Excellent performances at SEAA Junior Champs

A group of 12 U16 & U18 athletes travelled to Chelmsford to compete in the South of England Championships on the weekend of the 27th & 28th of June 2026.  While the weather had cooled somewhat in Jersey, temperatures over the weekend in the UK were still expected to be in the 30s, so it was going to be a hot on for the athletes.

Action kicked off on Saturday with Bibiana Riva (U16G) in the heats of the 300m hurdles.  Bibi ran a strong race to come in 2nd in 46.8s and progress to the final on Sunday.

Bibi didn’t have long to sit down before her U16G 800m heat.  She ran an excellent race to place 3rd in a new PB of 2:18.14 and progress to Sunday’s final.

Next up were the flat 300m races.  Florence Williams (U16G) ran a great race to come 5th in her heat in 44.14s.  Ethan Cole (U16B) easily won his heat in a new PB of 36.47s to move onto the final.  Will Felton came 6th in his heat in 39.05s, a below par performance due to a hamstring issue that has been niggling him for a few weeks.

In the field, Ella Duarte (U16G) equalled her 1.65m PB in the high jump to gain the bronze medal in a tight competition.

Next came the U16 200m races.  Due to the high temperatures planned semi-finals were removed from the timetable, so qualifying to the final was going to be very tough, but the increased pressure really brought out the best in the athletes, and fast racing resulted in a load of PBs:

  • Cayden Nash – 5th in his heat in a PB of 24.96s
  • Scott Mackay – 3rd in his heat in a PB of 23.73s
  • Dhan Pangali – 7th in his heat in a PB of 25.18s
  • Noah Ip – 4th in his heat equalling his PB of 24.05s
  • Florence Williams 4th in her heat in 28.38s
  • Estelle Lamy 6th in her head in a PB of 28.46s

Last on the track on Saturday was Leo Gage (U16B) in the 1500m.  Luckily there was some cloud cover and a light breeze to take the sting out of the heat, and Leo thrived in these conditions and ran an excellent PB of 4:32.50.

Sunday dawned bright and clear, with the odd cloud and temperatures down in the mid-20s, so a little more comfortable for the athletes.

While Coach Becs took the opportunity to gain some valuable officiating experience, the athletes continued to perform excellently on the track and field, under the experienced eyes of Philippa and Nick.

Bibi was first on the track again in the U1G 300m Hurdles final.  She improved on her form from Saturday, really attacking the hurdles and came away with the bronze medal and a 45.08s PB.  An excellent performance in Bibi’s first year at this event.

Next were the U16 100m heats – again with tough qualifying from heats directly to finals.

  • Scott Mackay – 3rd in his heat in a PB of 11.65s that got him a spot in the final, where he came 8th in 11.82s
  • Cayden Nash – 7th in his heat in 12.43s
  • Noah Ip – 4th in his heat in 12.44s
  • Estelle Lamy 6th in her head in a PB of 13.87s
  • Florence Williams 7th in her heat in a PB of 13.89s

Some excellent sprinting again from the young athletes.

Cole Selby was up next in the U16B 300m final.  This was run as two separate time trials due to the track lifting at the final bend in lane 7.  Cole was selected in the faster of the 2 heats due to his great performance in the heats.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate that pace in the final and came in 4th in 37.08s, but a great improvement from 2025 where he just missed out on a final place.

Noah Ip took part in the U16B long jump and jumped a 5.19m PB to place 10th, in his first long jump competition for the Club.  Layla Rowlands competed in the U18W shot put and threw 10.10m to come in 5th place, a little bit down on what she would have liked.

Layla then raced the U18W 100m hurdles, coming in 4th in 18.33s that qualified her for the final, which she came in 5th in a PB of 17.74s, in her first year over the 100m Hurdles.

Last of the day was Bibi Riva, back for the final of the U16G 800m.  Despite not feeling 100%, Bibi ran another great race to come in 7th in 2:19.75.

A really great weekend of athletics, with a lovely group of athletes who show such potential for the future.

Many thanks to Jersey Sport who supported this trip through their Travel Grant.

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