It was a case of start as you mean to go on when Hunts AC produced their best-ever East Anglian League performance.

The local squad were victorious overall for the first time since joining the competition more than a decade ago – and they also ruled supreme in five different age groups in their opening fixture of 2016.

The Under 13 Boys, managed by Steve Burke, turned out in force at Bury St Edmunds and crushed their opposition by 51 points.

Joe Purbrick led the way with ‘A’ string victories in the 100m and long jump while being backed up by Ayo Opaleye in the ‘B’ 100m and Markus Downhill in the ‘B’ long jump.

Both of those boys also added further successes with Downhill triumphing over 1500m and Opaleye obliging in the high jump ‘A’ events.

They were well backed up by Jason Hart (1500m) and Maximus Iyemere (high jump) taking ’B’ honours. Iyemere and Opaleye also teamed up with Toby Skinner and Howard Crofts to win the 4-100m relay.

Further success in that section was achieved by Sam Evans and Joseph Field, who won both strings of the shot putt.

The Under 13 Girls, managed by Yinka Opaleye, won by a 34-point margin with Lizzy Harrison and Daisy Coulson-Bascombe taking long jump victories. Harrison finished the day by joining forces with Ellie Linnell, Lucy England and Maya Thakrar to anchor the 4-100m relay team to victory.

Under 15 Boys manager Catherine Gregorious got the best out of a small group of five athletes, who won their bracket by seven points.

They were particularly successful in the field when Jamie Franklin and Lorcan Harbour achieved a high-jump double. Franklin then added victory in the triple jump while Harbour took the hammer spoils.

Zac Hope also claimed a shot putt triumph before he, Harbour, Seb Darnell and Owen Meadows won the sprint relay.

Jo Couchman’s Under 15 Girls pulled off a coup by defeating a strong Peterborough AC outfit in their age group. They emerged victorious by just half-a-point as Katie Wright starred with 300m and 800m wins while Mia Fairbrother added a valuable hammer top spot.

The Senior Women provided the other Hunts AC success. Gemma Hope’s outfit came home 12 points clear of the opposition.

Nicole Covell took top spot on the track when winning the 800m ‘A’ race while Andrea Linnell equalled her own veteran women’s record for the 100m when third in the ‘B’ race. Charlie Batterbee and Tracy Burton completed a double in the shot putt.

Elsewhere, Joey Croft was an emphatic winner of the 1500m in the Under 17 Men’s section. Declan Rice mopped up hammer and shot putt titles in the same section.

The next East Anglian League fixture is at Braintree on June 12.