THREE of Colchester Harriers' aspiring sprinters took on the challenge of the English Age Group Championships, in Sheffield.

Having gained the necessary qualifying times in the past 12 months, they were drawn against the best of the country’s talent to fight it out for podium places.

Expectations were high for the first Green Vest, 16-year-old Callum Mackay, who two years ago was crowned under-15 60 metres champion at the same competition.

Fresh from the Scottish Championships, where he claimed a silver medal, Mackay’s heat saw him edge his way into second place in a time of 7.25 seconds to gain a place in one of the semi-finals.

However, 2017 wasn’t to be his year as he was denied a place in the final after a fiercely-fought race.

Seventeen-year-old 200m specialists Rebecca Jeggo and Charlie Dobson both competed in their first national indoor competition.

Jeggo was up first in a tough heat, which pitted her against the current English number one, as well as the Welsh champion and English schools champion.

However, her tenacity shone through in a highly-competitive battle to the line, which saw three competitors split by just 0.24s.

She was rewarded with a new indoor personal best (PB) and season’s best time of 25.07s and the last qualifying slot for the semi.

In one of the most anticipated competitions of the weekend, the under-20 men’s 200m competition, there was talk of a new European indoor record hoping to be set by an athlete from Manchester.

Dobson had everything to gain and, despite being overtaken on the last bend, he held his head and drove to the line to claim a good second position and all-important qualifying place for the semi.

His time of 22.06s was a new PB and also broke his own club record, set at the South of England Championships back in January.

Unfortunately, neither Jeggo or Dobson were able to improve on their heats, with two fast semis proving too much for these first-year under-20s.

However, valuable experience was gained for all three athletes as they can now prepare for the start of an exciting outdoor season.