Orion Harriers raced to their second successive Young Athletes League victory in the fourth round of matches for this summer season. Competing against teams from Herts, Lewes and Brighton & Hove, this was always expected to be a stern test of the club’s resolve to remain at the top of the league as they bid to stay in contention for a promotion place to the Premier division. The Chingford based club’s youngsters certainly did not disappoint on what was an extremely high standard day of athletics.

Leading the way for Orion was the under 13 boys’ team who put in a number of exceptional performances, led by young Darnell Shakes who achieved a win double in the 100 metres and 200 metres events. Callum McLarty also won two events, the shot putt and the long jump, and followed that up with two second place finishes in the 75 metres hurdles and the 800 metres. Tom Hutchinson ran well for his second place in the 1,500 metres.

For the under 13 girls, Essex county competitor Georgia Tuckfield won the 800 metres, while Amy Richards took second place in the 150 metres and 3rd place in the long jump.

The under 15 boys’ events saw first places for Alberic Hall in the discus and Jermaine Hamilton in the shot putt (to add to his two second places in the 100 and 200 metres). Ben Silverstone finished in second place in a very fast 800 metres race, as did Greg Thompson in the 800 metres.

For the under 15 girls, Isobel Barry won the long jump and finished second in the 1,500 metres. There were second place finishes for Alice Buckmaster in the high jump and Anita Sartori-Sigrist in the 75 metres hurdles. Nicola Horrell ran a comfortable race to edge home in third place in the 200 metres.

Bradley Bryant had a busy afternoon for the under 17 boys, winning the shot putt and then finishing second in both the hammer and discuss events. Tommy Black considered to hit the heights as he took the gold medal in the high jump and then second place in the triple jump.

Finally, the girls’ under 17 competitors were not to be denied, with Melissa Timpson performing admirably to win the hammer event, Jessica Kipps coming home in second place in the 300 metres and Lauren Periera finishing second in the 800 metres.

Orion will be looking to consolidate their position amongst the leading pack of clubs at the top of this first division as they continue their quest for promotion in their forthcoming fixtures.

Men
Match three for Orion Harriers in the NJAL took place at Braintree on 14th June, again with a small team of just 7 Men and 2 Women. In a high standard of competition our athletes competed creditably, covering 9 Mens and 3 Womens events on what was another very hot day. Huy Vu went quicker again with a PB over the 110m hurdles, finishing 3rd in 15.9s. Huy went on to launch the Javelin 2 metres further than the last fixture and 3 metres further than match one, to Win the event in 42:36, rounding off another successful day for Huy.
100m sprinters A String Ben Studham was 5th in 12.1 and B String Cadel Thomas 6th 12.4. In the 400m Ashley Alexis finished 4th in 53.6, improving from 54.0 last time out. Ashley went on to finish 6th in the High Jump with an improved jump of 1.65m, beating his 1.50m last meeting and B String Razvan Druga finished 5th in 1:45 matching his previous height. Mark Atkinson turned in improved performances over 800m 7th in 2:16.4 and in the Triple Jump 6th with a best leap of 11:01. He was joined by B-string newcomer Under4 17 Ellis Ball who managed 4th place in 9.62.                      
 
4x 100m Relay team of Razvan Druga, Cadel Thomas, Huy Vu and Ben Studham had their quickest run of the NJAL season finishing 5th in 46:1s.
 
Women
Melissa Timpson was 5th in the Hammer with a best throw of 16.86 and 7th in the Trpple Jump with a best leap of  7:53 metres.
 
Orion Results:
 
Men
 
100m
A String - Ben Studham 5th 12.1
B String - Cadel Thomas 6th 12.4 
 
200m
A String - Ashley Alexis 7th 24.3 
B String - Mark Atkinson 6th 25.9
 
400m
A String - Ashley Alexis 4th 53.6 
 
800 M
A String - Mark Atkinson 7th 2:16.4
 
110m H
A String - Huy Vu 3rd 15.9
 
4x 100m Relay
Razvan Druga, Cadel Thomas, Huy Vu and Ben Studham 5th 46:1s.
 
High Jump
A String -  Ashley Alexis 6th 1.65                                     
B String -  Razvan Druga 5th 1.45    
         
Javelin
A String - Huy Vu 1st 42.36  
 
Triple Jump
A String -  Mark Atkinson 6th 11.01                                       
B String -  Ellis Ball 4th 9.62       
 
Women
 
800m
Lauren Macgregor 4th 2.31.6    
 
Hammer 
A String - Melissa Timpson 5th 16.86
 
Triple Jump
A String - Melissa Timpson 7th 7:53
             
Match Result;
 
1 The Saxons 580
2 Basildon Beagles 443.5
3 Havering Mayesbrook AC 410  
4 Team Bedford 381  
5 Herts Phoenix AC 380  
6 Team Cobra 273.5
7 Orion Harriers 103    
 
 

There was a clutch of exccellent performances by young Orion Harriers athletes at the
Woodford Open Graded Track Meeting on Tuesday 9th June. The meeting attracted
as big entry which led to no less than 8 graded 100 metres races and 6 races each
over 200 metres and 800 metres. The 800 metres distance attracted the majority of
Orion runners. The 3000 metres race was also big with 23 finishers.
 
