Final race of the cross country season took us to Perry Park, the home of Birchfield harriers. The club went into the race guaranteed of second place, with age group and individual medals still to be decided.
Although, the conditions were very cold on the day, under foot conditions were perfect for cross country racing. Under 17 girls set the event off, but were one short of a full team, due to Rachael Jones injury. This would prove significant as the day unfolded, but more of that later. Beth Tabor set off with positive intent, and was up with the leaders on the first small lap. She faded somewhat after this, but an intense battle between Beth and Amelia silk followed for the remaining two miles of the race. Mille gained a 10 metre lead after the lake on the final lap, but a sprint finish between the two friends, saw Beth just edge Mille on the line. This was Millie’s final young athlete’s race, as she heads off to the senior ranks, where she will be a massive asset to the growing success for the senior ladies.
Finishing positions on the day, and for the season.
Race 5 Overall
Beth Tabor 11th 9th
Amelia Silk 12th 10th
Rachael Jones 28th
Elizabeth Allen 48th
Second race was the under 11 boys, who lay 4th in the league table, but realistically too far behind Stratford to claim a team bronze. A team of eight represented the team on this occasion and battled well to finish 5th place on the day. The boys were led home by Noah Sandland who achieved a season’s best 9th place result. Finishing positions:
Race 5 Season
Noah Sandland 9th 14th
Lee Hallam 34th 23rd
Charlie Ward 35th 72nd
Oliver Hallam 54th 44th
Jacob Bennett 61st 45th
Josef Koren 75th 66th
Harrison Shale 89th 81st
Taylor Farmer 99th
James Neilson 116th
Isaac Deans 124th
Oliver Burns 136th
Griffin Mobey 143rd
Elliot Cox 158th
Third race was the under 17 men, who went into the race tied for third position with Rugby & Northampton. This race was the final under 17 race for Harry Cresswell, Eliot Jones, and Jamie Ward as they head off into the senior ranks. Harry Cresswell is one of a few athletes who’ve raced for the club from under 11 age group upwards, and he finished his young athlete’s journey in style with a superb 5th place finish. Special mention to Eliot Jones, who in his first season with Wolves & Bilston, managed 6th place overall, for which he received a medal from the league. Incredibly, the points on the day for them team were dead level with Rugby again, so the bronze medal was tied between the two clubs.
Race 5 Season
Harry Cresswell 5th 8th
Eliot Jones 7th 6th
Steve Thompson 27th 26th
Ryan Hodgkiss 69th
Jamie Ward 70th
Reece Ashfield 72nd
Kai Kehler 83rd
The surprise result of the day came in the under 11 girls race. As it turned out, we had seven girls finish in the first 33 positions. This saw by far the best races of the season for Sydney and Scarlett Williams, Abigail Kennard and Rosie Briscoe. At the front of the race, Grace Smith continued her domination of this age group with a commanding show of front running to leave the field in her wake. This was Graces fourth victory of the season, which sees her as a thoroughly well-deserved league champion. The strong performance on the day by the team saw them finish second on the day, narrowly behind Rugby, and a richly deserved team bronze for the season. With the depth in talent coming through in this age group, it is very likely the under 11 girls will win their age group next year.
Race 5 Season
Grace Smith 1st 1st
Sydney Williams 12th 117th
Scarlett Williams 18th 112th
Keeley Beckham 21st 13th
Isabelle Mason 24th 9th
Abigail Kennard 29th 45th
Rosie Briscoe 33rd 106th
Mille Dubberley 54th 44th
Maddison Lloyd 55th 126th
Morgan Slater 82nd 54th
Clara richardson 90th 69th
Leah Gopal 92nd 139th
Angel Wood 83rd
Keira Adcock 147th
Keira Walters 165th
Laila Tonks 169th
Rachel Hamilton Russell 170th
Again, the under 15 boys team lay in bronze medal position, ahead of this event, with an outside chance of claiming silver. Adam Saul Braddock and Harry Dyall were absent on this occasion, but the boys performed admirably to finish third on the day. Matt Hogg had a seasons best 4th place finish on the day, as did Jack Pickett in 9th position. Special mention for Jack in his first season for the club. Many may not realise that jack makes a 100 mile round trip from Ellesmere to train with the club. He’s been a major asset for us through this year, and goes from strength to strength. As a team, the boys were successful in achieving bronze medal for their seasons efforts. Finishing positions:
Race 5 Season
Matt Hogg 4th 8th
Jack Pickett 9th 15th
Joel Humpage 16th 17th
Leon Haffie-Hobday 39th 43rd
Alex Blair 59th 98th
Robert Peacock 60th 56th
Owain Morris 63rd 73rd
Adam Saul-Braddock 9th
Harry Dyall 14th
Miles Pearce 61st
Charlie Scotton-Peters 69th
Oliver Evans 87th
The incredibly strong under 13 girls team were the sixth race of the day, and looked almost assured of age group Gold for the season. Beth Dyall was a notable absentee on the day, so the team needed to remain focussed to achieve the victory they deserved. Elizabeth Marshall was our leading athlete going into this race, lying second in the league cheap lorazepam online standings, but during the race, she didn’t look too comfortable, and ended up not being able to complete the course. However, Aliya Westwood’s return to form continued as she led the team, closely followed by Brogan Pugh. These young ladies were admirably supported by Emilie Bullock, Becky Loundes and a seasons best performance from Louise Saul-Braddock in 22nd place. The standard of the athletes we have in this age group all bodes well for the future, but we should not forget the girls who compete for the club at each race, and would be leading athletes at many other clubs. Credit to Megan Davies, Abigail Preston, and Evie Giddings for their efforts throughout the season. All the girls have contributed significantly to assist the girls finish top of the league in this age group, for the first time in the clubs history. Expect this age group to be even stronger next year, with a number of very competitive girls moving up from the current under 11 age group.
