Ryan Saunders finished runner-up in a thrilling finish to the England Athletics Under-20 1500m Championships.

The Bournemouth AC star clocked three minutes 50.54 sec at Bedford, missing out on gold to Woodford Green’s Ronnie Sparke by just 0.16 sec, but holding the silver by 0.24 sec from Aldershot ace Jonny Hay.

Saunders, who ran 3:58.75 to qualify from the heats, will be seeking to follow former BAC club-mate Colin McCourt to full international status.

McCourt’s 3:46.70 win in Bergen, Norway helped Great Britain to men’s gold and second overall in the European Team Championships.

BAC also celebrated Bedford success in the parallel Under-23 Championships with a bronze medal javelin throw of 41.40m by Jemma Tewkesbury.

England Athletics U23/U20 Championships at Bedford – Local Results: Under-23 Women, Pole Vault 4 Maria Seager (Woodford Green) 3.70m, Javelin 1 Jemma Tewkesbury (BAC) 41.40m. Under-20 Men, 1500m 2 Ryan Saunders (BAC) 3:50.4, 110m Hurdles 6 heat 1 Alex Lee (PAC) 15.22, High Jump 5 Matthew Sloane (BAC) 1.91m, Pole Vault 8 Adam Carpenter (PAC) 4.25m. Under-20 Women, 1500m 4 Melissa Courtney (PAC) 4:36.34.

<•>Nicholas Hunt dominated the South-West Schools’ Combined Events Championships at Millfield School winning the junior boys’ pentathlon with a massive 3,169 points total.

Not only does this lead the 2010 under-15 boys’ national rankings by 500 points, it places the Bournemouth AC star seventh on the all-time list.

Hunt ran the 80m hurdles in 11.9s, achieved a 14.68m shot putt, long jumped 6.07m and high jumped 1.90m before finishing with 800m in 2:24.5.

A 4,193 point intermediate girls heptathlon win ranked Gabrielle Rowsell fifth in the nation’s under-17 women.

Poole AC’s heroine led from the off with 12.7s for 80m hurdles, a 1.66m high jump, a 7.97m shot putt and 26.0s for 200m to complete the first day.

She followed on day two with a 5.21m long jump, 20.51 in the javelin and 2:38.6 for 800m. Dorset team-mate Jessica Clark gained the bronze with 3,760 points. South-West Schools' Combined Events Championships at Millfield – Dorset Schools Results – Inter Boys Octathlon: 13 James Wright (PAC) 3536, 16 Andrew Lees (PR) 3476.

Junior Boys Pentathlon: 1 Nicholas Hunt (BAC) 3169, 8 Matthew Curtis (WAC) 2194, 17 Denzil Guy (PR) 1555, 18 Vincent Appleby (PR) 1396 Team 3 Dorset Senior Girls Heptathlon: 7 Maddy Vaughan-Johncey (WAC) 3189, 9 Lizzy Gourlay (PAC) 2352.

Inter Girls Heptathlon: 1 Gabrielle Rowsell (PAC) 4193, 3 Jessica Clark 3760.

Junior Girls Pentathlon: 10 Kirsty Wickham (Dorchester) 2404, 11 Micqueilla Livermore (PR) 2362, 15 Georgie Hoff (Aldershot) 2267, 20 Annabelle Brown (WAC) 2203.

Team: 4 Dorset Key to Clubs: BAC – Bournemouth AC, PAC – Poole AC, PR – Poole Runners, WAC – Wimborne AC