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A
thletics at King's in 2013 saw a
very large number of pupils taking
part in the sport, despite the
deterrent of a very wet start to the term.
This posed the marvellous problem of
selection issues, at least until the exam
season broke out, and athletes had to
realise that there might not be enough
room for everyone. The captains, Elle
Bracher and Michael Peek, were a vital
cog in this athletic machine, chivvying
and encouraging, showing leadership by
example.
Inevitably, the tough competition provided
by a series of nearby rival schools who
also take the sport seriously meant that
there were few team wins, but the Junior
Girls did very well, winning at Taunton
School in the last match of the term and
going forward to the regional final of the
English Schools' Cup, coming third on the
day with a vastly improved performance
from the county round. At Taunton,
Maisie Brown swept to three wins in the
long and triple jumps as well as the
200m, whilst Emma Smith won the
300m. Aaron Chapman did well for the
boys, with a win in the long jump and
second places in the 100m and 200m.
The older boys also did well at Millfield in
the Ten Schools' competition. Though this
fixture is extremely demanding, with big
schools from the South West, London and
South Wales, King's athletes still picked up
11 wins including Katy Smith (high jump),
Joe Cooke (high and long jumps), Louise
Knill (shot), and Jack Holmes (triple jump),
together with the usual suspects Maisie
Brown, Oliver Fox and Aaron Chapman.
These latter individuals enjoyed
conspicuous success throughout the
season, with Maisie setting records at
100m and 200m, whilst Aaron broke the
Somerset long jump record, won at the
South West Schools and eventually
placed second at the English Schools'
Championships in Birmingham. Oliver
carried over his form from the winter
winning the various county and South
West events at 3000m and steeplechase
en route to the English Schools', whilst
continuing to bring down his times at all
distances including the 800m and
1500m at BMC events.
It was wonderful to see 18 winners at the
Taunton Area Championships, including
stalwarts Imogen Keeling, Henry Willis,
Emma Smith, Oliver Fox, Ronnie Wells,
Katy Preece, Gussy Hydleman, Elle
Bracher and Chloe Martin, along with the
lesser known but very important Lauren
Messenger, Pippa Smith and Alicia
Mileham. Will Potter (200m) and Matt
Richards (long jump) joined in on an
away day from cricket, Will going on to
run for Somerset at the South West
Championships where he finished 4th.
The amazingly warm, dry and sunny
county event saw 11 more wins from 42
entrants, including Elle Bracher (discus),
Maddie Beaumont (shot) and the short
stay Curro Espinos Ehlis who took his
hammer medal back to Spain, together
with a county vest from the South West
event. Ralph Lawson took part in the
1500m and steeplechase, collecting
important points for the area team. There
were also many other medallists including
Henry Willis, who hacked three seconds off
his 800m time, finishing second when four
seniors crossed the line within 0.2 seconds
of each other. Henry's dive was
spectacular.
The South West event also saw Penny
Guess running in the 800m, Maisie Brown
4th in the 100m, Ayo Olujembola also 4th
in his 100m, Chloe Martin 4th in the long
jump, and Curro Espinos (yes, also 4th) in
the hammer. Joe Cooke was 3rd in the
high jump - despite losing his mark.
Henry Willis (800m) and Gussy Hydleman
(triple jump) also represented Somerset.
Away from the schools events, Oliver Fox
won the South West Open 3000m, whilst
Imogen Keeling shattered the long-standing
school junior record at 1500m. At the
Blundell's meeting, familiar individuals did
well, but how did the Senior Girls finish the
relay having been placed in three different
lanes by the box judges?!
The Junior Girls also enjoyed the girls-only
event at Wellington School, despite being
the latest generation to be bamboozled by
the 300m track. The junior teams did
best in the mixed boys' and girls' relay
and in the girls' 4x200m relay, coming
second of five teams in both events.
Athletics
by Richard Llewellyn-Eaton