THREE young athletes from Mangotsfield School tested themselves against the nation’s best at the English Schools Track & Field Championships.
Max McKinstry, Dan Webb and Joshua Toms represented Team Avon and their school in the Intermediate age group category at the English Schools Athletic Association event in July, at the Birmingham Alexander Stadium.
The Year 11 students were among 2,000 selected to represent county teams in 98 events at the centenary event, which saw 16 championship records broken.
Max is an 800m, 1500m and cross-country runner who started at the age of nine at Stanbridge Primary School with his then teacher James Baker, joining Page Park Junior Parkrun and running club Stanbridge Fliers before moving on to Bristol & West Athletics Club after the pandemic. He has represented Avon and the South West in several competitions, including this year’s National Schools Cross Country Championships.
Dan is a hurdler and multi-eventer, who competed in the 100m hurdles in Birmingham.
He joined Bristol & West AC about six years ago and was part of the first Avon junior boys multi-event team to win the South West championships and go to the Nationals, where they finished 3rd. The team has also qualified for this year’s Nationals, while Dan’s fast hurdling times earned him the call-up to the English Schools event.
High jumper Josh started training with Bristol & West AC after his PE teacher spotted his talent and called his parents to recommend he took it further.
At first training and competing in the long jump and triple jump locally, he first entered the high jump to win points for his team, and soon linked up with a specialist trainer in Yate.
He has achieved a personal best of 1.90m this season, surpassing the English Schools standard of 1.88m and leading to his selection.
Although all three missed out on places in the finals in Birmingham, Max notched a personal best of 1:59:30 in his 800m heat and also had the honour of being the Team Avon flag bearer at the event’s Centenary Parade of Champions, attended by Olympic gold-winning heptathlete Denise Francis.
Mangotsfield School head of PE Tristan Hawkins said: “Dan, Max, and Josh have each excelled in their respective disciplines and have brought great pride to the school community through their hard work, dedication, and exceptional talent.
“All three boys have balanced their athletic achievements with a strong commitment to their studies, making them excellent role models within the school.
“It is rare to have such a trio of talented athletes in the same year group, and they are a tremendous credit to Mangotsfield School.”