3000 Metres
 
Lauren MacGregor once again smashed her PB, chopping a massive 13 seconds off
her previous best to finish in 10:28.00 which see's Lauren rise up the UK Under
17 Women's rankings to number 18. Lauren was second Women across the line and
first Under 17. Jay Andrews, recovering from a heavy cold clocked what for Jay is a
slow 11:17.53 but done very well under the circumstances and it was good enough
still to finish as forth Woman across the line and second Under 17. Orion senior
Shay Joyce was second over all in the race with 9:40.34 and Katy Brett another Orion
senior running her first ever 3000 metres finished 7th Woman in 12:41.05.
 
800 Metres
 
Race 1 was one of the best of the night, ending dramatically with a near blanket finish
involving the first four runners across the line. Jack Stroud who has just moved up to
senior level from Under 20 level was 3rd in a PB time of 1:59.38 just two tenths of a
second ahead of Frankie Conway 4th overall and second Under 20 in a time of
1:59.58. Jack celebrated breaking the 2 minute barrier for the first time and Frankie
who ducked under 2 minutes for the first time last month at the Essex County
Championships also scored a PB by under a tenth of a second.
 
Race 2 saw a win for Orion senior Danny Moses in an excellent 1:57.90 which was 
just two tenths of a second outside his PB. Danny may have benefited from being in
race 1 
 
Race 3 was another excellent close race which ended with another Orion Harriers win,
this time with Under 20 Ben Hall leading the field home with a winning PB time of
2:05.06. Ben's brother Under 17 Auberon Hall was 4th also with an excellent PB of
2:07.05.
 
Race 4 was won by Orion's Under 15 Ben Silverstone with an excellent 2:16.44.
 
Race 6 was yet another Orion victory as first year Under 15 George Hoy croseed
the line 1st in 2:26.96. Georgia Tuckfield was 3rd overall and first Under 13 Girl in
2:32.20
 

Orion Harriers 15 years old Lauren MacGregor won the Harlow Womens 5K Road Race Series on Tuesday evening 2nd June to complete a clean sweep of 3 wins from 3 races to become the 2009 champion and youngest ever winner. Competing in a senior womens race didn't phaze the youngster who is coached by former England Cross-Country International and British Road Running Champion Maxine Joyce. Lauren recorded a best time of 19:22 in the second race of the series and beat a field of 70 senior women in this well established summer road race series. This was the youngsters first taste of competing in a senior race series which she thoroughly ejoyed but it wasn't without teething problems. Lauren and her training partner at Orion's Jay Andrews another promising 15 years old youngster coached by Joyce got lost on the way to the first race and arrived late but even after giving the rest of the field a 300 metres start the duo managed to catch the leaders and 3km and go on to record a 1-2. Jay Andrews also ran well throughout the series finishing with a 2nd place and two 3rd places to take a final overall 3rd place in the series. In the second race MacGregor dominated winning by a 40 seconds margin and in the final race on Tuesday, after a fast start, Lauren managed to stamp her authority on the race by the half way point as the main opposition began to tire, moving away to win in 19:29 but by an even bigger margin of 67 seconds from experienced Garden City runner Mandy Livingstone in 2nd place. Jay Andrews who took third place overall had a best time over the course of 20:20 in the first race and she clocked 20:49 in race three. Orion Harriers were delighted to also win the series Team prize as Orion's Katy Brett finished 11th in races two and three with a best time of 22:22, helping the Chingford based club beat off the challenges of teams from Harlow, Garden City, Bishops Stortford, Cambridge, Barnet, Saffron Walden and Ford's.
 
 
Results (summary)
 
1. Lauren MacGregor (U17) Orion H  19:29
2. Mandy Livingstone (Vet 35) Garden City Runners 20:36
3. Jay Andrews (U17) Orion H 20:49
11. Katy Brett Orion H 22:22
 
Team: Orion Harriers

Competing against clubs from Southend, Hastings and Eastbourne, Orion were expecting a stiff test of their resolve to stay in competition for promotion at the top of the table. With their confidence boosted from excellent performances in their previous two league outings, the Chingford club maintained their impressive form to hold off their rivals to record a second successive overall team victory. Their strength in depth is paying dividends, much of which can be attributed to the club’s coaching and development structure for its young athletes.

There were a number of individual winners for Orion on the day, including encouraging performances from under 13 girls Georgia Tuckfield (800 metres winner) and Amy Richards, who recorded two second places in the 75 metres and the 150 metres.

For the under 15 girls, there were wins for Chioma Onyeche (shot putt and discus), and India Wellings (pole vault), ably supported by Evie Padmore who managed second place in the javelin, as did Charlotte Matthews in the 1,500 metres.

The under 17 girls had their share of successes with wins for Melissa Timpson (triple jump), Lauren MacGregor (1,500 metres) and Jay Andrews (3,000 metres). Amy Jung managed to record a second place finish in the hammer throw.

The under 13 boys were not to be denied, with good wins for George Viera (shot putt), Hanif Henry (long jump and 75 metres hurdles), Darnell Shakes (200 metres), Callum McCarthy (800 metres).

Aaron Glasgow won the under 15 boys’ 200 metres and followed this up with second place in the 100 metres sprint. There were also promising second place performances from Jess Taylor (hammer) and Lewis Franklin (discus).

