Basildon Athletic Club are today revelling in the fact that they have two national schools athletics champions.

At the English Schools Track and Field Championships at Bury St Edmund's at the weekend, 16-year-old Darryl Stone, from King John School, Thundersley, won the intermediate boys' high jump with a massive final leap of 2.03m.

Darryl had already jumped a new national schools distance of 1.94 in the qualifying rounds.

Basildon's second success came with intermediate girl international Kim Wall in the 300 metres. After a 39.67s national schools time in the heats, she took the gold with 38.66.

In the junior girls 200m, Southend High's Katie Flaherty, another Basildon AC member, was second in the final with 25.63 a national schools time behind Greater Manchester's Amy Spencer (25.37). Katie had won her heat in 25.94.

Katie's Southend High and Basildon AC colleague Somma Power was seventh in the junior long jump with an English Schools distance of 5.14 having done 5.10 for fourth place in her qualifying pool.

A third Southend High girl Louise Mathews, a Thurrock Harrier, was 10th in the intermediate javelin with 34.45m.

Matt Colton was another Basildon AC member with a silver smile after finishing second in the 100m intermediate boys final with 13.55s for second place in a national schools time.

Other local performances - Junior girls: 1500m, Stacey Ward (St Bernards School and Basildon AC), 2nd in heat 4m.49.03s, fourth in final 4m.44.4s (English schools).

Junior boys: Pole vault, Kit Branch (King John School and Basildon AC) 5th, 3m.00 (English schools); Hammer, Ryan Holmes (Basildon AC) fourth, 48.89 (national schools); Shot putt: Robert Mason (Chalvedon) 11th, 12.19m (English schools).

Intermediate girls: 800m, Ellie Childs (Basildon AC) 4th in heat, 2m.14.80s (national schools), eighth in final, 2m. 23.37s; Jennifer Short (Basildon AC) , 800m third in heat, 2m. 15.71s (English schools); Shot putt, Shelley Moles (Basildon AC), sixth, 11.08m (national schools); Triple jump, Hannah Wilhelmy (Greensward School), eighth, 10.27m.

Intermediate boys: 3000m Rob Smith (Basildon AC), eighth in heat 9.03.02s; Pole Vault, Jason Fry (Southend AC and Greensward School) fifth, 3.95m.

Senior girls: 1500m, Katie Smith (Basildon AC) sixth, 4m.36.20 (English schools); shot, Clio Sigismondi (King John School), eighth, 10.64m (English schools).

Senior boys: High jump, Simon Thomas (Southend High and Southend AC) seventh 2.01m (English schools).

Essex won both junior boys and girls and senior girls competition.

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