Bethany Cook from Moira House completed a Hat Trick of Sussex Cross-county titles at Christ’s hospital when she again came out on top in the Sussex Schools Year 8 championships on a sunny afternoon last Thursday.
The Sussex Year 7 and 8 championship attracted some six hundred athletes to contest the four titles several of whom will be donning Sussex Schools vests at the English Schools championships at Norwich in a couple of weeks time.
Cook had already won the Sussex County U13 and Sussex Schools U15 championships this year as well as the South East Schools Inter-county title. She was again in dominating form over the flat and fast course near Horsham and she finished comfortably clear of Rebecca Losh from Shoreham Academy who had finished runner up Cook in the other Sussex championships and indeed won the only Sussex title that had eluded Cook, the Sussex League Crown.
Isabella Hayes (Farlington) and Katie Coles (Handcross), who like Cook and Losh will be racing at Norwich, finished third and fourth respectively.
Hove Park won the team event ahead of Christ’s Hospital and Burgess Hill Girls.
In the Boys Year 8 race Ethan Ward from Felpham had a fine battle with Thomas Bennett’s Dylan Hanslow before running out the winner and these two will also be off to Norwich.
Aaron Duncan (Seaford Head) took third place while the team title went to Dorothy Stringer with Cardinal Newman second and Seaford Head third.
Whereas the Year 8 races are usually won by known athletes it is the Year 7 races that usually produce the stars of the next few years and Cardinal Newman’s Daisy Burton looked a promising prospect as she took the title from Eadie Yelling (Varndean) and Ruby Wilson (Kings) with Cardinal Newman taking the team title ahead of Roedean and Davisons.
Will Matthews from Hove Park took the Boys Year 7 race from Joseph Collier (Lancing) and Varndean’s Henry Yelling, whose twin had won the silver medal in the girls race.
There was another team victory for Dorothy Stringer in the team event with Cardinal Newman again getting amongst the medals in second place and Varndean taking third place.
Results can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/2lOUOin
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