READING’S Pippa Rogan leapt to glory in the high jump at the BUCS Nationals in Sheffield.

Rogan, now a student at the University of Bath, cleared 1.69m to qualify for Sunday’s final at the English Institute of Sport, before going 0.09m better to take the gold.

She took the title by 0.03m from Lougborough’s Poppy Lake, and was relieved to get the gold after jumping 1.82m the week before and only coming third in the British Athletics indoor ieam irials.

“I was quite tired coming into it because I was competing in Sheffield last weekend, too,” admitted the 23-year-old Thames Valley AC member.

“This was my second indoor BUCS Nationals competition and it’s good fun because all the other universities, there’s a lot of interaction here and there’s always a good crowd.”

Reading’s Danielle Opara narrowly missed out on a gold medal in the shot putt.

The former John Madejski Academy pupil finished second behind Loughborough’s Urina Harrell, with a throw of 14.47m.

Coached by Geoff Capes, Opara was disappointed not to get the win on her final BUCS Nationals appearance, but the sports psychology student at University of Derby will still look back on the event with fond memories.

“The atmosphere is amazing. There’s always something going on, people are cheering, and you always use that to push you. Everyone wants to do well so that helps me,” said the 21-year-old.

“This is the end of my indoors so now it’s working towards my outdoor season and outdoor BUCS as well.

“I’d love a medal there. I want to do really well as it’s my last year, I’m a bit gutted that I didn’t win today.”

Fellow Berkshire athlete Adam Thomas, from Bracknell AC, scorched to victory in the 60m.

The 21-year-old mechanical engineering student crossed the line in 6.75s, beating University of East London’s Adeseye Ogunlewe by 0.05s. Goldsmith’s Reuben Arthur took bronze.

British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the national governing body for Higher Education (HE) sport in the UK, organising leagues and competitions for more than 150 institutions across 52 different sports.

BUCS Nationals is the UK’s largest annual multi-sport event, bringing over 6,000 athletes to Sheffield to compete in nine sports.