TEAM Bath AC’s 2017 U15 girls’ 'Dream Team’ showed they are going to be a force to be reckoned with again this summer.

Some of those girls have now stepped up into the next age group and last weekend were selected to represent Team Avon – a composite side representing Bristol & West AC, Yate & District AC and Team Bath – in the opening match of the Youth Development League Upper Age Group Midlands South West Premier Division at Swansea.

Right from the start those Team Bath girls on the 25-strong squad led by example with Mia Bates, from Chippenham's Sheldon School, smashing her personal best in the 3000m hurdles by almost three seconds with 47.70secs for a second place in the A race.

Bates then followed up with victory in the 300m in 45.58secs for more valuable points for the team as they dominated the day.

Team Bath clubmate Eleanor Webster, from Alderton, near Malmesbury, was also in fine form finishing second in the B 300m hurdles race in 50.15secs, and then winning the 800m A race in 2mins 26.60seccs.

The 800m proved to be a highly successful event for team Avon as India Ibottson won the B race in 02:33.39 for maximum points.

Arguably pick of the Team Bath bunch was Ellie Mount as she ran an English Schools’ entry standard 11.94secs in the 80m hurdles, which will put her in a great position for Avon Schools’ Championships this month.

Imogen Leakey also found life in the upper age group to her liking with a time of 26.36secs in the 200m B race, although the wind was an agonising 0.1 above the +2.0 legal reading for it to be a personal best.

Those girls then combined with the other Team Avon athletes to win the 4x100m and the 4x300m relays and continue their fine form later in the day.

Other performances of note in Swansea were Sam Roberts winning the U20 men’s 110m hurdles in a personal best of 15.29secs which was just a fraction outside the English Schools’ entry standard.

Jake Burkey and Marcin Olech had a busy day in the U20 men’s events with Olech winning the B long jump with 6.03m, the triple jump with a PB of 11.82m, and then competing in the unfamiliar event of discus with a throw of 19.85m.

Burkey was runner-up in the A long jump with 6.36m and then recorded a PB in the Javelin of 40.70m.

In the under 17 men’s 200m A race Femi Akinbobola finished runner-up with an outdoor PB of 23.04ssecs and then won the 100m hurdles in an impressive but windy 14.29secs.

Caitlin Wosika won the U20 women’s 1500m steeplechase in 5:22.04 with Alexander Parsons winning the U17 men’s 1500m A race in 4:26.81 before adding second place points in the 1500 steeplechase in 4:59.53.

Ellery Cole and Joel Mattacks provided solid points for the team in the 400m hurdles with Mattacks winning the B race in 67.53secs and Cole fourth in the A race with 65.22secs.

Cole then went on to take third in the 800m A race with a time of 2:07.56.

Joseph Keane continued his good form by securing victory in the B triple jump with a new PB of 11.80m and was also fifth in the A long jump with 4.92m into a -2.9 headwind.

The wind was blowing hard in the other direction when Ethan Hall ran the U17s 100m recording a swift but wind-assisted time of 11.18s. Hall also added maximum points in the 200m with 23.24secs.

Cameron Sprague also benefited from the tailwind with a time of 10.96 (+3.6) in the U20 men’s 100m and Hayden Bailey won the U20s B 400m race in 52.37secs.

Gabriella Holt won the U20s B hammer with a throw of 37.58m while a busy Renee Jelf was fourth in the U20s high jump (1.50m) and fourth in shot (5.62m).

Team Avon now sit at the top of the premier division with two matches to go before the regional final.

Competing at the Avon/Bristol & West AC & Yate & District AC Open meeting last week Clarendon Academy student Caitlin Mander raced to a PB of 14.21secs in the U15 girls’ 100m. There was also a PB of 1.30m for fourth in the high jump and a fourth place in the long jump.