WESH atheletes rise to the challenge

Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow young athletes girls team opened the 2008 Southern Premier League campaign with an impressive victory at Thames Valley Athletic Centre in Eton on Sunday.

WSEH faced the strong challenge of last year’s National finals runners-up Enfield & Haringey and newly promoted clubs from Southampton and Herne Hill.

The strong competition seemed to bring out the best of the WSEH athletes as they stormed to 33 victories across 72 A and B races, posting 36 personal bests in the process.

Catherine Hall-Jones led the strong U17 women’s squad with individual victories in the High Jump, the 80 Meter Hurdles and the 100 Meters.

Hall-Jones' commitment was particularly impressive as she recorded a personal best of 11.6 seconds in the 100 metres only after being added to the team at the very last minute.

Talented multi-eventer, Chanel Taite kicked off her campaign with an impressive victory in the High Jump and was joined on the podium by Pascale Waterson who won the B high jump and triple jump.

Others to excel in the under 17 division were Faye Williams who earned a runaway victory in the 300 M Hurdles, and another win in the B 80 Meter Hurdles, while the performances of Bex Myers and Sophie Daniels in the 1500 Meters helped secure the victory for WSEH.

Myers victory was all the more impressive when a premature bell lap caused her to kick early and then hang on for a personal best time.

A dominant victory by the girls 4 x 300 Meters Relay squad of Sophie Purkis, Georgia Taylor, Faye Williams and Laura Burke closed out the day for the U17 squad.

In the under 15s, Ellie Norris led the under 15 squad with a victory and personal best of 25.96 meters in the discuss while victories and personal bests by Charlotte Banks and Maddison Mellish in the under 15 A and B 75 metre hurdles and Maryse Haynes in the B 1500 meters helped round out a good performance by the U15 girls.

Perhaps the most exciting race of the day saw club newcomer Ruth Bourne, running in her first race for the club, win the under 13 1200 Meters winning in a club record 3:5.2.

Fellow club newcomers and first year under 13 competitors Olivia Ceasar and Madison Paris-Matic also turned in very strong performances as they won the U13 A and B 150 Meters.