Finally, there were determined wins for under 17 boys Tommy Black (high jump), Craig carter (100 Metres) and Bradley Bryant (discus) to secure this much needed team victory for Orion’s youngsters.

Orion Harriers were in jubilant mood last weekend as they celebrated victory in their second Young Athletes League meeting of the season. Taking part against teams from
St Albans, Chichester and Epsom, Orion had hoped to perform well to follow up their third place success in their opening summer track and field fixture earlier this month.
 
The under 17 boys' team performed exceptionally well, led by the fast improving Tommy Black with first place in the high jump. Valuable points were also picked up by Ellis Ball in the javelin and the triple jump and Charlie Meyer in the 100 metres.
 
For the under 15 boys, Aaron Glasgow managed a win double in the 100 metres and the 200 metres and there was gold medal success for Ben Silverstone in the 1,500 metres. There were also creditable second place finishes for Faiz Baptikee in the long jump and 400 metres, Lewis Franklin in the discus and Alberic Hall in the 800 metres.
 
The under 13 boys' squad also recorded a number of first place finishes. George Viera won both the 100 metres and the 200 metres,  Cheyenne Antoine-Chagar won the 800 metres, Callum McLarty came first in the 800 metres second string event and Callum Farguhar managed excellent wins in the shot, long jump and 75 metres hurdles.
 
To cap a memorable afternoon for Orion, the under 13 boys' team won the relay event at the end of the day, to ensure that the Chingford club stayed on course for the overall team victory in this Division One fixture.

Orion Harriers may be nearly 100 years old and steeped in history but the Club is still not too old to have some of our many fine young athletes, both male and female continuing to make club history, achieving success for the club, at school, University and County level with the prospect of further successes and ultimately international achievements in the future.

Orion Harriers has historically produced a number of exceptional Cross-Country runners during its history including three internationals plus county and area champions. Until this year however Orion has never had an Essex County Senior Men's Middle distance Track Champion and a double champion at that!

On Saturday 9 May at Chelmsford Orion's 20 years old Oliver Heeks won the Essex AAAs 800 metres Senior Mens Championship title and so made history in becoming the Club's first Senior Mens County Track Champion, over 800 metres. When Oli proudly stood on top of the medal podium to receive the huge silver championship cup, he couldn't but notice that the trophy dated back to 1910, the year before Orion Harriers creation and that his would be the first Orion name to be added to the engraved role of honour.


But it gets even better! This wasn't the first Essex title for Oli because earlier this year on 15th February at the Lea Valley Sports Arena, Oliver won the "Indoor" Essex AAAs 800 metres Senior Mens Championship title and so it's a "double" triumph that’s now being proudly celebrated and to put the icing on the cake Oli's winning times of 1:55 (indoor) at Lea Valley and 1:52 (outdoor) at Chelmsford were both personal best times and marked a continuation of improvements and success that build progress towards Oli's future aspirations.

After winning the 800 metres title on the Saturday however, Oli wasn't finished with the Essex Championships for 2009 and instead of resting on his laurels, he returned to the track the following day on the Sunday, 10th May, to have a crack at the 1500 metres, a distance he has run only infrequently to date but plans to run more in the future. Despite that, the result was that Oli broke the 4 minute barrier for the first time with 3:57 which gave him the Silver medal behind Basildon AC's James Clarke who in fact had got Silver behind Oli the day before in the 800 metres final.

Although Oliver has been running since the age of eleven, he only decided to take up athletics seriously 2 years ago. Oli joined Orion Harriers at the age of 13 and as he recalls it was traditionally heavily focused towards the cross country season. Oli ran for the Orion junior team in Chingford cross-country League and later on the track in Junior Track and Field league competition with average results. At the time however Oli was also playing football, rugby and a number of other sports for fun at an average level until one day he decided he wanted to be above average and realised he needed to focus on one sport in order to reach a high level. Thankfully, Oli chose athletics, simply down to the fact that he enjoyed the sport and only had to rely on himself to improve performance and reach the top.


There's nothing like a bit of 'shock treatment' to kick-start a promising career however and Oliver certainly got that when he first approached his current coaches Jane Farrow and Colin Loughland.  Jane Farrow was a P.E. teacher at Oli's school and Oli knew Jane was an experienced athletics coach who has worked with Colin Loughland for a long time. Colin didn't mince his words when he told Oliver just how lazy he was and needed to buck his ideas up if he was to succeed. Not to be deterred, Oli joined up with Jane and Colin's group where he also linked up with his current training partner Jon Long.

 
Since joining up with Colin and Jane two years ago, Oli's 800 metres personal best time has plummeted, dropping from 2 minutes 3 seconds to 1 minute 52 seconds. Oli says "This drastic improvement alone shows how gifted they both are as athletics coaches. Colin’s vast experience in athletics has been a major help in getting me through races tactically perfect. They have put in many hours and driven many miles to ensure that I get the best racing opportunities and I am forever thankful to them both for this."

Colin Loughland and Jane Farrow said "With his training partner and mentor Jonathon long, Oli has knuckled down and has been working hard both at home in Essex and at Portsmouth University. He's set himself positive targets for this season and is currently on track to achieve them. Since September 2008 he's had to fit in training with university work and has not really been able to get the mileage in he would have wished. This in someway indicates his potential. At the Essex championships he planned and executed his race tactics to perfection to win the senior men's 800m title and followed up with another good performance by clinching the silver medal in the 1500m, beating his personal best by 3 seconds".