Race 5 Season
Aliya Westwood 7th 8th
Brogan Pugh 9th 6th
Emily Bullock 20th 13th
Rebecca Loundes 21st 17th
Louise Saul Braddock 22nd 21st
Megan Davies 31st 22nd
Abigail Preston 44th 44th
Evie Giddings 54th 29th
Holly Graham 79th 164th
Madeline Richardson 90th 88th
Elizabeth Marshall 2nd
Beth Dyall 15th
Holly Briscoe 156th
Toni Smith 179th
Abbie Morgan 184th
Sonora Marksimova 194th
Freya Sandland 195th
Another team looking for team honours are the under 13 boys, who were in bronze medal position after the first four races. However Oscar Hamilton-Russell and Oliver Mason were absent today from the usual scorers, so the remaining members would be looking to make up for their absence. Ellis Carter ran a superb race to finish first counter in 13th place, which represents a huge confidence boost for Ellis. The remaining members of the team battled extremely well behind him, which resulted in a third place finish on the day, and therefore bronze medal position on the league. This has been the closest age group of all the eight age groups and it’s great to see the boys finish up with a team medal, which gives them something to build on for future success. Even in his absence Oliver Mason had accumulated enough points to finish as fourth place overall in the league. Great result for Oliver in his first cross country season for Wolves & Bilston.
Race 5 Season
Ellis Carter 13th 53rd
Tyler Francis 16th 15th
Brady Watkinson 27th 24th
Leo Tonks 33rd 34th
Louie Lambeth 35th 35th
Alfie Oliver 39th 65th
Jayden Meath 41st 52nd
Callum McDermott 46th 40th
Tom Hipwood 50th 46th
Cian Gopal 53rd 109th
George Edge 79th 96th
Oliver Mason 4th
Oscar Hamilton-Russell 91st
Thomas James 77th
Zac Taylor 107th
Levi Lawrence 108th
Liam O’Brien 133rd
The final race was the under 15 girls, who were back to full strength on the day. The girls were in third place going in to the race, and were hoping for a strong result to maintain their medal aspirations. As the race unfolded, it was clear that Amelia Samuels was back. Amelia has had a tough season with form and illness, but at Perry Park, she was back to her commanding best. Looking strong after the first lap, she closed down the leader quickly and immediately stormed straight past. The speed she went past had a dramatic effect on the leader, and league champion, Amy Walker, as she immediately buckled and pulled out of the race. Min continued to stretch her lead and won comfortably. Behind, Holly Sides finished the season strongly, whilst Lydia Silk carved through the field in 16th position, whilst Zoe Brickley had a seasons best 19th place finish, and Lucy Evans, overcame illness problems in 26th. Together these results, ensured the girls were second on the day, and finished in bronze medal position overall.
Race 5 Season
Amelia Samuels 1st 9th
Holly Sides 12th 10th
Lydia Silk 16th 19th
Zoe Brickley 19th 60th
Lucy Evans 26th 12th
Ellie Willis 57th 79th
Hannah Corns 81st 125th
Jessica Hipwood 84th 127th
Camilla Oliver 103rd
Jorgie Pendrous 111st
Olivia Davies 115th
Lana Smith 128th
Grace Nicholls 135th
Overall the club finished second on the day, but only 61 points behind Rugby & Northampton. Having never beaten Rugby before, this shows how much we are improving. If we consider that we were one short in the under 17 age group, we realise that we would have won with a full strength team. This also underlines the importance of athletes competing, whether or not they feel 100% fit, or whether they feel they will count, a point that was underlined by the senior men and women a day previously at Aldersley. Putting that to one side, it has been a hugely successful year for the cross country team, one where we have achieved more age group and individual medals than ever before, whilst also accumulating our highest amount of points as a club, as well as having our highest number of competitors during the season with 100 competitors. We are already looking ahead to next season, and with the signs looking that we well be even stronger in each age category, that elusive gold medal team prize moves ever closer. The support provided by team managers, coaches and parents was once again awesome with many staying behind after their events to cheer on fellow club members.
The cross country awards presentation is at the Lindens on Tettenhall road, on Saturday 30th April. Tickets will be on sale soon on club nights.
