GREATER MANCHESTER SCHOOLS and MASON TROPHY ROUND-UP
A large contingent of East Cheshire athletes took part in the recent Greater Manchester Schools Championships at Trafford, running under various Borough banners including Tameside, Oldham, Rochdale and Manchester. In some strongly contested events our athletes produced some top performances to earn medals, Mason Trophy selection and, in the case of three athletes, a coveted place at the English Schools in July.
Our three representatives in the English Schools will be Vanessa Giblin (Inter Girls 100m), Jack Barton (Senior Boys Hammer) and Jack Mirfin (Inter Boys Hammer). Vanessa took the 100m title in fine style in a time of 12.7, while Jack Barton earned his place with a season’s best 48.91 in the hammer. Jack Mirfin wasn’t to be outdone, producing a big PB of 57.15 to take the title. We wish all three athletes every success in the English Schools on 5th/6th July.
Other medallists at the GM Schools included: Danielle Parrott (Inter Girls 300m bronze), Sam Emery-Shawcross (Junior Boys 100m bronze),  Hayley Simpson (Senior Girls 3000m gold), Danielle Dignan (Senior Girls 3000m bronze),  Lauren Alford (Senior Girls 400m hurdles gold and high jump gold), Christian Gallagher (Inter Boys high jump bronze),  Jack Schofield, (Junior Boys high jump gold), Florence Brennand (Junior Girls shot putt gold), Tom McGuinness (Inter Boys 1500m bronze), Shaun Dean (Senior Boys javelin bronze), Sam Dean (Junior Boys javelin silver) and Paige Ditchfield (Junior Girls Javelin silver).
A week later, East Cheshire athletes were well represented in the Greater Manchester squad that contested the Mason Trophy Inter-regional Schools event at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham. On a blustery, showery day where track PBs were hard to come by there were nevertheless some solid performances. Vanessa Giblin led the way with a 6th of 19 finish in the 100m in 12.9, while Danielle Parrott followed with a 10th of 19 finish in the 300m in 44.9. Also on the track, Tom McGuinness ran well in the 1500m to finish 11th of 17 in 4.28. In the field, Jack Schofield was a fine 4th in the high jump with a best of 1.55, while our throwers were again in good form with Florence Brennand registering a PB of 7.84 in the shot putt,  Paige Ditchfield sending the javelin to a PB distance of 26.54 and Jack Mirfin finishing 2nd in the hammer with 52.03.
OLDHAM & ROYTON JUNIOR OPEN
A large contingent of our younger athletes made their way to Oldham & Royton’s track last Tuesday evening and came away with a fine haul of medals and PBs. Among the highlights were two golds for Regan Walker in the under 15 girls 100 and 200m, two for Luke Taylor in PB times in the under 13 boys 100 and 200m and a PB bronze for Alex Green in the under 15 boys 100m. Hannah Helsby grabbed a bronze in the under 13 girls 100m with a PB of 15.4, just edging out Ellie Clinch, who turned the tables in the 200m. Ethan Hartshorne recorded a PB in the under 15 boys 200m and showed good form in the shot with a best of 5.99. Emma Taylor also signficantly improved on her previous best in this event, while Bethan Appleton-Jones performed well across all three of her events on the night. John Trotman switched from middle distances to sprints and jumps and was rewarded with a PB in the long jump. It was also great to see some of our very young athletes enjoying their night and putting in some good runs in the short sprint events, well done to them all for taking part! Full confirmed results and individual performance details have been requested from Oldham & Royton and will be shared with athletes when received.