High Peak AC took a large team of 27 young athletes to the first of the season’s Derbyshire mini-league track and field meetings at Derby Moorways stadium on Saturday 29th April 2017. 

On a fresh and breezy day, the High Peak team competed against athletes from four other Derbyshire clubs  – Derby AC, Amber Valley and Erewash AC, Chesterfield AC and Buxton AC. In the U11 girls there were wins in the 80m and 600m races for Alice Tolley, with Alice just missing out on the Derbyshire mini-league 600m record by 0.08 of a second! There was also a strong debut from Plum Kidd in the 80 and 150m races. Thalia Parker-Heath and Sienna Jackson scored team points in the howler javelin, and there was a committed performance from Martha Harris-Wood in the 80m.  Plum, Thalia, Martha & Alice also formed a 4 x 100m relay team, they came a very credible 4th place behind some strong AVAEC teams. 

In the U11 boys competition there was a fantastic performance from Samuel McGill by winning the Long Jump with a jump of 3.23m. The HPAC U11 team also consisted of Jed Burton, Dylan Taylor, Robert Wilson and Xavier Morgan, with all competing strongly and scoring points for the team in the 80m (Dylan and Jed), 150m (Xavier and Jed), 600m (Xavier and Samuel), High Jump (Dylan) and Howler Javelin (Robert). 

The U13 girls team consisted of Freyer Hatcher, Eva-Jane Berry, Marissa Jackson, Amy Witts, Olivia Heywood, and Jamie-Lee Taylor.  Freya starred in the Shot coming a fantastic first, with a throw of 6.73 meters.  Other highlights for the girls included a 6th place out of 19 for Jamie-Lee in a very competitive 800m, and 11th in the same race for Olivia who was enjoying her first meeting. 

For the under 13 boys, the team of David Lavers, Gregor McGill, and Morgan Barker all put in 100% effort. Gregor ran strongly in the 800m, whilst there were fabulous high scoring performances from David and Morgan in the discus.  

The very strong under 15 girls team consisted of Katie Taylor, Cheyenne Wright, Megan Harris-Wood, Ruby Burton, Aimee Sweetmore, Elspeth Morgan, Nell Tolley, Nichole Johnston, Sasha Scragg and Sosseh Badjie. There were stellar performances across the events from all girls, Sosseh’s 800m win stands out, where she achieved a personal best of 2.24.87. A number of other personal bests on the day, including Megan in the 100m & 200m, Nell in the 100m.  Cheyenne also ran a very pleasing 800m, Katie Taylor was 4th in the shot put and Sasha put in a good time in the 75m hurdles.  

The two HPAC 4 x100m girls relay teams ran excellent races with Team A consisting of Sosseh, Aimee, Katie & Megan finishing 2nd.  Team B, Nell, Nicole, Ruby and Sasha coming in 7th place.

In the Boys U15 HPAC team Eddie Fenton ran a lightening fast 26.45 coming 3rd in the 200m. Freddie Hatcher was the centre of attention when winning the 80m hurdles race, and Gabriel Parker-Heath gained valuable points for the team in the 800m race.

All in all it was a very satisfying start for the HPAC team. Currently in 4th place after the first meeting, with AVEAC in first place.  The next meeting in the league will be on 27th May, with lots of points to play for!

Finally, a mention for outstanding performances from a couple of HPAC athletes: Alice Tolley who competed for HPAC at the Trafford AC open T&F medal meeting on Monday 29thApril, she won the 600m gold medal against a strong field, in doing so recorded the third best 600m time in the UK this year for U11 girls with a time of 1.53.74.  Also Sosseh Badjie who ran the Junior Marple 2k Park run on Sunday 7th May, she knocked an amazing 22 seconds off her own PB and 8 seconds off the course record, running it in a time of 7.16mins, this making her the overall fastest junior at Marple!  Girl Power!

This year the Derbyshire Track & Field Championship will be held over the weekend of 13th/14th May. Please see the attached form for schedule of events as this will tell you which day your chosen events are on, you will need to print of the entry form, these then need to be posted to Trevor Jolly – address is on the form.
Note the closing date for entries is 26th April,

Track 7 Field Entry Form 2017

Quadkids 2017

Also held over the same weekend is the Derbyshire Athletics U11’s QuadKids Competition, all information and the entry form is attached below.  Entries to Julie Brown, address is on the form.
Closing date 26th April.

Quadkids Entry Form 2017

Sunday 12th February saw our club finishing the last of the winter Sportshall mini League, held at Chesterfield, in a very respectable 2^nd place overall, a position we have worked hard to maintained since the first competition.

 U13 boys and U15 boys have performed tirelessly throughout the whole competition and consequently
came away with the winners shields for their age categories. The U13 boys team; Eddie Fenton, Byron Masterson, David Laver, Frankie Heathcote, Gregor McGill & Alex Needham beat Amber Valley & Erewash AC by a convincing 160 points.  While the U15 boys; Elliott Archibald, Fraser Masterson, Isaac Quinn & Freddie Hatcher had a closer fought battle, winning by only 47 points.

