Several of our athletes competed in national cross country tournaments this month, after qualifying to represent Humberside due to earlier competition success.
First Years Imogen Stevens and Laura Brooks, and Fourth Year Lucas Walton travelled to Prestwold Hall near Loughborough on the 7th March, for the British Athletics Inter Counties Cross Country Championships.
The challenging course was made more so with wet and muddy conditions. Imogen and Laura both ran strongly in the Under-13 girls 3.4km event, with Laura achieving a 16 minutes, 4 seconds (16:04) time to finish 138th, and Imogen achieving 19:06 to finish 301 out of 306 runners. Lucas had a good run in the under 15 boys’ 4.3km, coming home in 18:14, 249 out of 280 runners.
Another eagerly-anticipated event for young athletes, the New Balance English Schools' Cross-Country Championship 2020, took place at Sefton Park in Liverpool on 14th March. It brought together some of the best young athletes from across England, together with a selection of overseas competitors.
Lucas Walton and Lower Sixth Formers Ollie Nicholls and Toby Cheung all qualified to take part after success at the Humberside County Championships in February. Toby was unable to attend the Liverpool event but Lucas and Ollie braved a tough, competitive field with soft ground and water hazards, some of which were knee deep.
Lucas ran in the intermediate boys’ championship, a 5.5km race. He found it challenging but finished strongly, completing the race in 23:18, in 327th place. Ollie had to wait until the end for the main event, the senior race, in which he competed against many athletes a year older than him. He found the race fast and tough after training on hard ground but completed the 6.7km course in an impressive 27:16, finishing 313th.
Robin Crewes, teacher i/c Boys Cross Country, said: “All of our athletes did incredibly well to qualify for the finals of both competitions and compete on the national stage. I know they relished the fantastic experience, despite the challenging conditions, and they should be proud of their achievements.”