SOUTHEND's super hurdler James McLean was the undisputed south-east Essex star of the English Championships for under-15s and 17s at Sheffield.

McLean's winning 12.95 secs in the under-17 100 hurdles was just two-tenths outside his English Schools' gold medal winning personal best of 12.75.

It caps a great year for the Hockley 16-year-old Greensward College student.

It included winning a relay gold for Great Britain at the European Youth Olympics in Serbia.

The other medal winner was Basildon AC's Keiran Record.

The King John, Thundersley, student from Basildon Ac was third in the under-15 javelin to take bronze with 51.56.

The same event saw Record's Basildon colleague Ryan Wennington make the final and finish eighth in 46.05.

The under-15 80 hurdles saw the new town duo of Joe Peploe and Jack Edgar-Hill competing strongly.

Both made the final - only to suffer mishaps.

Peploe took a tumble and was unable to finish, while Edgar-Hill injured his hamstring while finishing seventh.

In the under-17 400 hurdles, Basildon's Sam Boshell ran 58.35 to qualify for the final where he finished a respectable seventh in 56.75.

Southend's Chelsea Coker, in the under-15 shot, approached the event with reserve after experiencing considerable injury frustration this season.

She elected to make a standing put for the first two attempts but, with nothing to lose, tried the glide with her third.

To her amazement she produced a lifetime best of 10.98 for a worthy fourth place in a very tough competition.

Southend's Georgia Atkins finished 10th in the long jump with yet another leap over five metres - this time 5.07.

This is just nine centimetres behind her best-ever jump set earlier in the season.

There were mixed fortunes for the all-conquering seasiders trio of Felicity Clarke, Eleanor Evans and Atkins - who have been one-two-three in Essex and Eastern Counties this term.

Acknowledging the speed of their opponents in the 75 metres under-15 hurdles, the trio went looking for final spots with mixed results.

Atkins ran in the first heat and qualified in third in 11.85.

Evans got through in the third with second spot in 11.79, but Clarke was sent crashing out after a tangle with a hurdle.

In the final both Evans and Atkins clocked their second best times to finish sixth (11.83) and eighth (11.88) respectively. Both admitted to being delighted with their performances.