ASHLEY Marshall suffered heartache in the semi-final of the English Schools Athletics Championships.

Bolton’s rising 100m hurdles star was one of the favourites going into the most prestigious competition on the national schools calendar.

Marshall was on course to compete for a medal at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham when he stormed through his heat in 13.58 seconds.

The 16-year-old was several metres in front of the field despite slowing down to a virtual jog before the line.

It is a sign of his class that he still ran inside the UK Athletics national standard time which is the target for potential international-class athletes.

But his hopes of glory were shattered in the semi-final when he hit a hurdle and was knocked out of his stride.

The collision set him back severely and, although he recovered strongly, he could not make up enough places to earn a place in the final, finishing fourth in 13.91secs.

He dropped to sixth in the national rankings as a number of his fellow top under-17s English sprint hurdlers ran personal best times to go above him.

Marshall was one of six Bolton Harriers who qualified for the English Schools Championships by winning through the Bolton and then the Greater Manchester championships.

One of them, 14-year-old Chris Mann, was unable to compete in the high jump due to injury. It came as a great disappointment as he has taken the sport by storm, rising to ninth in the British under-15s rankings in his first season in the event.

Robert Makin made his mark in the final of the under-17s javelin, finishing seventh with a throw of 49.93m. The rapidly-improving 15-year-old has a good chance of winning a medal next year as he is young enough to compete in the same age group.

Danny Welsby, aged 14, successfully negotiated his heat in the under-15s 100m in 11.94secs, and finished seventh in his semi-final in 11.87secs.

Andy Keat, who is ranked 11th in the country at under-15s 800m, won his heat in a national standard time 2:04.28 before finishing seventh in his semi-final in 2:06.66.

It was a blanket finish with the winner crossing the line just over a second faster than 14-year-old Keat.

Will Valentine, who is aged 15 and ranked 33rd in Great Britain at under-17s 100m, was sixth in his heat in 11.46secs.

l Pictured, left to right, Bolton Harriers’ Robert Makin, Ashley Marshall, Chris Mann, Danny Welsby and Will Valentine