Seven Medals For Princethorpe At The ISA National Athletics Championships

The National Championships took place on Wednesday 19 June at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on a thankfully dry day.  Princethorpe took a team of 17 athletes to the event; the pupils had all qualified for the Nationals at the Regional Championships earlier in the season. For all of the athletes this was an excellent opportunity to compete against some high calibre opposition.  In total, there were 700 pupils from 151 independent schools competing at this pre-eminent event.

Princethorpe’s medal haul included three Gold Medals.  Year 7 Kate Pomerleau finished first in the 1500m in a fantastic time of 5 minutes 30.82 seconds, Year 10 Molly Minshull took Gold in the 800m in a super time of 2 minutes 24.31 seconds and Year 9 Ben Hardy set a new national record in the 200m sprint in a supersonic time of 23.51 seconds.

Claiming a Silver Medal were Year 7, Sage Westbury who ran the 70m Hurdles in a time of 13.39 seconds and five pupils who competed in the Midlands relay teams. Ollie Farquharson ran for the Midlands in the Year 7 Boys 4 x 100m relay helping them finish in second place in a time of 55.36 seconds.  Then four Princethorpe Year 9 Girls, Eve Farquharson, Jess Mackenzie, Evie Phillips and Molly Wincott-Thomas, represented the Midlands in the Year 8/9  4 x 100m relay claiming the Silver Medal in a stunning time of 53.55 seconds.

Year 9, Ed Sharpe took the medal tally to seven when he won a Bronze in the 80m Hurdles in a time of 13.18 seconds.  He just missed out on a second medal with his jump of 1.50m which placed him 4th in the High Jump.  Evie Phillips also finished 4th in the 75m Hurdles as did Mollie Wincott-Thomas in the 100m sprint.

Teacher Peter Bucknall, who accompanied the athletes to the Nationals, commented, “A huge well done to all of our athletes for an excellent performance.  Our athletes responded so well to the competition they faced.  Their tenacity, determination, good humour and genuine camaraderie made for a real feel good experience for the whole team, not just those who came home with medals.”