The weather outside the stadium on the 1st day of the championships was very windy, however the natural bowl created by the high stands ensured almost ideal conditions for the athletes.
The u15 girls team was represented by Jessica Corrie-Taylor in the 800m and Laura Quine and Melissa Ronan in the 1500m. Our u17 ladies were represented by Emma Carroll and Chantal Quarless in the 1500m and Kate McGing in the 300m.
First onto the track were Emma and Chantal in the u17 1500 final, a race dominated by the front running of the winner Rachael Nathan from Lincoln who won in 4:33.17. Emma was 5th in 4:46.05 and Chantal was 6th in 4:50.04.
Kate McGing was next in the u17 300m, Kate ran the 9th fastest time of the heats, just missing out on the final with a time of 41.53.
Due to the large number of entrants in the u15 800m Jessica had to run a heat at 12.20 followed by a final four hours later. In the heats the winner of each heat plus the four fastest losers qualified for the final. Jessica was 2nd in her heat after running a strong tactical race, finishing fast in a time of 2:24.97, a time just outside her PB but easily her best time of the season.
The u15 1500m proved to be the most successfull and arguably best girls performance of the day for the club. The race was won by Laura Quine in the excellent time of 4:46.88, a further huge improvement on her PB and a time which is beginning to make her competitive on a national level. Laura ran her usual race, gradually increasing the tempo and running away from the field to win by over eight seconds. Melissa Ronan was again second in a time of 4:55.60, inching ever closer to the English Schools qualifying time. Melissa had a hard battle with the third placed athlete who at one stage looked like beating her, however Melissa's strength and determination prevailed.
