Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow Athletic Club girls team have won the 2017 Alder Valley League by a substantial margin this season.
They also took the Under-17 (U17) age group trophy and were runners-up in the U15s event, but could only place mid-table in the end-of-season trophy meeting.
Had the team been at full strength the trophy would have been theirs, but with two key coaches starting their winter training early and not making athletes available, it was not possible.
The coaches and athletes who did support the meeting pulled out all the stops to cover almost all the events in the three age groups and there were some fine performances despite atrocious weather throughout the day.
The U13 section of the team was most affected by situation, but the tiny team of just seven athletes contested two or three events each in order to achieve the best result possible.
Natasha Williams, Olivia Murphy and Keira Suman led the way, each doing three individual events plus the 4x100 relay. The forth member of the relay squad was Eilidh Green, who had also added the shot to one of her key events, the 1,200m race.
With Isabelle Spencer, Isabel Haycock and Claudia Kerry-Rogers each doing two scoring events, the U13 team did well in rather difficult conditions.
A larger U15 squad meant less pressure on individual athletes and featured many of the WSEH stalwarts based at the Thames Valley Athletic Centre.
The club’s U15 girls hammer star, Francesca Williams, got the day off to a good start with a substantial win. Williams has broken the WSEH age group record in the hammer four times this season and tops the national age group rankings.
Another talented young thrower, Liliana Burn, won the B event and took second place in the discus. With solid results from sprinters Shanelle Onestas, Amelia Tomala, Jamie-Leigh White, Morgan Gardner and Emily Helsby, middle distance athletes Havana Sale, Grace Hudson, Melissa Hamilton and Emily Scott plus jumpers, White, Helsby, Megan Morris and Livingproof Aguela, there was no more the squad could do.
The U17 section was compact but strong, featuring some of the club’s top athletes in the age group.
With regional schools multi-event medallist, Jodie Smith, plus other performance athletes, such as Orla Brennan, Ayoola Babalola, Jasmine Presho, Klaudia Walas, the squad had a good start.
And with the support of up-and-coming athletes such as Bella Pettipher, the Schotting-Robinson twins, Elizabeth Botting, Liska Nowers and sprinters Zuri Mullings, Catilin McAra, Maya Bhat and Esther Egharevba, the U17 section of the team were almost as dominant as usual.
Although not able to win the trophy match on this occasion, the team can bask in the knowledge that they won the league by a massive points margin and the U17s league trophy with consummate ease.
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