Kirk Ella strike again
Now in its second year, Kirk Ella have taken somewhat of a stranglehold over the HotShots trophy after emulating the achievements of the class of 2008.
Last year, Kirk Ella saw off local rivals Anlaby Acre Heads by 50 points to become the first winners of the Mail-run athletics scheme for eight and nine year olds.
And almost a year to the day, the year four stars of 2009 managed to record an identical winning margin of 50 points to see off Cottingham school Hallgate into second.
Once again it was Kirk Ella's overall strength and depth which saw them home to an impressive victory.
Groups one and two on the day contained the highest ranked members of each of the six teams and Kirk Ella's top ranked starlets were pitted in a head-to-head battle with some of the best youngsters to come out of the scheme this year.
While Thomas Burkill again impressed with the quickest time overall for both the 50m and the 200m and Joe Britton's 1.90m long jump was the best of the day, it was those around them that shone brightest.
In group one the focus was all on the battle between star girls Bridget Allenby (Hallgate) and Angel Clark (Highlands).
The pair won seven out of the eight individual events, with Allenby winning the head-to-head 4-3 after a superb showing in the 200m.
On the boys side in group one, Longhill's Declan Hales came away with four maximum-point hauls for his team, while in group two his class-mate Ryan Avenell got the joint best effort in the hopping test.
Longhill's big stars all scored well with group two girl Brittany Windle winning the speed bounce with 52 and the 200m, coming back from her earlier defeat to St Thomas More's Fern Lazenby in the 50m in style.
However, Longhill and Highlands, who also had Elliemay Grundy scoring well in group two, failed to maintain that same quality throughout their team and had to settle for sixth and fifth place overall.
Lazenby was the star for St Thomas More, with her best showing being her fine victory in the 50m with 8.3sec, as they finished in fourth overall.
Fellow west Hull team Bethune Park, who had been putting in extra training sessions ahead of the final, ended up as the best team from the city in the whole scheme after a fine showing in the final from two of their stars.
Joshua Tranmer ended up winning six events on the day, picking up 49 out of a possible 54 points on offer - with his most impressive showing coming in the chest push and 200m.
Buddy Wharton was equally as impressive with 1.84m in the standing long jump and 7.25m in the chest push to score big points.
However, this was not enough to catch Hallgate, who finished 37 points clear in second.
The likes of Hayden Fraser, Allenby and Bradley Collingwood all impressed, although it was Beth Blenkiron who contributed the most points with five victories in group five and a new record with 57 in the speed bounce.
However, it was in groups three to six that Kirk Ella did the most damage to ultimately see off the opposition.
Jessica Bates, Elliot Holmes and Rhys Sullivan all added big points, while Ollie Stevenson proved to be a real gem for the defending champions.
The highlight of her day was a new record in the chest push of 7.50m, but she also won six events and contributed 50 points to her teams total of 505 before helping the girls team win both of their relay races.
While it is the school on Westella Road who stole the main headlines, the day as a whole turned out to be a big celebration of youth sport on a gloriously sunny day in west Hull.
The fun had by all 71 youngsters on show was obvious for all to see as they took part in a decathlon of track and field athletics events.
After the scheme won an award for its achievements last year, it has tried to raise the bar.
More schools have taken part and 434 young people have got to have a go at athletics, with the Mail creating over 1,100 hours of sporting opportunities for primary school pupils in our region over the last three months.
Final scores:
1 Kirk Ella St Andrew's 505
2 Hallgate 455
3 Bethune Park 418
4 St Thomas More 377
5 Highlands 359
6 Longhill 320
Hurdles relay results
Girls: 1 Kirk Ella St Andrew's 2 Hallgate, 3 Longhill, 4 Highlands, 5 St Thomas More, 6 Bethune Park
Boys: 1 Kirk Ella St Andrew's 2 Hallgate, 3 Longhill, 4 Highlands, 5 St Thomas More, 6 Bethune Park
Running relay results
Girls: 1 Kirk Ella St Andrew's 2 Hallgate, 3 Highlands, 4 Bethune Park, 5 St Thomas More, 6 Longhill
Boys: 1 Hallgate 2 Bethune Park, 3 Kirk Ella St Andrew's, 4 Longhill, 5 Highlands, 6 St Thomas More
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