tom Shiels. On Sports Day, Adam Hughes broke the Sports Day record in the triple jump and Nick Marsh broke the Sports Day record in the 400m.
In the Borough Championships the combined LV/4ths team had a very convincing victory when the strength in depth of the squad was very much to the fore.Wins were gained by Tom Shiels in the javelin – an event in which he was also West Midlands Champion – Adam Hughes in the triple jump, Jamie Broomhall (IVth form) in the hurdles, and the team of William Grigg, Adam Hughes, Stuart Clarke and Nick Marsh in the relay. The number of athletes who gained high places in the finals was remarkable. Special mention must be made of Oscar White, who was 4th in the 1500m, despite being unwell, and Nick Marsh, who came 3rd in the 400m, after a very punishing programme that deprived him of a deserved victory in that event.The points they gained were vital for the overall competition.
The Fourths had a very successful season with some excellent performances. James Trueman (100m), Jamie Broomhall (high jump) and the Shenstone 4 x 100m relay team broke the sportsday records. On the track the hurdles provided near maximum points from Jamie Broomhall,Will Barber and Sam Fletcher. In the sprints James Trueman, Robert Ashby and Alex Currie were very competitive and Alex also ran well in the 400m along with Phil Harrison. In the middle distance events Charlie Rodman was our most successful competitor and he was well supported by Phil Harrison, Frank Phillips and Alex Kirke. The relay team failed to win only once this year - because of a disqualification.
In the throwing events Alex Crichton and George Gibbs dominated the discus and shot. Jamie Evans and Matthew Lancina also gained very good points in the javelin. Robert Ashby and Jamie Broomhall always gained maximum points in the high jump with both able to jump 1.65m this season. Frank Phillips had a good season in both the long and triple jumps.
This season has seen a steady improvement in the performances of the U14 team culminating in coming second in the Borough Championshiop.
There was much competition in the sprint events with Will McTighe, James Briggs and John Holland proving to be strong competitors. Ben Trenchard and Tom Wintle always gained good points for the team in the hurdles. James Briggs competed well in the 400m supported by a number of different athletes. A special mention to Ryan Bushell who only came into the team for the last match and did very well. In the middle distances Ben Crowe and Tom Wintle ran well in the 800m, with Stuart Bradley pushing hard just behind them. Ed Johnson and Jo Read were again the stalwarts of the 1500m.
Jake Watts and Ben Crowe gave solid performances in the high jump. Martin Bullard, Ben Trenchard, Ben Crowe and latterly Arthur Haynes all competed strongly in the long and triple jumps. In the throws there were some good performances from Sam Middleton and John Holland in the shot. Sam also performed well in the discus along with Tom Wintle. In the javelin Steven Bowland and Will McTighe both threw well with Steven coming second in the Borough Championships.
The Third Form team had a most successful season, winning most of their matches and growing in confidence as they became more experienced. Harry Roberts was our most successful sprinter and he was gamely supported by Louis Eyles, Alex Blake and Oliver Blundell. James Arney and William Hartley ran with determination in the 400 metres, while the latter also proved to be a decent hurdler towards the end of the season. Max Rodman and Rhys Ponsonby proved to be dogged competitors in the 800 metres, but they were upstaged by some excellent runs from Jathan Malik. Joe Bitter ran with real conviction in the 1500 metres and was ably supported by James Buckle (who continued to build on a successful cross country season), Matthew Blenkinsop and Niel Dey.
The real strength of the team, however, lay in the field events. Sometimes it would look as though we were losing on the track, but the throwers and jumpers would pile up the points. Lewis Grinsell and Usama Rahman proved to be real assets to the team. Lewis consistently won the Javelin and Discus events while Usama normally won the shot. Angus Archer and William Hartley completed the successful throwing team, usually coming in second place to the others. Our jumpers did pretty well in every competition, but lacked some consistency. Charlie Poole, Max Rodman and Oliver Blundell shared the high jump duties, while Harry Roberts, Max Rodman, Louis Eyles and Oliver Towers often switched between long and high jump. All in all this was a very successful first campaign and we look forward to success in the future.
As normal the athletics matches could not take place without a great deal of help from many members of staff and I would like to thank all those who gave up their time, in what is a very busy term, to help officiate. I am sure the boys would also join me in thanking Mr Ginns and Mr Goatham who have helped to organise the teams.
Mr N W S Leonard