SIX of Bolton United Harriers' youngest athletes took home a total of 11 medals from the Young Athletes Open Medal Meeting at Crossford Bridge, hosted by Sale Harriers Manchester.

Under-11 Julia Winogrodzka competed in the shot put for the first time and won gold – proof she is becoming a good all-round athlete.

Isabella Merritt shaved seven seconds off her 800m time for a new personal best, while fellow U11s Porscha Johnson, Luke Greenhalgh and Joshua Bentley-Hughes all performed well alongside U9 Harvey Kenny.

It followed another good team performance at the third midweek Bury AC Open, where 22 of Bolton’s Hawks and Falcons hauled 24 medals back to Leverhulme.

Isabella won three golds, while Harvey had two great races, including a dead heat.

Lead coach Gwylim Jones was ecstatic and said: “Several more athletes appeared for the first time, so it’s been a great couple of events to get the juniors started on the competitive trail.”

Elsewhere, Bolton’s U20 and U17 juniors proved their mettle by winning the fourth and final YDLU fixture of the Northern West Two Division.

A slender 9.5 points separated the Blue Vests from Border Harriers in Ellesmere Port’s Stanney Oaks, while the challenge from Stockport Harriers, who were just two points adrift and second in the table at the start of the day, did not materialise – they finished bottom of the matchday standings.

It means the club’s upper age juniors can celebrate achieving promotion, just as their U15 and U13 counterparts did last week.

Their 23 points total was seven more than Stockport, who remained second.

This double success just goes to show the club is on the right trajectory, and the seniors will hope to qualify for the play-off in a fortnight and make it three promotions out of three in a single season.

Congratulations go to all the athletes, coaches and team managers Phil Chadbond and Bill Miller.