Treble-up Tania flies the flag for Mansfield Harriers

The remarkable Tania Smith spearheaded another improved performance by Mansfield Harriers' junior athletes in the latest of the indoor Sportshall League meetings.
ATHLETE OF THE MATCH -- Tania Smith, who continued her remarkable run of form for Mansfield Harriers.ATHLETE OF THE MATCH -- Tania Smith, who continued her remarkable run of form for Mansfield Harriers.
ATHLETE OF THE MATCH -- Tania Smith, who continued her remarkable run of form for Mansfield Harriers.

Smith won all three of her events at U13 level to take the female athlete of the match award and equalled the league record in the standing triple junmp with a leap of 7.02 metres.

For good measure, she also won the two-lap race in a personal-best (PB) time of 23.2 seconds and then went on to do 77 leaps in the speed bounce.

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Smith’s exploits helped the U13 girls win their age group and Harriers finish fourth on the day to move into fourth place overall in the seven-club league after two fixtures.

A total of 26 juniors from the club competed at the event, including four first-timers, and Smith was well supported by Ellie Sheppard, who pipped teammate Sophie Brown to victory in the shot put. Brown went on to finish fifth in the six-lap race, while Bryony Evans put in solid performances in the two-lap race and the speed bounce. All four girls combined for a comfortable win in the relay.

The U15 girls also topped their age group, led by the ever-improving Jessica Lake, who led from start to finish in the four-lap race after coming second in the two-lap race in a PB time and also in the standing triple jump. Holly-May Spencer was close to her PB in the four-lap race and scored good points in the speed bounce, while Katie Kemp was third in the shot put and Grace Angus performed well in the standing triple jump and two-lap race. Again, all four combined to win the relay.

In the U11 girls’ age group, Tammy Smith was second in the standing long jump and claimed two thirds in the one-lap race (in a PB) and speed bounce. Beth Hamilton ran a fantastic two-lap race to come second, while Georgina Brown finished second in the foam javelin. The trio teamed up with Grace Manson to finish third in the relay.

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Six other U11 girls who competed in three events were Zoe Spencer, Ellie Worthy, Jemima Waller, Elizabeth Sinclair, Katie Manning and Matilda Evans.

For the U11 boys, third places were achieved by Alistair Homewood in the two-lap race, Jake Orr in the one-lap race and Michael Manning in the standing triple jump. Matthew Young was fifth in both the speed bounce and the foam javelin, while Daniel Ulik performed well in the one-lap race.

Two non club members, Rob Ellis and Jakub Ulik, competed at U15 level, while Oliver Allan looked a decent runner in the making for the U9s.

On a quiet weekend for both road and cross-country action, four Harriers took part in the Thoresby 10-mile or 10k events. Maddy Collinge clocked 82 minutes and Jemma Arbon 100 minutes in the 10-miler, while fresh recruit Karen Kowalski produced a promising debut in the 10k, posting a time of 59.36 minutes, aahead of Michelle Baxter, who came home in 67 minutes.