Bicester AC were well represented in the Oxfordshire team that competed in the recently held South East Regional Sportshall Final for athletes agreed under 13 and under 15 held at Burgess Hill with 12 Bicester athletes selected to contest the 4 age group competitions The club have enjoyed some outstanding successes throughout the winter season in the Oxfordshire Sportshall and hold team advantages in the combined under 11 age group and under 15 girls team competitions going into the final event.
Competing against such stellar competition, which involves athletes from across the South East, the Oxfordshire teams found it quite challenging in the team competition but Bicester athletes fared well in some of the individual events with a first and two second places.
Erlgean Appiahkorang-Mensah has enjoyed another outstanding sportshall season on the back of a very successful summer season. He competed in the all rounder under 15 boy’s competition where athletes are selected to compete in three events from a selection of six available. One of Appiahkorang-Mensah’s three selected events was the 4 lap race which attracted 18 athletes and he produced a splendid performance to win in 48.6secs. Appiahkorang-Mensah also produced a good score of 83 in the speed bounce which was good enough for equal 4th as well as jumping 7.33m for 9th place in the standing triple jump. Appiahkorang-Mensah was Oxfordshire’s highest placer in the all rounder competition finishing equal 6th with 125 points which represented a marked improvement on his placing in the corresponding event last season . Appiahkorang-Mensah was also part of the Oxfordshire team that competed in the 8 lap paarlauf with the team finishing 2nd in 1mins 37.6secs just 0.4secs behind the winners Surrey. There were Oxfordshire under 15 debuts for Bicester’s Max Finnegan and Henry Unger and both finished equal 34th in the all rounder competition. Finnegan’s best placing was in the speed bounce where he finished 11th with a score of 78 and Unger was 15th in both the standing triple jump (6.83m) and shot (7.55m). The Oxfordshire team finished 4th.
Bicester AC’s Aaliyah Beadle enjoyed an outstanding competition in the under 15 girl’s event. She was Oxfordshire’s leading scorer in the all rounder competition finishing equal 12th out of the 38 competing athletes, which was a superb effort given that she is towards the junior end of her age group. Beadle’s three competition included a superb 2nd place out of the 20 competing athletes in the standing long jump with a new best leap of 2.28m, 2nd only to the older Izzy Rae who was competing for Berkshire. Rae was the country’s highest ranked under 15 girl outdoor hurdler in 2024. Beadle’s other efforts included an 8th place in the 2 lap race (25.0secs) and a 14th place in the shot (6.60m). Bicester’s Yasmine Shephard was Oxfordshire’s 2nd placer finishing 27th. Her efforts included a fine 7th in the shot with a putt of 7.56m. Grace Jarvey also made the Oxfordshire scoring team finishing equal 34th which included a 14th place in the 4 lap event (57.3secs). The Oxfordshire team finished 6th.
There were just two Bicester athletes selected for the under 13 boy’s competition. There is no all rounder competition in the under 13 age group so athletes are selected for individual events. Cyrus Ariana has been in superb form in the multi lap races in the Oxfordshire League and he represented Oxfordshire in the 6 lap race. Ariana ran superbly to finish 2nd out of the 14 competitors clocking 1mins 22.3secs which was 3 seconds faster than the time he achieved in last year’s corresponding competition. Ariana also competed in the shot where he putted a decent mark of 6.40m for 14th. Ariana was also part of the Oxfordshire team that finished 2nd in the 4 by 2 lap relay clocking 1min 36.1 which was 0.5secs behind the winning Berkshire quartet. Bicester’s Jayden Beadle was also selected to compete in the standing long jump and he managed a leap of 2.12m for 10th place. The Oxfordshire team finished in 6th place.
Three Bicester athletes competed for Oxfordshire in the under 13 girl’s event. Lily Childs competed in two events and her best finish was in the speed bounce where she finished equal 6th with a score of 82. Childs also competed in the 4 lap event where she finished 10th (56.7secs). Imogen Unger finished a creditable 7th in the standing long jump leaping 2.10m. And Brianna Senior was 13th in the speed bounce with a score of 70. Oxfordshire finished 5th in the under 13 girl’s team competition.