HAMPSHIRE'S meagre medal haul at the English Schools' Track & Field Championships was more to do with injuries and adverse weather conditions than a worrying drop in county standards.

That was the hope of Eileen Williams, chairman of the Hampshire & Vectis Schools' Athletic Association, as she reflected on a gutsy but below-par 2003 showing by the county's youngsters at Sheffield's Don Valley Stadium.

Unusually for the county, they failed to bring home a single gold and managed just five medals in all - silvers for Kim Murray (junior girls' long jump), Susie Hignett (senior girls' 1500m) and Ben Harding (intermediate boys' 800m) and bronze for Catherine Marvin (intermediate girls' hammer) and the junior girls' 4x100m relay squad.

They would possibly have had a sixth, but Hampshire sprint prospect Marimba Odundo-Mendez (Lord Wandsworth) pulled up with hamstring trouble in the 200m final having finished second in his heat in 21.95.

The 16-year-old's withdrawal was the third injury problem to have befallen the county. Isle of Wight senior girls' javelin thrower Helen Davis (Cowes) didn't travel at all after ending up on crutches following the Island Games in Guernsey and Kessia Sherliker (Taunton's College) had to withdraw from the senior girls' 200m.

Sherliker, a student at Taunton's College in Southampton and a past English Schools medal winner in the younger age groups, arrived at Sheffield complaining of a groin strain and was advised by the First Aid people not to run.

With Sherliker and Davis both sidelined, the senior girls' relay squad lost its two fastest runners but managed to get round eighth in the final with the help of reserve Jess McMonagle and Ringwood's 1500m heroine Hignett.

As expected, Brookfield's Ben Harding was the class act of the intermediate boys' age group for Hampshire, finishing second to Leicestershire's Grant Baker in the 800 final in 1.53.86.

It was a repeat of last year's result for the South of England champion, who earns himself another international vest in this Saturday's (July 19) Schools' Home Counties International against Wales, Scotland and Ireland in Cardiff.

The Isle of Wight also came up trumps with Catherine Marvin of Ryde High taking bronze in the intermediate girls' hammer (39.91) and her younger schoolmate, Kim Murray, going one better with silver in the junior girls' long jump - her wind assisted leap of 5.83 adding some 25 centimetres to her personal best.

Murray also claimed shares in a bronze medal after teaming up with Natalie Betts (Admiral Lord Nelson), Rachel Harris (Richard Aldworth) and Holly Croxford (Testbourne) in the 4x100m relay. The quality quartet clocked 50.11 in the final having won their heat in a faster 49.80.

Williams reflected: "It was our worst showing for several years. We had lots of fifths, sixths and sevenths but, for some reason, we didn't get into the top positions.

"Losing Marimba and Kessia didn't help matters and it was such a windy day on Friday that a lot of kids who were capable of getting standards didn't.

"I'm hoping it's just a glitch. I wouldn't like to say that standards are falling and when you look at the wider picture we had plenty of youngsters who achieved more than was expected of them.

"Anna Newton (Henry Beaufort), for example, went without an entry standard in the junior girls' high jump and managed to achieve one (1.55), while Brian Cook (Toynbee) went out in the first round of the junior boys' 80m hurdles, but took 0.3 off his best time.

"We also had a number of good athletes who did well in the bottom end of their age group. Holly Croxford (6th junior girls' 200m) and Adam Akehurst (4th intermediate boys' javelin) will hopefully get even better results in those categories next year."

Despite Hampshire's disappointing medal haul, Williams remained upbeat and saluted Hampshire's youngsters for their efforts.

She said: "Some of the kids found it tough going, but they all tried very hard and did their best.

"Most of them may not have been good enough for medals, but nearly a third of the team came away with either a season's best, a personal best or an entry standard, which means they did their job."

Akehurst recently finished first in the regional round of the English Schools' Multi-Events Championships and, along with Hampshire's junior boys' team, is off to the finals in Sheffield in September.