Individual medals were also awarded to athletes who had set event records during the season.  Our team won a fantastic 9 medals, going to, Elliott Archibald for 2 lap & 8 lap Parlauf which he ran with Fraser Masterson. Megan Harris-Wood got 2 medals for her records set in 4lap & 6 lap, Eddie Fenton was awarded 3 medals for records in 4 lap, 6 lap & 8 Lap Parlauf with Byron Masterson.

On the day all athletes competed in their events with the same strength and determination they have shown in every competition. U11 Girls saw Freyer Hatcher win the 1 lap with Eva-Jane Berry 3^rd in 3 lap and Courtney Limer, took 3^rd in Speed Bounce. In other events, including High Stepper & Standing Long Jump (S.L.J) Marrisa Jackson, Thalia Parker-Heath, Sienna Jackson & Martha Harris-Wood all performed to their best ability in an effort to win points for their team.  U11 boys where a little thin on the ground with only Morgan Barker competing hard in 1 lap, High Stepper & Speed Bounce.

U13 boys have shown their strong athletic abilities at every stage of this competition and today was to be no different, Byron Masterson and Eddie Fenton took 1^st and 2^nd in 2 lap and then set a new record in the 8 lap Parlauf, Eddie also took 3^rd in S.L.J & Byron 2^nd in Shot.  David Laver showed great athletic ability and worked hard for the club, he came 3^rd in Shot, 5th in 2 lap & 7^th S.L.J. Alex Needham experienced his first competitive race today and ran exceptionally well in front of a crowd that cheered him in as he crossed the line.

U13 girls continued to be at the top of their game with Megan Harris-Wood, Katie Taylor, Ruby Burton, Jaime-lee Taylor, all competing hard to gain high points for the club across all events, with Katie Taylor winning 1^st in Shot and teaming up with Megan to come 2^nd in 8 Lap Parlauf. Nicole Johnson  & Millie Prior competing for the first time and gained valuable experience to prepare them for the upcoming competitions.

Finally the U15 teams, for the boys the formidable Elliot Archibald took 1^st in 2 lap, 4 lap & Standing Long Jump. Fraser Masterson performed strongly, taking 2^nd in Shot, 4^th in 2 lap & 4^th in S.L.J. Toby Stupples Newton, also a new comer to the competition showed great promise as he was 2^nd in 4 lap, 2^nd in Speed bounce and 5^th in 2 lap.  The girls, Sosseh Badje, Charlotte & Aimee Sweetmore & Sasha Scragg all preformed to their usual high performance in every event they entered, Sosseh was 2nd in 4 lap & Speed Bounce & 3rd in 2 lap, Charlotte took 3rd in 4 lap, Sasha 4th Speed Bounce and Aimee 3rd in 2 lap, all gaining high points for the club and taking 2^nd place in the relay race.

After seeing such an amazing amount of effort and athletic ability throughout this whole competition we congratulate each and everyone of you who have entered any of the 6 meetings.  We are now looking forward to the Derbyshire Track and Field Mini League which starts in April.

High Peak AC had 13 of its athletes selected to represent a strong Derbyshire County team competing in the East Midlands Regional Final of the Sportshall Competition last Saturday 4th February, held at Grantham Meres Leisure Centre. 

The competition consisted of a variety of sportshall based athletic running, jumping and throwing events.

Competing against county teams from Leicestershire and Rutland, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire, HPAC athletes contributed massively to the successes of the Derbyshire teams in all age divisions. 

Encouraged by a raucous crowd of about 500 all the athletes competed with great effort and spirt, the noise levels in the tightly packed hall were high. 

For the U13’s and U15’s the Regional finals are a stepping stone to the National Finals to be held at Sportcity, Manchester in April, so the stakes were high, with all to play for, and this contributed to a compelling and exciting afternoon for athletes and spectators alike.  

Megan Harris Wood and Katie Taylor represented Derbyshire in the U13 girls, and the two girls combined for the 8 lap parlouf coming second to the Leicestershire girls in a very tight race. Megan also progressed to the 4 lap final where she showed great determination to take an impressive 2nd place.  Katie achieved an amazing 1st place in speed bounce. Both girls are highly talented, brilliant athletes and their effort was 100%. The U13 girls Derbyshire team came 2nd overall, losing out on getting to the national finals by the very narrowest of margins of only 4 points to Leicestershire and Rutland.  

The U15 girls contained one of HPAC’s most versatile runners Sosseh Badjie, who put on an excellent display of her talents to win in her 6 lap race. As always maximum effort from Sosseh in this and all the events she competed in. 

There was more success for the Derbyshire U13 boys team, whose score was greatly enhanced by the contributions of the HPAC boys: Byron Masterson, Frankie Heathcote, Eddie Fenton and David Laver.  There was individual successes for Byron and Eddie who won their overall finals for the 2 and 4 lap races respectively. Frankie ran superbly in the 6 lap race to also win, then along with Eddie had another win in the 8 lap parlouf, Frankie showed his versatility by having success in the standing triple jump too.  David contributed fabulously in his relay race. The Derbyshire team were the overall winners by a massive margin and hence qualified for the national finals!

