WIMBORNE AC's Piers Copeland made the most of his first England call-up by claiming a personal best and 800m victory in Cardiff.
The teenager, who has just turned 17, was selected for England under-20s against Wales after two significant indoor wins – the South West 800m Championships (1:54.50) and the South of England 1500m Championships (4:04.56).
These came on the back of an outdoor 3:59.14 1500m when he won the Schools Games title in September.
Copeland controlled the international match-up from the rear of the field, tracking two Welshmen and his England colleague through the early stages before winding up to win with 1:52.94, a time which would have ranked in the top 25 UK performances of 2015.
The following week, Copeland won the England Athletics Under-20 Indoor 1500m title in Sheffield with a 3:57.52 personal best.
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