Sennockian 2017-2018 | Page 88

Athletics and working on their physical and mental capacities to embark on new milestones. This culminated in the breaking of several long-standing records. Special mentions go to Fin Croll, who broke the boys’ junior 1500m record (4 min 28 secs), which had previously stood for a remarkable 30 years, and to Lucinda White. Lucinda was selected to represent Kent at the English Schools Nationals, a superb achievement from a fine young athlete who has made substantial progress in javelin and is reaching new heights in pole vault. Lucinda continues to meet national standards and has also set a new National Prep Schools record with a throw in excess of 38m. The Saturday fixture programme saw great competition between a number of top independent schools, including Tonbridge, Judd, King’s Canterbury, Epsom, Hampton and Hurstpierpoint. Wednesdays showcased some fine meets with Tonbridge Grammar, Weald of Kent, Hillview, Knole Academy, Radnor House and Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar. Imogen Moran made fine use of these fixtures to significantly improve her 800m time. This year’s campaign in the English Schools Track and Field Cup saw four teams progress to regional finals. The junior girls did especially well in qualifying for the regional A final, but unfortunately missed out on qualifying for the nationals as they were just edged into fourth place. The inter girls and boys and junior boys put in a sterling performance at the regional B final, with the red and white Sevenoaks stripes featuring in top-placed finishes in both track and field events. Another blistering season saw the school establish themselves as a force in the county. This year, Sevenoaks athletes built on the momentum from last season to produce a multitude of team and individual successes. Many of our athletes showed drive and determination to improve, continuously critiquing their performance, refining their technique, 82 This year’s National Preparatory Schools Championships also proved to be a winning day for our athletes. A glorious sunny day in Ashford gave the perfect opportunity for lots of our junior athletes to enjoy competing. Nine of them qualified for the nationals, where they gained outstanding results, with nine top five places across track and field events. Final messages of thanks go to the support of our external staff. Mark White’s expertise was extremely valuable and had a real impact upon the students’ learning, helping to produce some outstanding performances from our field athletes. Thank you also to Geoff Marshall, who has brought a new sense of professionalism and knowledge to the strength and conditioning programme at Sevenoaks. His contribution is having a profound effect upon our students and the results speak for themselves. Cath Nicholson and Jamie Cullen SPORT REVIEW National Preparatory Schools Championships Competitors Georgia Baker U14G long jump U14G 4 x 100m relay Amber Boardman U13G javelin Annabel Cheveley U14G long jump U14G 4 x 100m relay Natalya Keller U14G high jump U14G 75m hurdles U14G 4 x 100m relay Tom Phillips U14B 1500m Tan Rabe U13B 1500m Lucinda White U14G javelin U14G shot put U14G 4 x 100m relay SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2017-2018 83