FIVE young athletes of Richmond and Zetland Harriers competed for their school county teams at the English Schools Track and Field championships held at Exeter and all can be pleased with their performances.

Nick Zissler ran the junior boys 1500ms in the colours of County Durham and smashed his personal best time for the event when he contested a four man sprint for the line to secure a place in the final.

His time of 4mins15-67 was the second fastest in Friday's heats and ensured his place in Saturday's final.

The final was another hard fought race that Nick contested fiercely but he had to settle for fourth place, just outside the medal positions, with another excellent time of 4mins18-19.

Andrea Woodvine also produced another outstanding performance as she contested the senior girls 1500ms in the colours of North Yorkshire. Andrea not only set a new personal best time of 4mins42-08 but also broke the club women's 1500m record that has stood for nine years. Her time placed her sixth in her heat and she just missed out on a place in the final.

Kim Bartram was another North Yorkshire athlete to be inspired by the big championship atmosphere as she set a new personal best time of 42-25secs in the intermediate girls 300ms but was unable to progress further than the first round.

Laura McAlhone also ran well for the North Yorkshire team in the junior girls 200ms but was unable to reproduce her recent good form and went out in the heats with a time of 27-55secs. However, Laura went on to help the North Yorkshire junior girls 4x100m relay team win a place in the final where they finished in eighth place with a time of 52-50secs.

Samantha Coulson contested the intermediate girls shot putt for North Yorkshire but was unable to attain her own high standard of throwing as she bravely struggled with a shoulder injury and finished with a best throw of 7-83ms.

l Richmond and Zetland Harriers had some good results from the 14 athletes who attended the fourth meeting of the North Yorkshire and South Durham League at Claireville on Tuesday evening.

Amy Poulter took second place in the U15 girls shot putt with 7-93ms and also ran the 100ms in 14-7secs. Two junior men were present for the club and Dan Brooks took fifth place in the senior men's 1500ms with a time of 4mins20-4 and Scott Wardman completed a 2000m steeplechase in 7mins02-7. Rebecca Robinson took third place in the U15 girls 800ms with a time of 2mins32-3 with team member, Amy Baines following her across the line in 2mins33-0.

Georgina Zissler finished with a time of 2mins51-0 and later ran 100ms in 14-4secs whilst Sadie Potter completed the U15 girls 800m race in a time of 2mins53-6. Rebecca Rennison had a busy night as she took fifth place in the U13 girls 800ms with a time of 2mins48-1, ran the 100ms in 14-9secs and took third place in the high jump with 1-25mtrs.

Ashleigh Robinson finished in third place in the U13 girls 800ms with 2mins 43-9 and Jessica Gray followed her across the line in 2mins 44-3.

The Gray twins found their positions reversed in the 100ms as Scarlett finished in 16-3secs and Jessica in 17-1secs. Josh Myers took second place in the U13 boys 1500ms on his club debut with a time of 5mins42-7 and Matthew Prosser took sixth place in the U17 boys 100m with a time of 13-0secs.

Kim Bartram won the U17 girls 300m race in 43-2secs and took 2nd place in the 100mtr race with a time of 13-7secs.

l Results from races in the Harrogate midweek league event hosted by Richmond & Zetland held on June 28 at Aske were as follows. -

Individual: 3 Eric Williams 31.29, 6 Mark Hawtin 32.16, 8 John Orange 32.47, 13 Karl Povey 33.32, 15 Dan Brooks 33.50, 16 Shaun Purkiss 33.54, 19 Scott Wardman 34.20, 21 Robin Carter 34.46, 29 (& 7th V40) Chris Peacock 35.20, 33 Ian Scott 35.35, 35th (& 5th V45) Tony Colmer 38.16, 46 Doug Howarth 37.16, 55 (& 6th V50) Mike Brooks 37.52, 57t (& 3rd Lady) Louise Jackson 38.04, 78 Paul O'Mahoney 40.00, 82 Paul Zissler 40.34, 86 Ian Hepworth 40.50, 93 Shane Boulton 41.33, 96 Neil Piper 42.01, 108 Duncan Fothergill 43.23, 116 Andy Whiteley 44.10, 118 Fiona Hughes 44.25, 120 Martin Carter 44.43, 140 Grete Buck 51.15, 142 Alan Starvis 52.25, 145 Karon Storey 53.37 & 146 Bill Simms 53.58.

Teams on the night: Open 1st, Elite 2nd, Ladies 5th, Male Vets 2nd, Lady Vets 8th and final standings: Open 3rd, Elite 3rd, Ladies 7th, Male Vets 5th & Lady Vets 9th = 27 points, finishing equal 5th with Ripon in the overall club category.

For more information on R&Z, telephone Mike Brooks on 01748 824040.