SWINDON Harriers’ young athletes pulled out all the stops to keep their promotion hopes on two fronts alive last weekend.

In an exciting double-header, the club hosted the second Midland League Premier South West match at the County Ground on Saturday and finished third behind the powerful Cheltenham and Cardiff teams in the UK Youth Development League lower age group.

Then, the following day, the squad headed down the M4 to Basingstoke for the latest Wessex Young Athletes fixture and pulled off a stunning victory against the hosts – who have won the league title 10 times in the past 12 years - by just half a point.

Now, with just one match remaining, the club is still in the hunt to qualify for the regional finals of the UK YDL.

Meanwhile, in the Wessex League, Sunday’s success made it three wins out three to strengthen the Harriers’ bid to lift the overall title.

“To have two meetings back-to-back over the same weekend was a real stretch for the athletes, coaches, officials and parents especially as it has been half-term week with lots of people away on holiday,” said Martin Smith, who is joint-team manager with Craig Scott.

“But everyone rallied, and the athletes were brilliant. We have such a good team spirit where everyone supports each other.

“As far as the UK YDL goes, the final match is at Cardiff on July 8, and being at home I’m sure Cardiff will pull out all the tops to have strong team.

“Likewise, I’m sure Cheltenham will be strong as they look to make it three wins out of three. So our aim will be to beat Swansea to ensure we finish third overall and take one of the spots for the regional play-offs.

“We certainly can’t take anything for granted, but I am quietly optimistic.”

Swindon’s final Wessex League match will be at the County Ground on July 16, and another strong performance then could secure them the title – although, the structure of the league means it is not so clear-cut, but Smith is expecting another closely fought battle.

“Our win on Sunday really shows that if you fill the gaps then that can make such a big difference,” said Smith.

“And now that is three wins out three, our fate is in our own hands. With the last match at home, we couldn’t have asked for any better.”

Meanwhile, on Saturday at the County Ground, a hat-trick of wins for Ethan and a couple of personal bests for Oliver added up to a fabulous day for the Bryon family.

New sprint star Ethan certainly played his part by winning the under 13 boys’ 75m, 150m and long jump events. He also anchored the 4x100m relay to victory.

Older brother Oliver chipped in with a PB of 25.65secs to win the U15 boys’ B 200m and also won the non-scoring 100m in 12.62secs, his first time under 13 seconds.

Among the boys, there were also PBs for Jody Lloyd-Owusu, Jayden Messiah, Kurtis Osei-Ofosu, Lewis Belgrave, Jesse Bryant, Max Jackson and Finley Byrne.

Elsie Scrase sliced almost two seconds off her PB with 2:30.48, just 0.47secs off first, in the U13s 800m to go third in the south-west rankings.

There were also PBs for Freya McMeeking, Ellie Pyper, Elyanna Jackson, Oakley Hogan, and Elliot Cox in both the U15s 80m hurdles and shot.

On Sunday in the Wessex League, the girls’ squad stepped up with PBs for Lowri Prosser, Lottie Harding, Ellie Charlesworth, Charissa Griffiths-Clack, Kalina Karacheva, and Faith Herring.

In only his second competition for the club, newcomer Jaiden Dix soared to a superb 6.00m to win the U17s long jump – good enough to go fifth in the south west.

There were also PBs for Emmanual Daramola, Ted Hiscock, Oliver Armstrong-Froom, Ben Langfield, Jayden Messiah, Jody-Lloyd Owoso, Finley Byrne, and Toby Wood.