A "remarkable" summer of athletics has culminated in four Ripon Grammar School students being selected to represent North Yorkshire at one of the country’s most prestigious national championships.
Pip Robinson, Holly Nash, and Beth Takieddine of Ripon Grammar School will compete at the English Schools’ Track and Field Championships in Birmingham on July 10 and 11.
They are among 40 athletes chosen to represent North Yorkshire based on standout performances at the North Yorkshire Schools Championships and the Inter-Counties Championships.
Fellow student Simon Bordewich was also selected but has withdrawn due to injury.
Adam Milner, director of sport at RGS, said: "Every one of these athletes has performed brilliantly, not only at county level but also against some of the strongest competition in the region.
"Their success is even more impressive given the variety of disciplines they compete in, from sprinting and hurdles to pole vault and middle-distance running.
"These students are fantastic ambassadors for RGS.
"They balance demanding training schedules with their studies and consistently demonstrate determination, humility and a desire to keep improving.
"We look forward to cheering them on at English Schools and seeing what they achieve next."
The RGS athletes earned five county titles at the North Yorkshire Schools Championships in York.
Holly Nash won the 400m hurdles, Simon Bordewich took gold in the 400m, Beth Takieddine clinched both the 100m and 200m titles, Ollie Deavin secured the 3,000m, and Pip Robinson won the pole vault, equalling the championship record.
Their momentum continued at the Inter-Counties Championships in Middlesbrough, where they helped North Yorkshire finish second behind Northumberland Schools.
Pip won the junior girls’ pole vault, Holly finished fourth in the senior girls’ 400m hurdles, Beth took bronze in both the 100m and 200m, and Ollie placed second in the senior boys’ 3,000m.
Sixteen-year-old Holly Nash, from Ripon, said: "I started athletics in Year 7 as a cross-country and long-distance runner.
"Then in Year 9 I moved to City of York Athletics Club and started to take hurdles and combined events seriously.
"I would love to medal at English Schools and aim to qualify to represent England in the next few years.
"They are big dreams but not out of reach."
Fourteen-year-old Pip Robinson has been training in pole vault for just two years and has already cleared 2.80m, placing her joint seventh in the UK for her age group.
She also competes in high jump and hammer throw, plays football, and dances.
Beth Takieddine has established herself as one of the region’s top sprinters with a season that included two county titles and two Inter-Counties bronze medals.
Simon Bordewich, 16, from Burton Leonard, is a two-time national champion.
He previously won the English Schools 300m title and secured another national title at this year’s England Athletics Indoor National Championships.
Read more
'Near perfect' café in remote village loved by walkers and people from across UK
Why this tiny Northumberland harbour village could be a better day out than Bamburgh
The North Yorkshire market town by the A1(M) which is 'brimming with character'
He said: "I hope to be selected to run for England at international championships."
Seventeen-year-old Ollie Deavin, from Knaresborough, has also made significant progress this season, earning county gold and Inter-Counties silver in the 3,000m.
He said: "I want to take this sport as far as my limits will allow and ultimately want a Great Britain vest and to run professionally, even for a short time."
Share