Blackburn Harrier Holly Bleasdale moved third on the UK all-time pole vault list with a stunning victory at the North of England track and field championships in Manchester.

Only Kate Dennison and former British record holder, Janine Whitlock, have ever vaulted higher outdoor than Bleasdale’s 4.27 metres at Sportcity yesterday.

In doing so, she improved her UK Under 20’s record of 4.25 metres established recently at the Lough-borough International meeting.

Fellow Blackburn Harrier Sarah Henton also struck gold in the senior women’s discus as did Leigh Lennon of Ribble Valley AC in the U20s 800m.

Kelly Hilton, until this summer a member of Chorley AC but now with Wigan Harriers, set a Championship Best Performance in winning the senior triple jump with a leap of 12.68 metres as our local athletes racked up a total of 11 medals.

It is little more than 18 months since Bleasdale began to take the pole vault seriously but the 18-year old has literally catapulted herself to the pinnacle.

“My technique is nowhere near perfect so I know I can go even higher,” said Bleasdale, a certain selection for next month’s World Junior Championships in Canada.

“Mentally though I am getting stronger because I have been working with a sports psychologist.”

The evergreen Henton has risen to eighth in the senior discus rankings at the age of 37 after setting a season's best 45.87m to take victory with more than three metres in hand.

Hilton is also eighth in the country after she improved her personal best in the triple jump to 12.68m, Nicola Breaks from Hyndburn AC was in fourth place with a best effort of 11.55m.

All of our winners were pretty untroubled, with Lennon from Ribble Valley four tenths outside her season’s best in the U20s 800m clocking 2:08.34, two seconds faster than the runner-up.

Luke Evans is still only 19, but has left the U20 ranks this year, having signed off his junior career in 2009 with a gold medal in the 200m and silver in the 100m.

The in-form Josh Tighe set a personal best 9:42.12 in the 3000m steeplechase to take home the silver medal, just as he did at the Inter-Counties Championship.

Karl Billington just missed out on gold in the U20s 1500m after Michael Cooke of Stockport Harriers broke the beam just six tenths ahead in 4:03.04. The Harriers took their medal haul to seven with Abby-Leigh Edmundson’s bronze in the U20s 400m hurdles with a season’s best 69.11 seconds.

Sam Yates earned bronze for Ribble Valley AC in a competitive U20 men’s 800m final.

Ribble’s Nathan Riding was fourth in the senior 1500m and posted a sub-four minute time and there were finals for Blackburn seniors Paul Whittle, sixth in the senior 110m hurdles and Candice Taylor seventh in the 5000m.

andy.mcallister@virgin.net