Why the 800 metres? Oli explained "The first ever track race I done was the 800m and I came first so I have stuck with it ever since. I am pretty quick over the 400m (pb 49:98) but I enjoy the race mentality in the 800m more.  I would like to think that I can stick with the 800m as my main event as I have a good mix of speed and endurance. However I have only recently started racing the 1500m and enjoy the race so I'll maybe run more 1500's and one day may step up to that distance as my main event."


Oliver is currently at Portsmouth University on a 4 year degree course studying International Business which will include one year work placement in London. Portsmouth he says is all going well so far studying wise and with first class facilities on hand, most of Oli's training is done down in Hampshire, in the so called 'waterfront-city' on the south coast of England. There Oli trains with the University's athletics team. However he's home most weekends and trains on the Woodford track with his training partner Jon Long. Training at present is once a day, six days a week. However when his exams are finished Oli will be looking to step some days up to training twice a day, as he endeavours to achieve his goals.


In the short term, looking at the plans for this season on the track, June and July is a busy time in the big events calendar. Oli is hoping that his triumph in the 800m at the Essex Championships will gain him selection for the Essex Senior Mens team for the national inter counties championships at Bedford in July. Oli also intends to run the South of England Championships at Watford in June and having already achieved the qualifying time for the England Athletics Under 23 championships also at Bedford on the weekend of 21/22 June, Oli plans 4 weeks of hard training in preparation for the national championships after he finishes University for the summer in early June.


Oli is concentrating seriously on improving his personal best to around the 1 minute 50 second mark this season and as he says "If I can do that then it'll give me a chance of getting in to the final and possibly in the medals at both the South of England and the England Athletics national championships. My aim for this season is defiantly to get under 1 minute 51 seconds. If I can achieve this then that will put me in great stead to break 1 minute 50 seconds next season."


This winter will see Oli probably looking to do a lot more cross country than in the past couple of years, especially the Chingford League for Orion  Harriers he says!. This will simply be to build up endurance for the track season ahead and he also plans to run some 5km road races across the country.


In the long term Oliver says "My ultimate goal would be to one day represent my country on the track. Although I have dual citizenship with Australia, representing England would be my number one aim. However I still have a long way to go yet.  If at the end of University I'm not competing among the elite middle distance runners in England, I will be looking to go into insurance broking in the city. Unfortunately that will probably bring to an end my track running days at a decent level but I'll then perhaps look at other challenges and fun like one day competing in the London Marathon and also doing an Ironman Triatholan (a bit different to 800 metres!").


Speaking about Orion Harriers move in to Senior Track and Field in recent years Oliver says “I joined Orion at the age of 13 and in my eyes it was heavily focused towards cross country. By tradition Orion will always be a strong cross country, harriers club but I think it's a positive step for the club to diversify and its good that Orion have been competing in Senior Track and Field for the last 5 years as I believe it opens the club up to more members as some people are attracted more to racing in the summer than in the winter and when Juniors move up to the seniors they can continue track and field if that’s their preferred option."


Oli's running idol is one of the World's greatest runners of all time, Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele the World and Olympic record holder for both 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and  reigning two-time Olympic champion over 10,000 metres and the most accomplished runner in IAAF World Cross Country Championships with 11 titles. Oli says "Although he's not an 800m runner, I think he is a great athlete to watch as he is so technically gifted. It's amazing how in the closing stages of a 10,000 metres race he can run a 55 second last lap!".


On the state of UK middle distance running at present Oli concludes "Having had some great runners in the past, I think the big problem with middle distance athletics at the moment is that there is no one to look up to and in order to improve this I think greater incentives are needed for young people to get into the sport and stay in the sport".

Athletes like Oli continue to bring athletic and running prestige to Orion Harriers. Successes such as those achieved by Oli in recent months are certainly great for Oli and can only be good for Orion and help continue to lead to an upsurge of interest in our club and our sport which has seen Orion membership grow to healthy levels in recent years.  A lot more people in the Club will know who Oliver Heeks is now and no doubt will follow his career with interest. Lets hope one day he makes it to the very top and provides Orion with another Great Britain and Northern Ireland International.


Personal Bests

400m 49:98 (2008)

800m 1:52 (2009)

1500m 3:57 (2009)

Orion Harriers opened up their Young Athletes League summer campaign with an encouraging all-round team display last weekend. Although missing a few of their key competitors, who were taking part in the Essex Championships, the Chingford club came agonisingly close to winning this Division one fixture against teams from Bexley, Ashford and Ilford, eventually having to settle for a highly respectable third place finish.

Leading the way for the under 13 girls was Georgia Tuckfield who had a convincing win in the 800 metres. Orion’s under 13 boys were also well represented on the winners’ rostrum by Calum Farqular who won the 75 metres, shot putt and long jump. Calum Mclarty took first place in the 800 metres, as did Charlie Weston in the second-string 800 metres run, whilst Darnell Shakes performed well to achieve second place in the 200 metres.

In the under 15 boys’ events, Mohammed Bapikee took first place in the long-jump and second place in the 400 metres, Alberic Hall won the 1,500 metres, as did Jess Taylor in the hammer, Aaron Glasgow in the 100 metres and Jack Waller in the javelin.

