ATHLETICS

ORION Harriers junior athletics team put in some fine performances in the traditional curtain raiser to the new track and field season - the Chelmsford Open.

Leading the way for the club in the high quality display of athletics were their young Essex trio Lauren MacGregor, Jay Andrews and Armani Antoine-Chager.

All have enjoyed a great deal of recent successes with the county in national cross-country meetings and continued that form at Melbourne Park.

In the U13 girls' 1,500 metres event, Antoine-Chagerran an excellent race to finish in second place.

In the U15 girls' 800 metres, MacGregor won the gold medal in a personal best (PB) time of 2mins 26 seconds.

She was followed home by Andrews, who ran consistently to finish in fourth position in 2mins 36 seconds.

Paul Inkpen achieved a PB of 4.29m in the U13 boys' long jump to claim first place, with club colleague Jack Waller taking fourth position.

Alex Gordon also had a good afternoon to take the bronze medal in the U15 boys' 1,500 metres championship, while Courtney Reid ran a superb 80m race for the U11 girls to achieve a fourth place finish.

Sienna Blake also finished in fourth in the U13 girls' 200 metres run.

Natalie Kipps had a storming run to win the U17 girls' 1,500 metres event, leading from start to finish on her way to winning the gold medal in a PB of 4 mins 45 seconds.

In the U17 boys' 800 metres, Daniel Penfold impressed over two laps to come home in fourth place in a high quality field.