Nestle Rowntree AC's Junior Women's Team finished a creditable second to Middlesbrough and Cleveland in the Tyne Division of the National Junior League.

Despite having only seven athletes competing, they finished ahead of Gateshead, Mandale, North Shields Poly and Pitveavie.

The septet involved - Claire Astin, Emma Astin, Rebecca Coates, Nina Griffith, Jessica Sharp, Samantha Wood and Rachel Young - deserve great credit for this remarkable performance.

After a solid start by the Astin sisters in the shot putt, the trade started with a win by Griffith in her first attempt at the 400m hurdles.

In the following event, the 800m, Sharp finished third in the 'A' string with Wood finishing second in the 'B' string, and the same two athletes ran the 400m, both winning.

In the 3000m, Emma Astin finished third in the 'A' string with Young winning the 'B' string.

This was the start of a good afternoon for Young, who also won the 'B' string 1500m with Griffith winning the 'A' string.

Coates finished fourth in the 'A' string 200m following excellent performances in the long jump and the high jump, while Emma Astin finished second in the 'B' string.

In the other field events, there were notable performances by Claire Astin in the hammer, javelin and discus, and Wood in the discus.

Sharp also produced a remarkable performance in the triple jump clearly over 9m in her first attempt for the club.

In the final event of the day, the 4x400m, the team finished third to round off a fine effort.

Updated: 12:36 Friday, June 22, 2001