Across the Country for Cross Country
Students took part in the South of England Cross Country Championships last Saturday at Beckenham Place Park in London. Such is the depth in the South, that the standard at this competition was effectively half the country – that’s some pressure on those taking part, but also very, very exciting!
Year 11’s Ruby finished 13th in the U17 girls, with April Hill (Y13) finishing 13th in the U20 womens. Not to be outdone, Henry (Y11) came 15th in the U17 boys. All three were top finishers for their club Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, in their age group.
This week the King Henry VIII relays took place in Coventry. The largest English Schools Cross Country relay in the country, the girls finished second when the event was last held two years ago. We had some outstanding results with Ruby (Y11) running the third fastest leg for the girls and the 4th fastest all time, over 22 years that the girls have been racing – amazing Ruby, well done!
Continuing with the girls, our girls team which included April (Y13), Amy (Y12), Eloise (Y10) and Ruby (Y11) finished 4th with the top five making the podium and receiving medals and badges celebrating their achievements and 50 years of the event.
Over to the boys, the boys team came 23rd out of 48 teams, which in itself is some achievement. Staying with the boys, Henry (Y11) ran the 3rd fastest boys leg and will go joint 15th on the all-time list over the complete 50 year history of the boys event – stunning Henry, well done!
Looking ahead, this weekend Woodbridge has the privilege of hosting the Anglian Schools Cross Country Championships on behalf of Suffolk Schools and has 17 athletes taking place as part of the Suffolk team.
Eight races start at midday on Saturday with the best athletes from Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk competing against one another for honours.
Just the top 80 athletes from each of the five counties will compete in each race, with races from Year 6 to 13 combining two years at a time.
We are incredibly proud of all our athletes, a huge well done to everyone. And we wish those taking part in Saturday’s Anglian Schools Cross Country finals, being hosted at Woodbridge School, the very best of luck.
