Great first indoors for our juniors
A team of 12 athletes travelled to Lee Valley for the South of England Indoor (10/11.01.2026), and had a great weekend testing themselves in this new environment. Virtually all the athletes had not completed indoors before, so the tight bends, banked track and different atmosphere were all new challenges.
First up were the 800m races, with Beth Silva and Florence Williams competing at U15 and Tiffany Robinson at U13. Beth came 3rd in her heat in 2:29.28, Tiffany came 4th in her heat in 2:43.26, and Flo was 6th in 2:34.66.
Tiffany then had the U13 long jump, where she made the cut to get three more jumps and ended up with a PB of 4.00m and 5th place.
Most of the Saturday was dedicated to the 60m sprints. Tiffany won her heat in a PB of 8.74s, and was 4th in her semi final with another PB of 8.70s, just missing out on a place in the final.
For the U15s, Dhan Pangali was 6th is his heat in 8.21s. For the girls, Isla Le Long was 5th in her heat in 8.63s. PBs for both athletes at their first time out over 60m.
The majority of athletes are in the U17 age group and the competition was tough. The athletes acquitted themselves well for their first time at this distance:
- Scott Mackay 5th in heat with 7.66s
- Cayden Nash 6th in heat with 8.13s
- Charles Chesney 5th in heat with 7.99s
- Poppy Mapplebeck 6th in heat with 8.93s
- Clara Malorey 4th in heat in 8.67s
- Ella Duarte, the only athlete not a first timer at this event, 4th in heat and reduced her PB from 8.45 to 8.26s.
It was a long day with a red-eye flight and a late programme, so back to the hotel for dinner, with a slightly longer ride in the lift (thanks to hero Jason Fox for working out how to open the doors!), frozen mist that looked liked glitter and a quick trip to Tesco for snacks, then to bed!
After a hearty breakfast on Sunday morning, the athletes were ready for longer sprints and some action in the field.
Isla jumped a consistent series in the U15 long jump to place 21st, with a best of 3.76m. In the U17W long jump, Ella Duarte unfortunately had three no jumps, but was consoled by the technical quality of her jumping. Clara Malorey was 18th with a best and PB of 4.24m, Nia Watson was 21st with 4.08m and Poppy Mapplebeck was 22nd with a PB of 4.00m.
The 200m races had the same really high standards as the 60s, and our athletes had to race hard whilst experiencing the banked track for the first time. The athletes all had their outdoor PBs to compare against and this showed how the winter work is paying off.
- Dhan ran a PB of 26.59s in his heat for second place and a spot in the semi, where he was 5th with a time of 26.68s
- Cayden ran a PB of 25.91s for 5th in his heat
- Charles ran 25.81s for a PB in 5th place in his heat
- Will Felton ran 25.10s for a PB and 5th in his heat
- Scott Mackay ran 25.40s for 4th place and another PB
Dhan followed up his 200m heat with the U15B long jump, where he came 9th with a PB of 4.84m, which was part of a very consistent series.
Next up was the U15G 300m where we had Flo and Beth competing again. Both ran really strong races with Flo coming second in her heat in 45.11s to qualify for the final. Beth also came second in her heat in 46.27s. Later in the afternoon Flo ran the final in 45.59 to come in 4th place. A great performance!
Will had a wee run out in the U17M 400m – his first try at 400m. His 200m had given him some idea of the track, so he was better prepared this time round. He was 3rd in his heat in 55.32s, another PB.
Ella had another outing in the U17W high jump, where she was 6th with 1.60m – the same height as everyone from 2nd place down. A good series where she was so close to 1.65m.
An excellent weekend for all with performances that show good promise for the outdoor season. Thanks to Coach Jason and Coach Becs, and to Jersey Sport for their on-going financial support.
