ENGLISH SCHOOLS' TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

SIMI Fajemisin dug deep to retain her long jump title at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium and spearhead a golden hat-trick for Oxfordshire.

The 16-year-old, from Headington School, led the way by repeating last year’s success in a nail-biting finish to the intermediate girls’ event.

Henley College’s Rebecca Keating and Amy Holder then followed in her footsteps by winning the senior girls’ hammer and discus respectively to complete Oxon’s trio of golds.

Fajemisin held on to pip Essex’s Naomi Harryman by just 2cm, having recorded her winning distance of 5.78m in rounds four and five.

That was 13cm short of the 5.91m she took gold with last year.

With Harryman producing her best effort in the last round, the Oxfordshire teenager, who also won junior silver in 2012, had an anxious wait before discovering she had held on to her crown.

Fajemisin, who lives at Horton-cum-Studley, said: “Even at the end I wasn’t really sure where I had come, but to win was really good because I didn’t jump so well.

“I wanted to do better than last year, so it’s nice to come first again.”

Now Fajemisin will represent England in the SIAB International in Cardiff today.

Holder, who won bronze 12 months ago, stepped up on that effort to take gold with a throw of 44.26m and lead home an Oxon one-two, with Kathryn Woodcock (Our Lady’s, Abingdon) capturing silver thanks to a personal best 43.60m.

Keating, an intermediate gold medallist for Berkshire last year, followed up that success on her Oxfordshire debut with a commanding victory, although it came with its fair share of drama.

She had already posted her winning distance of 52.22m – 4.33m clear of runner-up Charlotte Gould, of Middlesex – when she fell on to the rim of the circle in the fifth round and cracked her head.

Keating was shaken, but still took her sixth throw and had recovered by the end of the day.

Amy Herrington (Gillotts, Henley) captured silver in the intermediate girls’ hammer with 55.53m, beating the previous championship best as Shropshire’s Katie Lambert struck gold with 56.18m.

Herrington joins Fajemisin at Cardiff along with Ben Claridge (King Alfred’s, Wantage), whose personal best of 1mins 53.56secs saw him take silver in the intermediate boys’ 800m.

He finished runner-up to Essex’s Daniel Rowden, who crossed the line in 1.52.86.

Faringdon’s Will Crisp completed Oxon’s haul of seven medals with bronze in the junior boys’ 800m.

He ran a personal best of 2.01.37, as South Yorkshire’s Keelan Wilson won in 2.01.13.

Jade O’Dowda (Gosford Hill, Kidlington) missed out on a medal in agonising fashion, finishing fourth on countback in the junior girls’ high jump after posting the same clearance of 1.69m as winner Grace Chambers, of Wiltshire.

Abingdon’s Christian Von Eitzen, an intermediate gold medallist last year, finished seventh in the senior boys’ 800m.

OXFORDSHIRE RESULTS

GIRLS

Senior – 1,500m: 9 E Slevin (Kingham Hill) 4.42.93*. Long jump: 9 L Hooper (John Mason) 5.22. Discus: 1 A Holder (Henley College) 44.26**, 2 K Woodcock (Our Lady’s) 43.60pb**. Javelin: 7 M Moran (Magdalen College School) 39.83pb*. Hammer: 1 R Keating (Henley College) 52.22**.
Intermediate – 1,500m ht: 2 M Humphreys (Chipping Norton) 4.35.37**; final: 6 M Humphreys 4.32.52pb**. 300mH ht: 3 A Byles (Cherwell) 45.19*; final: 6 A Byles 45.34*. Long jump: 1 S Fajemisin (Headington) 5.78**, 10 A Hopkins (Lord Williams’s) 5.14. Discus: 6 L Chantler Edmond (Cherwell) 36.50**. Hammer pool A: 2 A Herrington (Gillotts) 50.35**; final: 2 A Herrington 55.53***.
Junior – 800m ht: 4 E Thompson (Warriner) 2.14.27**; final: 8 E Thompson 2.20.75. 1,500m ht: 5 N Bowley (Gillotts) 4.42.56*; final: N Bowley 4.45.57*. 75mH ht: 4 H Dubber (Blessed George Napier) 11.74*; semi-final: 7 H Dubber 13.93. High jump: 4 J O’Dowda (Gosford Hill) 1.69pb**, 15 R Scott (Banbury Academy) 1.49.

BOYS

Senior – 800m ht: 1 C Von Eitzen (Abingdon) 1.53.45*; semi-final: 2 C Von Eitzen 1.53.70*; final: 7 C Von Eitzen 1.52.81**. Discus: 6 G Randhawa (Henley College) 47.85**, 7 T Napiorkowski (Blessed George Napier) 46.39**.
Intermediate – 200m ht: 6 A Rowett (Chipping Norton) 22.65**. 800m ht: 1 B Claridge (King Alfred’s) 1.59.39; final: 2 B Claridge 1.53.56pb**. 400mH ht: 6 T Stephens (Magdalen College School) 56.00pb**. Shot: 10 F Boyce (St Edward’s) 12.86.
Junior – 800m ht: 2 W Crisp (Faringdon) 2.02.82**; final: 3 W Crisp 2.01.37pb**.
* = English Standard
** = National Standard
*** = Championship Best

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