For the under 15 girls, Nikkita Sartori-Sigrist took the honours in the 75 metres hurdles and India Wellings won the pole vault.

In the under 17 girls’ competitions, Melissa Timpson achieved second place in the hammer event and there was also a second place finish for Jessica Kipps in the long jump. There were also first place finishes for Amy Jung in the long jump second string event and Lauren Periera in the javelin. It was also good to see the Orion girls’ succeed in the 4 x 300 metres relay event at the end of the day.

In the boys under 17 event, there was a first place success in the 4 x 100 metres relay run for Orion as well as wins for Auberon Hall in the 1,500 metres, Bradley Brand in the shot putt and Tommy Black in the high jump.

Meanwhile, as part of a busy period for Orion, there were a number of successes in the Essex Track and Field Championships. Rising star Georgia Tuckfield romped away to win the gold medal in the under 13 girls’ 1,200 metres, matched by the gold medal run of Oliver Heek in the senior men’s 800 metres. Oliver also took the silver medal in the 1,500 metres.

There were silver medal successes for India Wellings in the under 15 girls’ pole vault, Tommy Black in the under 17 boys’ high jump and for Lauren MacGregor in the under 17 girls’ 1,500 metres.

Huy Vu took the bronze medal in the junior men’s 110 metres hurdles event.

U13 Girls ‑ 150M

Amy Richards was 3rd in her preliminary round heat 4 in 21.8, qualifying for the Semi-Finals where Amy was 4th in 21.66 which was good enough to give Amy a place in the final where she placed 6th in a close finish separating the seven finalists by hundreds of a second.


U13 Girls ‑ 1500M

Georgia Tuckfield continued her great start to the season and winning streak by becoming Essex Champion. After qualifying for the final with second place in her preliminary round heat 1, clocking 4:04.59, Georgia stormed to victory and the Gold Medal in the final in a pb time of 4:02.00, dominating the race and leading home the 11 finalists.                  


U15 Girls ‑ 200M

Evie Padmore was 4th in her preliminary round heat 1 in 29.8 going through to the Semi-Finals where she placed  7th in 30.23. just missing out on a place in the final of a highly competitive championship event.

U15 Girls ‑ Pentathlon
 
Nikkita Satori-Sigrist continued her progress as a promising multi-event athlete
with an excellent 4th place in the Under 15 Girls Pentathlon
which involves competing in 5 different events for which athletes are given points
according to the performances they achieve.
Nikkita amassed a total of 2085 points, taking 4th place from the 10 athletes
 competing and had to compete in Long Jump (4:32), 75 Metres Hurdles (12.9),
Shot Putt (5:58), High Jump (1:36) and 800 Metres (2.55).
 Well done Nikkita 



U15 Boys ‑ 1500M

George Hoy was 8th from 13 runners in a time of 5:03.33 in his preliminary round heat.

17 Women ‑ 1500M

Lauren MacGregor won her preliminary round heat 1 in a pb time of 4:58.36, qualifying for the final. She was joined in the final by training partner Jay Andrews who came through her preliminary round heat 2 with a pb time of 4:58.99 in 4th place. In a sensational, high quality final, undoubtedly one of the day's highlights, Lauren MacGregor pulled out all the stops to smash her pb and take the Silver Medal in a superbly run race with a big sprint finish. Her time of 4:45.56 lifted her to No 15 in the 1500M UK rankings to go with her No 9 UK ranking for 3000M. Jay Andrews withdrew from the final.                        
Essex County Track & Field Championships 2009 - Days 2 & 3 on Saturday and Sunday 9 & 10 May 2009

U13 Girls ‑ 800M

Georgia Tuckfield added a Bronze Medal to the Gold she won in the 1500M the previous week.
 After wiing her heat in 2:33.91 to qualify for the final Georgia beat of the challengers for third place
to take a desertved Bronze Medal in a very open and even final, clocking 2:30.9 


U13 Girls ‑ 150M

Amy Richards was back in action having performed well in the 150M the week previously when she bbatted through a heat and semi-final to reqach the final.
This weekend Amy was competing over 75M.
In heat 3 Amy was 3rd in 10:69 which qual;ified her for the final and in the final itself
 Amy was 6th in 10:73 for a creditable overall performance in the championships.

 

U15 Girls - Long Jump


Orion had two competitors in the Under 15 Girls Long Jump amongst the 20 competitors from across tyhe County.
 Nikkita Sartori-Sigrist was back in action after finishing 4th in the Pentathlon a week previously
and Nikkita finished 8th in the Long Jump with a best leap on 4:15.
 Team mate Isobel Barry finished 14th with a best jump of 3:84.


U15 Girls - Pole Vault 

India Wellings struck Gold for Orion in winning the Under 15 Girls Pole Vault with a best Vault of 2:30.
 Congratulations to India for her fine performance. 

U15 Girls ‑ 75M Hurdles

Multi eventer and hurdles specialist Nikkita Sartori-Sigrist was back in action but in spite of 3rd place
in her Heat with 13:04, Nikkita just narrowely mised qualification to the final.

U15 Girls ‑ 300M

In Heat one, Leah Alleyne was 5th in a fast heat with 44:75 which was good enough for a place in the final where Leah finished 8th in 46:23.

