PUBLISHED 14 June 2022
AKS U13 Girls are celebrating as they qualify for the National Finals of the ESAA English Schools Track & Field Cup by winning the North West Finals in fine style.
In an afternoon which saw more school records tumble and every athlete contributing valuable points to the team total AKS finished with a superb total of 373 points to finish top of the table and qualify for the National Finals as one of the top 12 U13 athletics teams in the country.
We got off to the perfect start on the track with Amelia H recording a PB of 12.8s in the 75mHurdles to earn 25 points and equal the school record. Charlotte L continued her superb form in the 200m with a time of 27.0s to earn 28 team points, break her own school record and also claim the AKS All Comers record which has stood since 1986. Camilla C also proved a record breaker improving her own records in both the 200m (28.0s) and Long Jump (4.29m) and adding an impressive 42points to the team total. Anna V ran close to her PB with 2m40.1 s in the 800m for 24 points and a determined run by Hannah A saw her produce a PB performance of 2m 53.7s. to pick up another 20points. Other valuable points on the track came from Poppy M in the 1500m (6m11.7s) Sophie S & Olivia D in the 100m, both producing PB performances of 14.6s and 14.5s respectively. Special mention to Sophia M (50.5s) and Emilie B (53.0s) who stepped in to run the 300m and ran superbly to add more vital points.
Great performances in the field events saw improvements in all events from round 1. Top performances were in the Javelin where Anna V (21.74m) and Sophie S (20.45m) added a superb 42 points. Olivia D produced a PB performance to throw 19.42m in the discus with Amelia H adding 14pts with 15.60m. Lilly G (6.97m) and Poppy M (6.53m) contributed valuable points in the shot whilst in the High Jump great leaps of 1.26m by Hannah A & Rosie L scored 32 points.
The final performance of the day saw the relay team rise to the occasion as all the other athletes had and with an improved performance of 61.7s added more important points.
After an anxious wait for the final results AKS celebrated as the final positions were announced with West Kirkby Grammar 3rd with 330points, Kirkham grammar 2nd with 357 points and AKS in top spot with 373points.
An improvement of over 40 points on the county round with every girl raising their game for the finals saw AKS deservedly win and earn their place in the National Finals in Oxford in July. A truly tremendous achievement!