The Derbyshire U15 boys were very strong, aided by two HPAC boys, Elliot Archibald and Fraser Masterson who both secured wins in their races.  Elliot along with a Derbyshire team mate won the 8 lap parlouf in great style.  Frazer competed very strongly, showing determination in all the events he competed in. The U15 boys Derbyshire team also won overall, so progressed to the national finals at Sportcity. 

The under 11’s Sportshall Fun In Sport competition was held at the same time but they compete in slightly different events, based more around fun relays, obstacle races and also a variety of jumping and throwing events.  

The Derbyshire U11 girls team included Alice Tolley, Eva Jane Berry and  Freya Hatcher, Courtney Limer had also been selected but unfortunately couldn’t attend on the day. The tremendous trio along with their Derbyshire team mates put in some excellent, strong performances winning many of their races. Showing how talented they are, totally deserving the 1st places position they won, ahead of Leiestershire and Rutland, to become regional champions.

It was fantastic to see so many of HPAC athletes selected to represent their county, it was plain to see what this meant to them all as they competed not only physically but also with all their hearts. As the compere opening the event said “you are all here because you are among the best athletes in your county” They were supported by many proud parents in the crowd. 

So it’s onto the Sportshall National Finals for the U13 and U15 boys, where the HPAC boys selected can pit their athletics abilities against other regional winning counties In Manchester on 23-24th April.

On Saturday morning, Julie from Waitrose Buxton came to the training session to present the club with a lovely cheque for £317.00. Every month Waitrose donate £1000 to three local organisations, the money is split depending on the amount of green tokens collected in the tubs located in the store.  We are delighted by the amount of tokens collected on our behalf and with the money we have received.

This money is going to enable the club to purchase the Reversaboards that we have been working hard to raise funds for.

So a big thanks to Waitrose and all those who have supported our club.

Alice wins gold for U11 Girls!

The 18th annual Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire cross country championships were held on Sat 7th Jan at Wollaton Park, Nottingham. High Peak AC sent a good junior team to compete against a strong field of athletes from variety of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire based clubs.  And we didn’t have to wait long for medal success!

In the first event of the day HPAC produced a new Derbyshire champion, with Alice Tolley winning the gold medal in the under 11’s girls competition, coming in first out of 38 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire girls over the challenging 1.5km course. Alice was in a good position in 2nd place after the main hill and then pulled away in the second half of the race to win by a comfortable margin. Well done Alice!

In the next race of the day we had four boys in the under 11’s boys race over the same 1.5km distance. An excellent performance from George Tweedie in his first cross country event of the season saw him come across the finishing line in11th position of the Derbyshire runners, followed by Samuel McGill in a very strong run coming in just behind in 12th. Xavier Morgan has been recovering from a Christmas bug but still put in his usual high energy effort coming in 16th.  Josh Edlin also in his first cross country event for High Peak gave a gutsy run, coming in 17th.

The under 13 boys race ran over 3km saw Gregor McGill come in 25th, another solid run from our downhill run specialist!  In the under 13 girls, Megan Harris Wood was the first of our girls home in 17th position, with a typically determined performance, with Jamie Lee Taylor and Nell Tolley of HPAC both putting in in solid runs in the same race.

Finally, the under 15 girls saw Sosseh Badjie finishing in 9th place, with this ensuring she would be first reserve for the Derbyshire county squad.  Sosseh’s team mates Charlotte Sweetmore and Sasha Scragg finished close together, both having given their absolute all in completing the tough 4km course.

Once again the HPAC athletes at the Derbyshire Championships showed true effort and team spirit, and most importantly great sportsmanship. It’s been great start to the year for the clubs young athletes. Next up is a return to Nottingham on Saturday for the last of the series of four North Midlands league cross country races, where HPAC hopes to have more successes across the age groups.  

High Peak AC had success on Saturday 17^th December at the last of the series of three Derbyshire cross country mini-league meetings of 2016. There were winning performances in the under 11 girls race, with HPAC taking the first two positions, with Alice Tolley in first and Matilda Anderson in second place. Matilda’s second place was enough to win her equal first in the overall standings for the under 11 girls over the three race series, with Alice taking the bronze medal.  Well done to both girls!

There was success for Sosseh Badjie, who put in another strong performance in the under 15 girls race, which was good enough for her to take 2^nd place overall in the mini-league series – well done Sosseh on your silver medal.  Other HPAC runners on Saturday put in excellent performances, really contributing to the team effort and great team spirit. Jamie Lee Taylor ran strongly in the under 13 girls race, coming 6^th, and Gregor McGill had a superb run in the under 13 boys. Samuel McGill and Xavier Morgan had their usual battle in the under 11 boys, with Samuel using his tactic of running fast from the start, but Xavier just closing the gap to ultimately finish ahead. Sasha Scragg once again showed her great commitment to the team, and despite a small injury picked up in her under 15 girls race finished strongly, still managing to smile for the team photo at the end!