YORK College pair Chris Lythe and Josh Bayliss both made a racquet at the Association of Colleges Sport National Championships in Nottingham.

The Sim Balk Lane first-year students, who represented Yorkshire and Humberside, came back with medals from the competition that included eight other regions.

Lythe helped Yorkshire and Humberside to team gold in the tennis tournament, while Bayliss won a bronze in the team badminton discipline.

Over a gruelling three-day schedule, Lythe only dropped two games all weekend and played an integral part in his team’s victory with the South-East region pushed into second spot.

Bayliss’ team also came close to securing a place on top of the podium, only to be defeated 3-1 on the morning of the final day by eventual winners – the South-East.

But his side quickly change focus and ensured they emerged victorious from the third/fourth place play-off contest.

The York College duo had earlier taken different paths to qualification for the National Championships during a competitive Yorkshire and Humberside heat.

That competition was held at the University of York, with Lythe blowing away his rivals to take the regional title.

Bayliss was unfortunate to just miss out on the all-important, top-three finish that would have earned automatic selection for the Yorkshire and Humberside squad.

But, in a twist of fate due to the third-placed student no long being available to represent the region, he got the call and justified that decision with his performances in Nottingham.

The pair have already set their sights on next year’s finals, ensuring they are in a position to head back to the tournament by continuing to help Yorkshire and Humberside get a few steps closer to being crowned national champions.

York College are enjoying a fine sporting end to the academic year with the football team having won a thrilling English Colleges National FA Cup final on penalties against Swansea’s Gower College at Football League outfit Walsall’s Bescott Stadium.