U15 Girls ‑ 100M

Evie Padmore was 5th in her preliminary round heat 1 in 14:43, going through to the Semi-Finals where she placed 5th in 14:32,
 just missing a place in the final by the narrowest of margins.
 Nikkita Sartori-Sigrist was back in action yet again also finishing 5th in her preliminary round heat 3 with a time of 14:54.
Nikkita also went through to the Semi-Finals where she finished 8th in a much quicker 14:30 but like Evie
just missed going through to the final in what was a highly competitive championship event, both girls performing well.

 

U17 Women ‑ 800M

Lauren MacGregor won her preliminary round heat in a time of 2:22.82, qualifying for the final.
Training partner Jay Andrews was 8th in her preliminary round heat in a time of 2:30.98,
 just missing a place in the final. Lauren just missed adfding to her 1500M Silver medal finisghing 5th in the final in 2:23.01.


U17 Women ‑ 400M

Lauren Pereira was a creditable 3rd in her 400M preliminary round heat 2 with 67:51
but had to withdraw from the final having  qualified.
 
U15 Boys ‑ 100M

Darnell Shakes finished 3rd in Heat 2, clocking 14:30 which was good enough to take
 Darnell through to the Final where he went quicker, on his
way to finishing in 6th place 14:28.

 U15 Boys ‑ 800m

In heat 1 Tim Carter was 5th in 2:23.5 and in heat 3 Ben Silverstone narrowly missed mmaking the final when he finished 4th in 2:21.4.

U17 Men - High Jump
 
Tommy Black produced another class performance when he finished equal first with Billy Falconer of Woodford Green,
 both having a best jump of 1:85.
 However Tommy had to settle for Silver when the two were devided onn the number of attempts.

U17 Men - 100M Hurdles

Craig Carter came 2nd in his heat with a time of 15:53 to qualify forv the final where he fished 6th in an improved 15:39.

Under 20 Men - 110M Hurdles

Huy Vu took the Bronze Medal placing 3rd in the final with a time of 16:05.

Under 20 Men - 1500M

In a high class 1500M final, Frankie Conway was 10th in 4:09.48.

Under 20 Men - 800M
 
Frankie Conway was 4th in Heat 1 with an excellent sub-2 minute time of 1:59.62 but just mised reaching the final by a fraction of a second.


Senior Men - 800M

Oliver Heeks became the first ever Orion Harriers Senior Mens 800 Mentres Champion winning in 1:52.55

Senior Men - 1500M
 
Oliver Heeks took the Silver Medal to add to his Gold over 800M. Oli finished in a sub-4 minute time of 3:57.12. in 6th place was Orion's Danny Mopses in 4:05.24 and in 10th place came Jack Stroud with 4:10.38.George Hoy was 8th from 13 runners in a time of 5:03.33 in his preliminary round heat.

 

 
A number of Orion's youngsters competed for Waltham Forest in the London Mini-Marathon across the Capital's streets last weekend.
 Leading the way for the Waltham Forest was the boys' aged 15-17 contingent who won the team award in the London boroughs' event. Individually, there were high place finishes for Frankie Conway (13th), Auberon Hall (32nd), Matthew Moy (89th) and Daniel Penfold (147th).
Georgia Tuckfield ran magnificently to come home in second place in the girls' aged 11-12 category, ably supported by Sydney taylor (13th), Amelia Hall (43rd), Madeleine Carr (79th), Casey Caldenk (96th), Joelle Ewen (105th) and Bethany Frost (113th), to be placed fifth in the overall team award.
For the girls' aged 15-17 race, Orion runners were also well placed, led by Lauren MacGregor (8th), Jay Andrews (9th), Melissa Timpson (150th) and Emily Jung (200th).
In the boys' aged 13-14 event, Auberic Hall was well placed (57th), followed by Joseph Glynn (137th), Jesse Taylor (143rd), Tommy Penfold (167th) and Jack Waller (187th).
For the girls' aged 13-14 run, Orion runners also performed with great credit with a strong finishes from Armanni Antoine-Chagar (14th), Charlotte Matthews (34th) and Rosie Hudson-Edmonds (107th).
The boys' 11-12 race was also well contested by Orion athletes, led by Cheyenne Antoine-Chagar (37th), Paul Inkpen (166th), Samuel Glynn (172nd) and Ben Goodyear (231st).

It was a highly successful day for the Orion Harriers Junior Team in Colchester on Sunday as Orion runners collected a haul of championship medals for the Chingford Club. It was one of Orion's most successful championships as they turned out to be one of the dominate Clubs at the 2009 Championships.
 The Under 15 Girls team led the Gold rush on Sunday as their very powerful trio of  Armani Antoine-Chager, Jay Andrews and Lauren MacGregor blitzed the opposition with a sizzling display of speed round the 3km course to take 'Double Gold' with Chager adding individual Gold for the fastest lap of the day to the much deserved Team Gold Medals as the girls ran away from the opposition for a clear victory.
Earlier in the Under 13 Girls race Georgia Tuckfield set the second fastest individual lap time, just missing individual Gold, leading home her team mates Rosie Edmons-Hudson and Emily Chung.
The Under 13 boys team of Jack Waller, George Hoy and Cheyenne Antoine-Chager took Team Silver with another fine display and  George Hoy setting the second fastest individual lap time of the day .The under 17 Men's Team of Frankie Conway, Chris Atkins and Danny Penfold won Silver with Frankie Conway in red hot form taking the individual gold with the fastest 3km lap time of the day to put the icing on the cake.

