Photo – Matilda Secker and Ella Thomas finished 1st and 2nd in the Under 17 women’s High Jump at the Kent Indoor Championships
Members of Tonbridge Athletic Club won sixteen gold medals at the Kent Indoor Championships, held at Lee Valley, at the weekend. Jack Lennard won the senior men’s 60 metres in 6.99, which suggests that he is returning to his best form of four years ago. Harry Kendall won the Shot Put with 13.10m and was 2nd in the 200m final in 22.18, where four of the six finalists were representing Tonbridge. In the under 20 age group, Dante McNichol won the 60m hurdles in 8.89.
Max Clark set a new personal best of 7.19, when winning the under 17 men’s 60 metres final by 0.01 seconds. Clark also finished second to Sam Newton in the High Jump, as Newton scaled 1.78m. Joe Stone won both the 200m and 400m in times just outside his bests, with 22.72 and 50.70, plus recorded 6.20 metres when capturing the Long Jump title.
Noémie Thomson continued her return to her best form by winning the senior women’s 1500 metres in 4.33.66, which was a club indoor record. Lucy Tallon captured the under 20 women’s 200 metres title in 24.94 and finished second in the 60m in 7.64, just 0.01 outside her club record. Also, in the under 20 age group, Amelie Rabbidge won the 60m hurdles in 9.29, whilst Georgia Baker won both the Long Jump and Shot Put titles with 5.04m and 9.61m.
Multi-eventer Matilda Secker improved her bests significantly when winning both the 60m hurdles in 8.97 (8.93 in her semi-final) and the High Jump with 1.73m. The latter was a Tonbridge AC age group record and moves her to equal top of the UK rankings for this year. The only Tonbridge win in the under 15 girls’ events came from Araba Taylor in the Triple Jump, with 9.35m.
On the roads, there were a few standout performances, commencing on Friday evening where Lucy Reid won the Friday Night Under The Lights 5km road race, with a time of 15.53. Ben Cole ran the New York Half Marathon on Sunday, setting a Tonbridge, over 35 age group best of 68.20, whilst Nathan Marsh recorded 67.37, at the Stramilano Half Marathon, in Italy.
Tonbridge had sixteen young runners competing for the county in the English Schools Cross Championships, at Nottingham, on Saturday with the highest placings coming from Ed Coutts, who was 26th in the Senior race and Henry Cleary 27th in the Inter Boys event.