Elgin Amateur Athletics Club athlete Holly Whittaker earns number one UK ranking while team-mates win a clutch of medals for Moray schools at Scottish Secondary Schools National Championship in Grangemouth
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Fifteen Elgin Amateur Athletics Club youngsters did their Moray schools proud on the national track and field.
The Scottish Secondary Schools National Championship were held over two weekends at Grangemouth, with the combined events (pentathlon) followed a week later by the track and field championships.
Holly Whittaker (14) was once again the star Moray athlete, winning a string of gold medals, claiming a Scottish record and surging to the top of the UK pentathlon ranks for her age group.
And at the track and field event, 14 athletes from the Elgin club competed for their respective schools, winning six gold medals, three silver and two bronze.
Whittaker's championship best was the top achievement but numerous personal best and club record performances were recorded.
Gemma Forgie joined Whittaker in representing Elgin High at the combined events tournament.
Forgie competed in the under-14 pentathlon, which involved the 75m hurdles, shot putt, high jump, long jump and 800 metres. She excelled in the hurdles with a personal best, then achieved PB after PB in the high jump before finishing fourth in the overall competition with a total of 2060 points, her best yet.
Whittaker picked up a new PB in four of her five events including a massive PB in the 800 metres. Her score of 3074 points secured the gold, a new pentathlon PB which put her top of the UK ranks for under-15.
Both girls were given support on the day from Elgin High head teacher Hugh McCulloch.
The school was heavily represented in the following week's track and field.
In under-17 women, Georgia Grant competed in long jump and shot putt, placing in the top 15 for each event.
Kathryn Petrie was eighth in her 100m heat and landed new PB in high jump to finish fourth.
Finishing third in her 80m hurdle heat was Lexi Grant, seventh overall. She was sixth in long jump and fourth in triple jump.
Whittaker again dominated all of her events just a week after her heptathlon triumph.
She secured the best female hurdler prize and set a new Scottish schools record in the 75m hurdles, claiming gold in a time of 11.25. Whittaker also grabbed a club record in the long jump with her PB of 5.48 metres securing her third gold.
Under-17 Ruaridh Mackenzie-Copp competed in 200m, placing sixth in his heat, an achievement he matched in the 400m and javelin.
Jenna Gage was the golden girl for Elgin High in under-13 girls, winning the 70m hurdles with a new PB and taking silver in the long jump, also with a PB.
Elgin Academy showed they have some equally talented athletes, with Anna Reid producing a fine display in the under-17 long and triple jump. Her leap of 5.42 metres secured a long jump gold and a PB while an effort of 11.34m in the triple jump landed a silver medal, smashing the Elgin AAC club record.
Quentin Fowlie won the under-13 boys' shot putt with a PB of 7.98 metres and finished fourth in the 100 metres.
Under-17 Lauren Abbott took bronze in the 300 metres after winning her heat, and was second in her 200m semi-final and fifth in the final.
Also in the under-17 women, Ava Cruickshank competed in the 100m, finishing third in her heat and fourth in the semi-final. In the 200m she was fourth in the heats and semis and eighth in the final.
Keith Grammar got in amongst the medals thanks to the efforts of Tom Palmer, who won gold in the 110m hurdles and silver in the 400m hurdles with a club record run. He also earned a PB in the 400 metres.
Lossie High weren't left out either as Andrew Lumsden produced a personal best in the triple jump to win bronze, as well as competing in the 200m and long jump.
Buckie High's Roy Taylor was fourth in his 800 metres heat and sixth in the final.
One Elgin AAC athlete represented Nairn Academy as Archie Smith was sixth in the long jump and in the top 15 in the javelin.