A number of Orion’s Under 13 age-group youngsters were in action at Trent Park last week
 in the last Chingford League race meeting of the season. 

Leading the way for the girls’ relay team was Millie Hall who ran a storming first leg to finish in second place in her race,
a position that was matched by Orion’s second runner Rosie Edmonds.
 Late substitute Katie Inch stepped in for the Chingford-based club to run the third leg and managed to maintain second place for
 the all-important last leg which was run by the Essex county athlete Georgia Tuckfield. Rising to the challenge,
Georgia forced the pace to achieve a magnificent first place for Orion.

There was similar success for the boys’ under 13 team of Jack Waller, Zac Hall, Paul Inkpen and
 Cheyenne Antoine-Chagar who all ran outstanding races to lead this event from start to finish in achieving an excellent win-double for the boys and girls.

The final standings in the Chingford League individual events have now been announced and Orion have been able to celebrate a superb haul of end of seasons honours.
 In the under 13 boys’ placings, George Hoy receives a gold medal and Jesse Taylor the bronze.
For the under 13 girls, Georgia Tuckfield won the gold and Sydney Taylor took the bronze.
 There was bronze medal success for Alex Gordon in the under 15 boys’ standings, whilst Lauren MacGregor and Jay Andrews took silver and bronze medals for the under 15 girls.
 There were two excellent gold medal end of year placings for Auberon Hall in the under 17 boys’ event and Laura O’Connor in the under 17 girls’ event.

In other news for Orion, Lauren MacGregor represented Essex County in the
800 metres inter-counties fixture, coming in second overall in her first year as an under 17 girl runner.

In what has become a regular event on the calendar for Orion’s athletes, more than fifty young runners competed in the London Mini-Marathon trials in Hainault.
 Encouragingly, half of these young runners achieved top three finishes in their respective age groups.

Orion youngster Tommy Black was in jubilant mood last weekend after his scintillating showing in winning the silver medal, with a personal best equalling jump of 1.85 metres, in the under 17 men’s high jump at the England Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham.
Tommy has continued to improve over the winter and can now hold his own in the very best company at his age-group at what is one of the most technical of athletics events.

Last Weekend at Lea Valley Athletics Centre, after a heavy schedule of winter cross country running, Orion’s youngsters showed their undoubted class as they adapted superbly to compete in the Essex Indoor Track and Field Championships.
 It is never easy making the transition from the demands of the often muddy and stamina-sapping cross-country courses to the shorter `lung-busting’ challenges presented by the track circuits, but there were a number of outstanding performances for the Chingford club as they scooped seventeen medals overall in this prestigious annual event which attracts the top youngsters from across the county.

There were a host of gold medal winning efforts from Orion’s athletes. Leading the way with first place finishes were India Wellings in the under 15 girls’ pole vault with a personal best of 2.05 metres. Cheyenne Antoine-Chagar in the under 13 boys’ 800 metres, who also set a personal best and broke the County record with his time of 2 minutes 32 seconds.  Huy Vu won the junior men’s 60 metres hurdles, Jermaine Hamilton the under 15 boys’ 200 metres and Oliver Heeks the senior men’s 800 metres race.

Orion also returned with a large haul of silver medals with excellent efforts from George Hoy in the under 15 boys’ 800 metres, Huy Vu in the junior men’s triple jump, Aaron Glasgow in the under 15 boys’ 200 metres, Lauren MacGregor in the under 17 girls’ 800 metres, Deheema Rose in the junior women’s 200 metres, Leah Alleyne in the under 15 girls’ 300 metres and Nikkita Sartori-Sigrist in the under 15 girls’ 60 metres hurdles.

Underlining their strength in depth, there were also notable bronze medal successes for Jay Andrews in the under 17 girls’ 800 metres, Georgia Tuckfield in the under 13 girls’ 800 metres, Ashley Alexis in the junior men’s 400 metres and Amy Jung in the under 17girls’ long jump.

Paul Inkpen (under 15 boys’ 60 metres hurdles), Jermaine Hamilton (under 15 boys’ 60 metres sprint), Evie Padmore (under 15 girls’ 60 metres sprint) and Amy Richards (under 13 girls’ 60 metres sprint) all excelled as they made the finals of their respective events. Channon Bramwell, Emily Jung, Daniel Penfold and Andrew Adams all showed their versatility in competing well in a number of different events.

Orion Juniors manager Jane Farrier said “ This is a really proud weekend for the club because we are traditionally known as a cross country club but these results show that we are now established as an all round cross country and athletics club.
This has been achieved in a short amount of time by a small, dedicated group of coaches and it is great to see everyone’s efforts paying off”.

Chingford C of E Junior School and Greenleaf Primary School had good cause for celebration
as they won the girls and boys annual Primary Schools Cross-Country Championships on the Chingford Plains.
Hosted and run by officials from Orion Harriers, both the boys and girls’ individual events attracted over one hundred pupils
 and there were thirteen Waltham Forest schools competing in the team events.

