Bethan has golden birthday to treasure

Shropshire athletes won a full set of medals - gold, silver and bronze - at the 78th English Schools Track and Field Championships in Gateshead.

Bethan Partridge, the joint girls captain, was the gold star, winning the senior girls high jump with a personal best height of 1.74m.

See our photo gallery below

The Bridgnorth girl, a student at Shrewsbury College, had a quiet celebration for her 18th birthday the day before - and was rewarded for her dedication.

She cleared the opening height of 1.53, progressed to 1.71 which she cleared after one failure, and then the bar was then raised to 1.74. And she cleared that at the third attempt to claim the gold medal, a pb and a perfect birthday present.

Bethan then tackled 1.77m which she didn’t quite manage to clear, but it had still been a championship to cherish.

Alex Nwenwu from Thomas Telford, won the silver in the event billed by Daley Thompson in his preview, the intermediate boys 100m hurdles.

The race was televised live on Sky Sports 2 and Alex was second to Merseyside’s hot pre-race favourite Jack Meredith.

He set a new championship best time while Alex also clocked a new pb of 12.94, breaking the 13 second barrier for the first time.

He must like the Gateshead track as two years ago, when a junior boy, he had won the silver in the 80m hurdles.

The Shropshire lad now gets the honour of an international vest in the Home Countries meeting at Bedford with Scotland, Ireland and Wales schools teams.

Sam Tough from Adams Newport, the boys captain, took a brilliant bronze.

He set the tone for the rest of the team in the very first event of the two-day championships, the senior boys discus.

Sam threw a pb of 44.78m to win his first ever English Schools medal in his final year.

Thomas Telford’s Aidan Reynolds, taking part in his first English Schools, was delighted with his magnificent fifth place in the junior boys javelin with 42.37.

Throwing at the same time, his sister Amelia, in the intermediate girls shot, also did well to be seventh with 10.27m.

Kez Ogden, from Lakelands in Ellesmere, jumped 5.19m in the junior girls long jump to qualify for the final.

She then went even further to finish seventh with 5.20m, just 20 cms from third, as she finished a superb seventh.

Burton Borough’s Hayley Rubery rose to the occasion and produced a pb of 28.42m to place a superb sixth in the junior girls discus.

And James Bell from the same Newport school was 11th in the junior boys javelin final with a throw of 39.49m.

Baschurch Corbet pair Jake Corfield-Jones and Toby Parkes both ran new personal bests in the junior boys 80m hurdles.

And Lucy Ferguson, the joint girls captain, qualified for the televised senior girls 100m hurdles final after finishing fourth in her heat in 14.99.

The Thomas Telford athlete was then seventh in 14.72.

Other Shropshire results:

• Sophie Worrall, Ercall Wood, Jun Girls Long Jump - 10th in pool, 4.91m
• Laura Pacey, Thomas Telford, Int Girls 800 - 2.18.12 1st in heat, then 8th in semi-final.
• Toby Birtwhistle, Ab Darby, Int Boys 400m - 7th in heats, 52.48.
• Grace Smith-Thomas, Charlton, Int Girls 200m - 5th in heat 25.95, a personal best.
• Cerian Lancaster, Ludlow College, Sen Girls 800m - 3rd in semi, 2.15.11, a personal best.
• Harriet Grandfield, Adams Wem, Jun Girls 1500m - 11th in heat, 4.58.33,
• Robert Millar, Adams, Newport, Int Boys Javelin - 15th 44.11m.
• Mitchell Jenderko, Thomas Telford, Jun Boys Long Jump - 15th 5.36m.
• Natalie Bathers, Marches, Int Girls Long Jump - 16th 4.88m.
• Charlotte Monk, Thomas Telford, Int Girls 300m Hurdles - 4th in heat, 46.90.
• Leila Armstrong Green, Shrewsbury Girls High, Sen Girls Long Jump - 8th 5.34m
• Laura Elliott, Shrews Sixth Form, Sen Girls Long jump - 9th 5.25m
• Michael Walsh, Adams Newport, Jun Boys High Jump - 21st 1.59m.

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