Shropshire Star

Gilbody and Stoddart set high standard at Telford

Zoe Gilbody and Tegan Stoddart produced the stand-out performances at the Shropshire Schools Track and Field Championships.

Published

Hundreds of the county’s best young athletes took part in the annual event at the Telford Stadium, where wind and showers throughout the day made quality performances difficult.

But the elements did not stop Gilbody and Stoddart as they recorded English Schools National Standards.

Gilbody, from Thomas Telford School, recorded an amazing nine minutes 40.5 seconds for the intermediate girls’ 3000m in her first year in that age

group.

That effort knocked 15 seconds off her personal best and smashed the championship record by 32 seconds. It also lifted her into fourth place in the UK rankings.

Gilbody has had a great 2022 so far. She finished a brilliant fourth in the English Schools Cross Country Championships in Kent which she followed up with an England vest and third place in the British Schools Cross Country Championships in Swansea.

The other National Standard performance came from Stoddart, also of Thomas Telford School, who won the senior girls’ shot with a putt of 11.63m.

She is currently 10th ranked in the country with her season’s best of 11.90m.

Stoddart enjoyed a superb day at Telford Stadium as she also won the long jump with a 5.00m jump and the 100m hurdles in a personal best of 17.0 seconds.

Another standout performer was Ethan Kendrick (Adams Newport), who won the junior boys’ hammer with a throw of 34.94m. His best this season is 36.61m, which puts him sixth in the UK.

Other highlights on the day came from the Bowen family from Bridgnorth Endowed.

Elliot won the junior boys’ 200m in 24.0 and the 300m in 38.4 – both personal bests – while his sister, Frankie, won the same events for the junior girls in 27.2 and 44.2. Beth Trow (The Corbet School) claimed a very impressive runaway win in the junior girls’ 1500m, winning in 5.02.2 and 27 seconds ahead of her nearest rival.

Meole Brace School’s Bridget Williams went home with two gold medals as she won the junior girls’ 75m hurdles in 12.7 and the long jump in 4.82m, both personal best performances.

Edith Nixon (Newport Girls High) also bagged a winning double as she struck gold in the junior girls’ shot (8.66m) and javelin (20.03m).

Edward Harrison (Telford Langley School) was another athlete celebrating two victories after success in intermediate boys’ 400m (54.9) and 800m (2.10.6).

Newtown’s Finlay Cullen, who attends Bishops Castle Community College, became the first student from Bishops Castle to win a county title for many years.

The Welsh International fell runner won the intermediate boys’ 3000m in 9.50.2.

Church Stretton student Ruari Frankel scored a similar feat as he took 1500m steeplechase gold in 5.06.7.

Georgia Smythe (Concorde College) made history by becoming the first girl to compete in the Shropshire Schools’ steeplechase.

Madeleine Aiston (Belvidere School) also went home with two gold medals as she followed up her double success in the Shropshire AA Championships in May by winning the intermediate girls’ 100m and 200m in 12.7 and 27.1 respectively.

Other double winners were Joshua Inpong Pirard, in the senior boys’ 110m hurdles (16.1) and 100m (12.0), and Laura Hulme, who won the senior girls’ triple jump (9.69m) and the 100m (13.5).

Thomas Telford student and GB international Charlie Carvell, who won a gold medal in the European Under-20 Championships last summer, was on hand to present many of the medals.

Shropshire will be sending teams in the junior and intermediate age groups to the Mason Trophy inter county schools meeting at Stoke tomorrow.