HAZEL Carwardine narrowly missed out on the medals in the National AAA Under 23 Championships.

The Bolton Harriers triple jump star leapt to an excellent personal best of 12.40m but was frustrated to miss out on bronze by just 4 centimetres.

There was disappointment for middle distance runners Ian Bowles, who took fifth in the 3000m steeplechase, and Tom Lancashire, also fifth in the 1500m heats. Neither athlete was at his best on the day but both remain upbeat for the English Schools Championships.

Harriers' junior women's team was in action at Leverhulme Park and consolidated their second place in their league behind leaders Preston.

They pushed their rivals much closer than in the opening match to open up a big lead over third-placed Hyndburn. Team manager Paul Aspen refused to single anyone out in what he described as an "excellent all-round team performance."

There were wins in the Under 13s for Naomi Hall, with a personal best shot putt of 9.07m, and for namesake Naomi Walsh in the long jump, with 4.17m.

In the Under 15s, Laura Costello took the 75m hurdles with a time of 12.8 seconds andKatie Dickinson the shot with 10.09m.

There was also success in the Under 17s, where Samantha Cohen picked up good points with personal bests in the shot and discus. Katie Eckersley performed well again with second place in all three sprint events and Katie Taylor threw a personal best to take third in the javelin.

Stephanie Holt scored a personal best for third in the long jump and also won the B 800m.