TWO junior Horspath Hammers juniors starred by reaching the finals of the National Championships.

Will Jeffery and Ross Loveridge reacheded the last 16 of the under 18 age group at Kesgrave, Suffolk, despite being aged only 15.

With 22 riders chasing 16 places, Jeffery and Loveridge both made it through, despite both falling when in challenging positions, which ultimately cost them better final positions.

Jeffery was ninth and Loveridge 16th.

The third Horspath competitor, Nathan Loveridge, just missed out on the final in the under 12 category in a competitive 28-strong field.

l Horspath suffered a narrow 91-86 defeat away to Poole Comets in the South and South Wales League.

Poole put out their strongest eight riders of the season, so it was always going to be a challenge, with the Hammers using three riders aged 15 and under.

Horspath’s heat leaders Jake Neighbour, Zac Payne and Lukasz Nowacki won six out of the first nine races, with Jeffery chipping in with his first win.

However, the scores were still tied at the interval, after the first seven races were drawn – an unprecedented occurrence.

After a maximum from Jeffery and Neighbour, Hammers held a two-point lead with five races left.

However, their fortunes were hit with by the withdrawal of David Liebermann with a back spasm and Poole snatched a close victory.

Horspath scorers: L Nowacki 18+1, Z Payne 18, J Neighbour 16+1, W Jeffery 13+1, A Johnson 7, A Neighbour 5, J Ellis 5, D Liebermann 4.