School Sport compiled by Peter Wilmott

Easingwold School are hitting the heights after making it through to the last 16 of a national basketball competition.

Court kings: Easingwold School Under-15s basketball team who have reached the last 16 of a national competition, pictured with coach Jonathan Marwood

The Under-15s have come through the Yorkshire and North East group games to qualify for the later stages and are now just one game away from the eight-team English Schools Basketball Association national finals.

They were travelling to Chester today for a straight knock-out match against Helsby School, the same team which came third overall in the U14s last year.

Easingwold's run of success began when they triumphed in the Yorkshire area, beating Hipperholme (Halifax) 82-10, Outwood Grange (Wakefield) 60-26 and Bowling Community College (Bradford) 67-25 to win the group.

They went through to the North East England section where they beat Thirsk School 90-53 and lost 67-42 to Sheffield's High Storrs who included two Sheffield Sharks juniors in their team.

That left Easingwold in second place, enough to progress to the last 16 and a showdown with their Chester rivals.

It should be a close match to call with the Easingwold team, winners of last year's York and District U14s League, having tasted only one defeat, at the hands of the experienced High Storrs school.

Victory would see Easingwold go on to the national finals in Wiltshire next month.

Schools' basketball league fixtures:

U13 League

Monday, January 18 Sherburn 'B' v All Saints; Tuesday, January 19 Oaklands v Millthorpe; Tuesday, January 19, Tadcaster v Easingwold; Thursday, January 21 Sherburn 'A' v Bootham.

U14 League

Tuesday, January 19 Boston Spa v Sherburn; Tuesday, January 19 Brayton v Bootham; Friday, January 22 Pocklington v All Saints.

U16 League 'A'

Thursday, January 21 Lowfield v Oaklands.

U16 League 'B'

There are no fixtures scheduled for the U16 League 'B' this week.

FOOTBALL

Tile style: Tony Feetenby, pictured with nine-year-old Thomas Weeden, presents Kingsway Junior School football team with a new kit sponsored by his business Ceramic Tiling Services.

York Boys will be in action this coming Saturday, January 16 - the U11s at Rother Valley and the U14s at Sheffield in the Yorkshire Trophy competition.

York U14s: Richard Taylor, Alec Bewick, John Swift, Graham Law (all Tadcaster), Jamie Elcock, James Clamp, Mike Mackenzie (all Lowfield), Tom Vasey, Andrew Smith, Matthew Wash (all Joseph Rowntree), Craig Atkinson (Oaklands), Luke Sherman (Canon Lee), Matthew Humphreys, Daniel Coxton.

York U11s: Mark Zienko, Mark Featherstone, Matthew Bell (all Dringhouses), Daniel Walton, Dean Greenhough (both Heworth), Michael Down (Ralph Butterfield), Harry Pashby (Oaken Grove), Robert MacQuarrie (Kirk Fenton), Tom Williamson (Fulford), Steven Sacks (Upper Poppleton), Michael Vickers, Jack Rogers (both Headlands), Ben Hopkins (Barlow, Selby), Mark Debnam (St Aelred's), Jamie Swires (Clifton Without), Michael Murley (Dunnington), Liam Stilgoe (Poppleton Road).

York Boys U15s' game at Calderdale last Saturday was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.