Cody leads Juniors to victory at Salisbury

Following on from the success at the last match, Oxford City came away from this penultimate fixture of the NYAL with another first place performance, finishing just under 30 points ahead of Wycombe, Winchester and hosts Salisbury.
The u17 ladies led the way with 17 first place performances. Emily Moore picked up 3 firsts in long 4.99m and triple 10.06m jumps then the 100m. Emily Carstairs matched the jumps, with a 9.97 pb in the triple jump, and picked up her 3rd first in the 80m hurdles. Becky Hussey picked up the B string hurdles to add to her 200m and 300m sprint firsts. The hurdles and sprints also bought success for Amy Cooper in the 300m hurdle and the 100m and despite a pb of 6.96m in the shot had to settle for 2nd place. Melissa Hawtin took the 800m and 1500m middle distances with Jade Walker claiming the B string 1500m. Not to be left out, new girl Zoe Gabriel took first place in the B string shot and put in creditable performances in  the 300m and 800m races. The girls capped the afternoon off by opting for the 4x300m instead of the 4x100m relay and finished in 2;58.1 to set a new club record. 
The U15 girls struggled against tough opposition and despite 7 personal bests, only managed to pick up 6 first places. Tilly Vaughan-Fowler started the day with a win in the long jump 4.26m before throwing 23.37m to win the javelin. Tilly then jumped a pb of 1.40m to take 2nd in the high jump while Maike Chapel won the B string with 1.35m. Rebecca Byren was first home in the B string 1500m while Imogen Van Zyl enjoyed B string success in the shot with a pb of 5.66m this was followed by 2 further pb's in the 800m 2;27.3 and 75m hurdles 16.0sother pb's came from Jess Anstice 7.69m shot, Leah Sinclair-Pearson 30.8s 200m and Rebecca Byren 11.34m discus.
The U13 girls once again enjoyed a successful day, with almost all events either taking first place or being a pb. Ellanor Jones, only turned up to support her team mates, but was called into action when another athlete was unable to compete, picked up pb's in the 70m hurdles and 800m  Amy Busby looked comfortable with first place in the 150m with a pb of 21.2s and Charlotte Smith claimed the B string in 23.3s. The middle distance proved successful with Beth Hawtin pb 3;57.4 put her third in the UK rankings and Mya Walker pb 4;31.0 in the 1200m. In the 800m Beth Mulvany set a new pb with 2;43.6   Isabella Sanghera jumped 1.25m in the high jump for first place, equalling her pb, but got a pb in the long jump with 3.56m. Olivia Johnson, Simi Fajemisin, Amy Busby and Charlotte Smith then rounded the afternoon off with a comfortable win  in the relay crossing the line in 57.7s
The boys did not let the girls have all the glory, with 17 first place finishes and 18 personal bests. This time it was the turn of the u13s to show a huge improvement; Alex Jones was pipped on the line for first place in the A string 100m, Maxwell Jones going one better to win the B string. In the 200m Alex again got a creditable 2nd place, with Krishan Parameswaran bagging first place in the B string.   This was followed by a first and second in the high jump (Phil Collins and Maxwell Jones), a first place in the long jump (Krishan) and two second places in the shot (Phil Collins, Matthew Soanes). A good day was capped by a fast 4 x 100m quartet bringing the baton home in 57.9s for first place. 
The u15 boys struggled for first place finishes against older athletes, though Matt Gain deserves special mention for second place finishes in the 100m and 200m, and a first place in his first discus competition as well as two PBs. Josh Tack and Ben Upjohn ran well for second places in the A and B string 1500m, while James O’Callaghan, Michael Ruiz and Tom Stockford chipped away at their PBs in the 400m, 80m hurdles and 100m respectively and gained good second places as a result.
The under 17s were again powerful, with 19 first or second place finishes between them. Marcus Woodington, with two first places and a second place (B string 100m, A string 100m hurdles and A string javelin), Josh Flather with two first places and second (B string javelin, A string shot, B string 400m) were contenders for Oxford’s male athlete of the match, but James Cody again eclipsed them with three first places in the 800m, 1500m and 1500m steeplechase, plus a welljudged anchor leg for the victorious 4 x 400m relay team. Once again Mark Warland performed well in the discus, gaining first place with a 26.09m throw, backed up with a good triple jump of over 10m. Both Ryan Meredith and Sam Kelly contributed B string victories and good points in hurdles and throws.
This performance moved Oxford City up to 3rd place in the league, just outside the promotion places with just one match to go at Milton Keynes