Havering Mayesbrook's Kate Cowley won pole vault gold at the Essex & Eastern Counties Indoors

Strong medal haul for club at Essex & Eastern Indoor Championships

Havering Mayesbrook AC came away with a haul of 25 medals – 11 of them gold – from the weekend’s two-day Essex & Eastern Counties Indoor Championships at Lee Valley.

Pole Vaulters Kate Cowley and Mercy Gutteridge both won gold, as Cowley cleared a new career best and club record of 3.80 metres to take top honours, while Gutteridge had a faultless competition up to her club record-equalling 2.80m clearance, but missed out on 2.90m.

The other jumps brought four more podium places.

Josh Olawore pulled out a winning leap in the under-20 competition with Richard Holland in second.

Other long jump medals went to Alex Law who won under-17 silver and Zoe Young who was third in the senior event, as Bethan Siddons defended her senior high jump title.

The hurdles events delivered a crop of four medals.

Chloe van Wulven defended her senior title and Jack Edgar-Hill won his third consecutive under-20 crown, with Olawore’s first attempt at the under-20 hurdles event yielding silver.

Robbie Clarricoats again trimmed his best in the under-17 hurdles clocking 8.39 seconds for silver.

There were three shot put medals as Emmanuel Quarshie edged a competitive senior event by one centimetre with 13.11m, while Laurence Goodacre claimed bronze with 13.05m.

Rachel Forder’s first under-17 competition brought her gold with 9.69m to jump in at seventh on the club all-time age rankings.

Four medals came in the two-lap 400m.

Thomas Pitkin smashed his previous best to clock 59.32s to make the 400m final and his 60.3s in the final brought him Essex gold and Eastern silver.

Isaac Ogunlade took the lead at half-way in the senior race and was a comfortable winner.

Danny Wilson was second in the under-20 400m event and a new indoor PB brought George Hadler Essex bronze in the under-17 competition.

Alex Hewitt set PBs in heat and final to win under-15 60m Essex gold and Eastern bronze, while further bronze medals went to Rachel Kerr and Robbie Clarricoats.

Birmingham University student Vicky Smith had a successful weekend winning Essex gold and Eastern silver in the 1,500m on Saturday and returning to win 800m silver in a new personal best.

Two further 800m medals came as Paul Adair’s new personal best placed second in the senior competition, while Massi Dendani was also runner-up in the under-20 race. In the under-13 age group Rebecca Brown set a new best in winning 800m bronze.