Yabsley claims gold at the English Schools Championships

Alfie Yabsley (right) on the podium with second place Joey Croft (Cambridgeshire)

Yabsley was one of four medallists who represent Marshall Milton Keynes Athletic Club competing in the event.

Yabsley, who was running for Stantonbury, the senior boys 2km steeplechase with a time of 5.54.43, some four seconds ahead of closest rival, and further improving the MMKAC club record, and going two steps high on the podium than he did last season. And it was the first gold medal for an MMKAC athlete since Lewis Barnes, who won the junior boys shot throwing 14.14m in the 2010 championships.

Ebony Carr (Bletchley College) continued her fine form with silver in the senior girls 100m, clocking 11.78 having won her heat in 11.88. Ebony has also been a previous medallist having taken bronze in the intermediate 100m in 2015.

Jack Meijer (Walton High) took a hard-fought bronze in the intermediate boys 3,000m with 8.38.71, less than a second of his PB. Recently, at Watford, Jack broke the 27-year-old club u17 1,500m record ducking inside four minutes for the first time in 3.59.40. Simon Rayner had run 4.01.1 in 1980.

Another sprinter in great form is Maxwell Brown winning bronze in the senior boys 100m (10.66) having finished second in both his heat (10.75) and semi-final (10.77).

In this tough cauldron of athletics Moyin Oduyemi (Royal Latin) battled through the rounds of the junior girls 100m to reach the final placing sixth in 12.47.

In the field events both Lara Moffat (Ousedale) and James Ericsson-Nichols placed ninth in their respective hammer throwing events. Lara threw 32.83m in the junior girls and James 53.13 in the intermediate boys.