In the individual girls’ race, the Chingford C of E Junior team had five
of the first ten runners home as Tilly Canham won the gold medal, Bethany Frost the silver, Courtney Reid the bronze and
they were ably supported by Sophie Grant in sixth place and Charlotte Gordon in tenth position.
This meant that the C of E team won the team gold medal by a considerable margin.
St Patrick’s Primary took the silver medal in the team race and Chase Lane Primary won the bronze medal.

For the boys’ run, Callum McLarty from Greenleaf Primary finished in first place,
Charlie Weston from Chase Lane Primary came second and Morgan Letchford from Chingford C of E Juniors finished in third position.
 Greenleaf Primary took the honours by winning the boys’ team race, with Winns Primary taking the silver and Yardley Primary the bronze.

The Orion junior manager Jane Farrier was understandably overjoyed with what turned out
to be a highly successful morning of cross-country running and was thrilled with the excellent turn-out in extremely cold and muddy conditions.
 Jane thanked the Orion officials and helpers for their support at this event and would welcome any new young runners to the club.
General sessions for new members start at 10.00am on Sunday mornings.

Orion Harriers fielded a strong team in the prestigious South of England Championships in Uxbridge
 against many of the country's finest cross-country runners.
The conditions underfoot for the young athletes, after severe downpours of heavy rain,
were amongst the worst ever witnessed for this event.
 
Leading the way for the Chingford club was Jack Stroud who managed an amazing 13th place finish in the under 20 men's race.
Under 13 girl runner Georgia Tuckfield continued to hit the heights with an excellent 26th position
 from a total of over two hundred athletes. She was ably supported in her race by Sydney Taylor (87th) and Yasmin Crosby (214th).
 
George Hoy finished in a creditable 70th position for the under 13 boys and there were other good efforts from Jess Taylor (140th),
 Jack Waller (144th), Tom Hutchinson (155th), Paul Inkpen (182nd) and Cheyenne Antoine-Chager (194th).
 
Orion's three under 15 girls all had outstanding runs, led home by Armanni Antoine-Chager in 39th place,
closely followed by Lauren MacGregor (41st) and Jay Andrews (63rd), Charlotte Matthams came 151st ,
which meant that they finished as the 12th team out of 30 for this age category.
 
Ben Silverstone was the only runner for the under 15 boys,
but he managed to record a 152nd place finish within a very large field of runners.
 Frankie Conway represented the under 17 Orion boys with distinction, completing the course in an excellent 33rd position ably supported by Christopher Atkins in 156 th position.

Orion Harriers kept up their impressive early season form with a number of promising displays in the recent Chingford League fixture at Alexander Palace .

Leading the way for Orion was under 13 girl runner Georgina Tuckfield who romped to victory in her category, Sydney Taylor came 3^rd , they were   ably supported by Isabelle Barry in 10th, Emily Young in 13^th and Yasmin Crosby in 14th.

In the under 13 boys' run, Jesse Taylor (2nd), Jack Waller (4th), Tom Hutchinson (5th) ,George Hoy (6th) and Andres Adams (10^th) all gained valuable team points for the club.

For the under 15 girls, Lauren MacGregor and Jay Andrews set the early pace and ran impressively to record first and second place finishes. Melissa Timpson had a steady race to finish in 13^th position to pick up useful points in the team event.

For the under 15 boys, Alex Gordon came home in 6th place and Ben Silverstone ran steadily to finish in 9th position, just ahead of Auberon Hall in 12th.

In the under 17 divisions, Laura O'Connor ran an excellent race to achieve a creditable fourth place for the girls, while in the boys' run, Daniel Penfold finished strongly to record a 4th place finish, narrowly defeating club colleague Auberon Hall in 5th. Ellis Ball did justice to his talents to finish 9th in a good quality field.

Orion played host to the final Essex League fixture, which was again held over the festive period,
and there were a number of outstanding individual performances in this most high quality field.
This fixture also served as the Orion club championships.

In the under 13 Essex girls’ run, Georgia Tuckfield kept up the pace to finish in second place,
 which secured her second position overall in the final season’s standings.
There were also excellent ninth and 16th place finishes for Sydney Taylor and Sienna Blake.
Isobelle Barry finished in 27th, Millie Hall in 30th and Emily Jung in 34th.

George Hoy showed his qualities to finish in fifth place for the under 13 boys,
 very ably supported by Jesse Taylor in 12th position and Cheyenne Antoine-Chagar in 19th place.
Tom Hutchinson ran well for 21st place.

For the under 15 girls, Lauren MacGregor (5th), Armani Antoine-Chagar (6th), Jay Andrews (8th) and Melissa Timpson (24th)
were all in fine form,
as were under 15 boys Alex Gordon (12th), Ben Silverstone (15th), Tommy Penfold (23rd), Bix Hall (27th) and Buddy Green (31st).

In the under 17 boys’ event, Frankie Conway maintained his good recent form with a fine fourth place finish,
supported by Daniel Penfold in ninth and Auberon Hall in 10th position. For the under 17 girls,
Laura O’Connor had an excellent 13th place finish whilst Jessica Kipps  and Amy Jung recorded solid 17th and 18th place positions.

In the under 20 boys’ race, Jack Stroud raced home in third place
 to give him the silver medal in the final overall individual standings for the season.