94
T
he summer of 2012 was
thoroughly unpleasant, with wet
and windy weather forcing the
athletes to switch training and
competitions to the Castle School track -
which was much appreciated by most,
who benefited with a string of excellent
performances.
The distance runners built on the
successes of the cross-country season,
with Amelia Evans, Oliver Fox and Henry
Willis setting big personal bests in the
meetings with Blundell's, Taunton School
and Millfield, joined by Ed Keeling in the
800m.
The jumpers and sprinters quickly made
use of their new surroundings, with Hilary
Moorhead frequently winning the sprint
events (as at Blundell's and Taunton),
joined by George Chapman and Katy
Smith at Taunton. Nancy Rowe in the long
jump, Gussy Hydleman (triple jump) and
Joe Cooke (high jump) also won at
Taunton, whilst Will Potter (and Emma
Smith) did equally well in the long jump at
the Millfield Open.
However, the most impressive
performances came from the two leading
lights in the javelin: Robin Danaher pushed
the school record to international
standards whilst winning at Blundell's, the
Areas, Somerset AA, Millfield, South West
Schools and the English Schools, with
Charlie Granville massively improving his
personal best in winning most of the
parallel competitions for his age group,
building on his fourth place at the UK
School Games.
There were some excellent additional
placings at the various county
championship events, particularly Will
Potter who set a new school record in the
200m. Issy Germain, Molly Mathews,
Penny Guess, Royce Tooth, Gussy
Hydleman and Emma Smith all picked up
county titles too, with Matt Richards
turning back the clock to win the Under 20
long jump title.
The King's teams also owe a big thank you
to George Chapman and Hayden Tyler -
the latter was the winner of the Area shot
and discus titles, and has led the throwers
with distinction for several years, but has
now passed that role on to Elle Bracher
and Louise Knill.
The number of athletes grows each year,
and it is to be hoped that the younger
athletes continue with their additional
training sessions during the winter, where
they can join Joe Cooke, Chloe Martin,
and Smiths Pippa, Katy and Emma.
It was pleasing to see a good number of
full-time athletes doing well in the school
sports and leading their houses with
distinction. Chloe Martin, Olivia Pittman
and Flora Evans won their respective
victrix ludorumevents, and led Meynell,
Carpenter (inters) and Carpenter (seniors)
respectively, with Carpenter coming out
on top by just ten points. Jack West
(Woodard), Royce Tooth (Tuckwell), Will
Potter (Woodard), Archie Watts (Woodard)
and Omar Hamaoui (Bishop Fox) did
likewise for the boys, but Woodard were
convincing overall winners, as were
Bishop Fox in the medley relay.
They should contribute to strong team
performances in the future, along with the
likes of Nancy Rowe, Olivia Pittman and
Charlie Niekirk who did so well in the
English Schools Cup, with the girls' team
finishing second in their local round, whilst
Jen Stapleton (200m) and Simon Le
Gallais (hurdles) have already tasted
senior success at the big Millfield meeting.
The athletics club is certainly enjoying a
fair measure of success, but is also
contributing to the individual development
of a good number of young athletes, many
of whom should aim to do well as they
progress to higher levels of competition.
They are ably supported by a dedicated
and experienced staff, and I would like to
thank Mr Cole, Mrs Berry, Mr Shaw, Mrs
Singleton, Mrs Wrobel, Mr Lee, Mr Round
and Rhys Llewellyn for all their efforts and
expertise.
Athletics
by Richard Llewellyn-Eaton