Eight King’s Ely pupils competed in the Regional Prep School Athletics Championships held in Bedford earlier this month.

Ely Standard: Eight King’s Ely pupils competed in the Regional Prep School Athletics Championships held in Bedford earlier this month.Eight King’s Ely pupils competed in the Regional Prep School Athletics Championships held in Bedford earlier this month. (Image: Archant)

There were 51 schools competing on the day, all aiming to qualify for the National Prep Schools Athletics Finals, which take place at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on July 4.

Ely Standard: Eight King’s Ely pupils competed in the Regional Prep School Athletics Championships held in Bedford earlier this month.Eight King’s Ely pupils competed in the Regional Prep School Athletics Championships held in Bedford earlier this month. (Image: Archant)

King’s Ely’s star athlete was Harry Marshall, 13, who came second in the final of the 200m. He won his heat comfortably in 26.1 seconds - the third fastest time of the day.

Ely Standard: Eight King’s Ely pupils competed in the Regional Prep School Athletics Championships held in Bedford earlier this month.Eight King’s Ely pupils competed in the Regional Prep School Athletics Championships held in Bedford earlier this month. (Image: Archant)

In the 200m final, Harry secured his place at the finals in Birmingham.

Connor Marshall, 12, and Olivia Haynes, 13, ran solid races in the hurdles, both just missing out on qualifying for the finals. Connor and Olivia also performed well in the high jump with Olivia matching her personal best with a jump of 1.30m.

James Schoenberg, 13, performed well in the 300m and triple jump, and Sadie Hammond, 13, showed quality in the javelin with a throw of 21.89m.

Bertie Whymark, 12, also threw a respectable 20.03 in the discus, and twins Xenia and Alexandra Marshall, 12, both ran well in very competitive fields in the 1,500m and 800m respectively.

Jim Thompson, head of athletics at King’s Ely, said: “Many congratulations to Harry on his qualification to compete for the East of England - a fantastic achievement.”

On June 18 seven King’s Ely students also competed for Cambridgeshire in the Anglian Schools Athletics Championships held in Cambridge.

King’s Ely’s star performer on the day was Oliver Hutchinson, 17, who finished second in the senior boys’ 400m.

Ben Marshall, 14, equalled his personal best in the high jump by leaping 1.55m, and he later placed fifth in the 80m hurdles, smashing his personal best with a 13 second run.

Also gaining personal bests on the day was Macy Gow, 15, who ran 13.5 seconds in the 100m and Aaron Pugh, 15, who threw over 28m in the discus.

Harriet Cheseldene-Culley, 14, and Arthur Plews, 15, were also not far off their best in the long jump.