Katie Garland ended a glorious season with a silver medal at the English Schools Combined Events Championships in Bedford. Competing in the Senior Girls Heptathlon Katie who is ranked third in the UK U20W,went into the competition as a medal hopeful. On the Saturday she started well clocking 15.10s for the opening event, the 100m hurdles. Next she high jumped 1.62m and a had a shot PB of 9.35m. In the final event of Day One – the 200m – Katie ran a swift 25.28 to move into second place overnight with 2935 points, just a few points clear of her training partner – Crawley’s Beth Crocker, and one hundred points behind Warwickshire’s Annabelle Pask.
Garland came out on Sunday morning with a fine long jump of 5.61m and closed the gap on the leader but a 32 metre plus javelin throw in the penultimate discipline by Pask to Garland’s 26.65m, assured her of victory. Katie closed the gap a little in the 800m run clocking 2:27.67s but her total points score of 4802 to the winner’s 4918 points meant she came home, from her final Schools competition, with a splendid silver medal just nine points short of her personal best. Crocker took the bronze medal with 4778 points.
Congratulations to both girls and their coach former International High Jumper and Veteran star Julia Machin. Katie and Beth are both off to Loughborough University to continue their sporting and academic journeys.
Matt Smith, a late qualifier did well to maintain his 14th overnight placing in the Intermediate Boys Octathlon, achieving a personal best total of 4439 ( LJ 6.21m Discus 32.16m Javelin 35.83m 400m 54.89 100H 15.28 HJ 1.70 SP 11.07 1500m 5:00.17).
Amber Anning a potential Junior Girls pentathlon medallist, withdrew from the competition in advance with a knee strain.