WINNING the East Riding Schools Spar Sprints Challenge may not rank as one of Ben Marshall's biggest achievements in the last 12 months, but it nicely rounds off what has been a magnificent debut season in the sport.

The 15-year-old from Flamborough had shown glimpses of his sprinting ability back in September 2008 when he clocked 11.7sec for 100m, but it was this time last year that he really shot to prominence.

Marshall wowed on-lookers at the January 2009 indoor challenge at Costello Stadium to bag the crown of fastest secondary school sprinter in all of the East Riding.

One year on, the Headlands School pupil returned to the event a different athlete following a superb breakthrough season.

The Hull Achilles runner, coached by Phil Robinson, clocked superb times of 11.1sec and 11.2sec over 100m in June to gain the qualifying time for both the English Schools and English Club Championships.

And while he failed to get through his heat at both those events, the fact he had managed to break into the ranks of the junior elite nationally was considered a superb achievement for a novice competing as a bottom age under-17.

The winter months have now seen the year 11 pupil step up a gear and at the recent Northern Indoor Championships in Sheffield he came home with silver medals from the under-17 60m and 200m, in what was his first ever experience of competing in a mainstream indoor athletics event.

It was perhaps no surprise then that Marshall left with the East Riding Sprints title for a second year running after winning all four of his races – although he was pushed close in a number races by training partner Lee Rollinson, from Bridlington School.

Reflecting on his triumph at Costello and his fine debut year, Marshall told HotShots: "This Spar Sprints might have been a bit more low key than some of the other events I have done over the last year, but I always come out to win.

"It's a massive change coming back to this same event. Last year I wasn't even a sprinter, I just did it.

"But now I just go through my transitions and do everything I have learnt in training. I need to improve on my start, but I know that once I am into my running, I am a very powerful runner with a good pick up and that allows me to win races easier.

"I had a fantastic year in 2009, it was an amazing season for what was my debut season.

"It's not really sunk in yet how well it has gone since I won this event last year, especially as a sprinter from Humberside as there have not been many of us doing well nationally over recent years, even more so being from a small village like Flamborough like I am.

"Now I am hoping to build on the last season and try to get to more national events and get into the finals once I am there."

Wannabe policeman Marshall, who was earmarked as one to watch for 2010 by HotShots at the start of 2010, looked in very assured form at the Spar Sprints evening, although many other athletes also shone.

The year nine girls competition was keenly contested and there was little to pick between Howden School pupils Alice Delittle and Emily Rice and Longcroft's Alex Stimpson, who all impressed on the night in beating many older athletes.

Rice took first place in the end, while in the boys year nine race Izak Rymer, from South Holderness School, took first place.

In the year eight races, the honours went to the highly talented junior Daniel Gray, also from South Holderness, and to Longcroft's Amy Clackstone, who also won the skipping challenge.

The jumps competition was won by Nicholas Payne (Longcroft) and Olivia Sparks (Snaith), with the latter winning the year 11 girls sprint section.

In the year 10 sprints, meanwhile, Snaith's Lucy Gerrard and Howden's Kieran Dinsdale came out on top, with James Kavanagh (South Holderness) also impressing in second in the boys.