Colchester Harriers Ladies made their debut into Division Three of the Southern League at Southend on Saturday with a fantastic victory.

The under-15 girls collected a handful of wins including Catherine Holdsworth in the long jump and 75m hurdles and Sarah Reavill in the high jump and 75m hurdles (B string).

The girls also turned out a strong sprinting squad with Victoria Thompson, second in the 100m, and Laura Wild, in the 200m, both running well.

Victoria then went on to win the shot along with Kim Silk, who had also gained an excellent victory in the long jump with a leap of 4.32m.

Sam Fleaming performed well in all her events, including a personal best time of 5.46 in the 1500m, and competed in the javelin along with Erica Sands, who was runner-up with a throw of 15.96m, giving her an encouraging start to the season.

Charlotte Prestney gained a thoroughly-deserved second place in the 800m against a strong field of competitors.

The senior ladies also had a fine day with excellent performances all round.

Denise Morley showed ease and style in all her events to gain wins in the 400m and 400m hurdles, while a strong finish in the 800m earned her second place.

The field events proved very successful with team manager Linda Garnham leading the way with a personal best of 6.07m in the shot put. Gemma Wilkinson and Claire Keath dominated their throwing events, picking up a selection of top-three positions.

Anna Bennington, Nicola Wheat, Carole Bacon and Alison Creavy all performed well in their field events.

Alison then carried on her fine form to compete in the 800m and 1500m in which Linda Gaine also had a strong run.

Not to be outdone, Rachel Benett showed true determination when competing in both the 3000m and the 400m hurdles.

A host of excellent performances came from the up-and-coming Lauren Hockney (100m and 200m) and Louise Holdsworth, who earned a third place in the 80m hurdles with a fine run of 16.7secs.

The relay teams all performed brilliantly with exceptional runs by all involved which rounded off a superb day.

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