SWINDON HARRIERS chairman Bryan Clinton has paid tribute to the six athletes who have been selected to take part in the English Schools’ Track & Field Championships this weekend.

Five of those – Josh Ricketts, Patrick Mochan, Delleah Belgrave, Amy Warre and Kelly-Marie Marsh – will be wearing the colours of Wiltshire while Hannah Lewington is named in the Gloucestershire squad for the two-day event in Birmingham.

“I think we are now starting to see the benefits of young athletes coming through our new coaching system,” said Clinton.

“Over the last three or four years we have worked very hard in pulling together athletes into specialist groups and enhancing our talent identification system.

“We also have a terrific group of coaches and to get six athletes to the nationals is as good as it has been for a very long time for the club.”

For Ridgeway School’s Josh Ricketts, this will be his third and final appearance in the event.

The 18-year-old made his debut in 2017, finishing 16th in the inter boys’ hammer and improved to seventh in the senior hammer last year.

For his swansong, Ricketts has switched to the shot put, believing that he has a better chance to impress in that discipline having smashed his PB by a staggering 1.7m as he recorded 14.89m to win the South West Schools’ title last month and move up to 11th in the UK U20 Men’s Rankings.

“I tend to raise my game and I certainly did that in the shot, so I will now do that event at the English Schools’ Champs because I think it will give me a better chance of winning a medal,” said Ricketts.

“It will be my last time at the championships, so it would be nice to finish with a medal.”

At the other end of the spectrum, teenager Kelly-Marie Marsh has achieved her season’s goal of qualifying for the finals for the first time in the junior girls’ 800m.

The 14-year-old Commonweal School student has made tremendous progress this summer, first reaching the qualifying standard of 2:19 as she set a new personal best of 2:18.67 to go fourth on the South West Rankings.

“Kelly-Marie has been running so well this year and going to the English Schools’ for the first time will be a great experience for her,” said Clinton.

Lydiard Park School’s Mochan is also making his debut in the event after forcing his way into the squad thanks to a huge PB in the inter-boys 1500m steeplechase at the South West Schools’ Championships.

Mochan has been working hard on his technique with coach Kevin Buttle having only switched to the barriers this summer.

The club will have two athletes in the junior girls’ long jump with Lydiard Park’s Delleah Belgrave and Bradon Forest’s Amy Warre.

Javelin thrower Lewington, who tops the UK Rankings for under 15 girls, will enter the event with high hopes of a medal, especially considering she has already tasted success at the same venue last month in the Independent Schools' Championships.

Lewington, who is a student at St Edward’s School, Cheltenham, has improved her personal best to 38.53m, three metres clear of her nearest rival.

“It would be lovely to see one of the club’s athletes come home with a medal, but for the majority it will be a great experience and hopefully a springboard for further success in the future,” said Clinton.