A brilliant third place and a fine seventh spot for the junior boy's and senior girl's teams were the highIights for the Sussex Schools squad at the English Schools Cross-country championships at Blackburn.
It was always going to be a tough year for Sussex this year following last minute withdrawals and individually it was not a great year though by and large the runners performed up to expectations.
Conditions, as they should always be major cross-country events, tough with muddy areas that got like quagmires before the final races got underway and a testing hill and this made the course a good cross-country test.
The junior boys (U15) got the best of the conditions as they were the second race off and it was Thomas Thayre (Thomas Bennett) who turned in his best run of what has been a pretty consistent season for him. Finishing in 23rd place this was the highest placing by a Sussex runner this year but he was closely followed by Vinehall’s George Pool in 29th place and he is young enough to compete in the same age group next year.
Ben Martin (Seaford Heath) finished in 37th place one place ahead of County Schools champion Ben Collins (Chichester High) while Tomer Tarragano (Brighton College) 99th and Ethan Fincham (Angmering) 114th completed the scoring six that placed a splendid and unexpected third in the team event.
Despite losing their top two runners the senior girls (U19) continued the recent fine team placing by the senior girls by finishing seventh of the forty plus competing teams.
Leah Harris (Worthing College) who had missed the County Schools event through illness led the team home in 34th one place ahead of Sophie Markwick (William Parker) with Sian Driscoll (Beacon) 70th, Amy Davilla (Brighton College) 115th, Phoebe Connolly (Roedean) 135th and Charlotte Reading (Seaford Head) 154th completing the scoring team.
Ben Golding (Oriel), who had finished fifth in the County Schools championships back in January, continued a run of fine performances in the recent weeks by leading the senior boy’s team home in 25th place but unfortunately this was a tale of what might have been.
County champion Stephen Ferroni (BACA) was having a brilliant run and had worked his way into second place when, with the finish in sight he ran into an iron post and was floored. After attention by the local medics he was stretchered away and took no further part in the race although he was allowed to return home stretched out on the back seat of the coach. Had Ferroni managed to finish in second place then Sussex could have expected to have finished fourth in the team event.
With Billy White (Varndean College) also dropping out as his shoes fell apart during the race Sussex, for probably the first time ever, failed to complete a scoring six.
Harry Leleu (Seaford College) 41st, Dan Eeles (Chichester College) 46th, Jack Woods (Worthing College) 97th and Casey Keates (Felpham) 127th were the other Sussex finishers.
Almi Nerurkar (Brighton & Hove High) was the only other Sussex runner to finish in the top thirty, there were more than three hundred runners in each race, by finishing 28th and she led the junior girl’s into 24th team spot.
Both the intermediate (U17) teams finished in 29th place with Brodie Denholm (Brighton College) 56th and Ollie Johnson (Dorothy Stringer) 86th finishing in the top One hundred of the Boys race and Nancy Jones (Dorothy Stringer) 97th leading the Girls home.