BOYS and girls from Wyre Forest more than held their own representing Hereford and Worcester at the English Schools’ Athletics Association (ESAA) Track and Field Champion-ships at the weekend.

Pupils who had made it through school, district, county and inter-county championships earned a chance to take on the best young athletes in the country at Gateshead.

Bryony Haines, from The Bewdley School and Sixth Form Centre, placed seventh in the senior girls’ 3,000m in nine minutes 59.15 seconds.

Incredibly, she has represented the county every year in both track and field and cross country events through the junior, intermediate and now senior levels.

William Richardson, from Kidderminster’s Baxter College, has achieved a similar representation for Hereford and Worcester Schools over the years. He finished ninth in the senior boys’ 3,000m.

For the second time in three years, Katie Lambert won the hammer competition. This time she clinched first place in the senior girls category with a throw of 55.99 metres.

Meanwhile, Jack Lambert came fourth in the junior, Izzy James competed in the senior girls 800m and James Milburn took part in the intermediate boys triple jump The county sent a 35-strong squad to the North East and came away with two medals.

Danielle Hopkins of The Chase School in Malvern won silver in the junior girls’ high jump with a height of 1.72m.

There was also a bronze for Isobel Parry-Jones, who ran the 800m in 2-13.5s.

In the relays, the intermediate and senior boys’ teams reached the finals.

The intermediate boys’ foursome of Harry Liversidge (Bromsgrove School), Oliver Gould (The De Montfort School), Dan Banks (Tudor Grange Academy Worcester) and Josh Pearson (St Augustine’s Catholic High School, Redditch) placed sixth, while the senior boys lost out to a bronze medal in the final few metres to finish fourth.

In the various age group team competitions, the senior boys were the highest-ranked Hereford & Worcester team, finishing seventh out of the 14 counties in their group.

Both the senior and junior girls’ teams finished ninth.