On Saturday 18th March 2023, the Sussex Schools Cross Country teams arrived at Wollaton Hall, Nottingham, to compete in the English Schools Championships. The weather was reasonably good – sunshine and showers with very little wind. It was muddy but not extreme!
The first race was the Intermediate Girls, and from the outside pen – number 46, the girls set off at a fast pace. The first runner home was Rosie Gasson, who finished in 27th place, followed closely by Ava James (40th), Stephanie Shaw (57th), Alice Cox (66th), Ray Le Fay (73rd), Eloise Hudson (81st), Esme Stephenson (91st), and Dulcie Yelling (155th). The team finished in 6th place with a total of 334 points. However, they then had a fabulous surprise when they were awarded the R.Brown Trophy as the team that had all eight finishers with the lowest number of points. Well done, all of you!
The Junior Boys race followed, with several Year 8 runners in the team. They found the going quite challenging but finished a creditable 11th team with 555 points. Team placings were as follows- George Gilbert (62nd), Freddie Boniface (76th), Fin Lumber-Fry (83rd), Ben Hutton (86th), Alex Roberts (87th), Jonah Messer (160th), Michael O'Connor (167th) and Saul Bennett (232nd).
The best team performance of the day came from the Junior Girls, who finished second overall behind Surrey with 308 points. First runner home was Daisy Connor (20th), followed closely by Freda Pearce (25th), Molly Smithers (39th), Bibi Webb (46th), Elsie Whyman (66th), Julianna Walsh (99th), Eva Winton (119th), and Evie Lennard (190th). These results are very encouraging for the future!
Unfortunately, the Inter Boys team lost a runner to illness before the race. Despite that, the other seven runners ran well, and the team finished 6th overall with 411 points. Lucas Gorrill ran a well-judged race to finish 18th and was followed very closely home by Finlay Goodman (19th) and then Owen Wallek (37th), Fin Sutcliffe (82nd), Charlie Leedham (110th), Jonathan Beckett (145th), and Jude Clayton (181st). All finished well out of the 327 runners.
The Senior teams – both girls and boys finished in 4th place in their respective events, which were excellent results. In the girls' race, Yasmin Kashdan produced the best performance of the day by finishing in 6th place. She was ably supported by Amelia Cox (29th), Eleanor Strevens (66th), Eadie Yelling (67th), Cerys West (94th), Ellie McLean (111th), Lisa Shui (164th) and Ella Ayden (178th).
Miles Waterworth was the stand-out runner for the Senior boys finishing 10th. He was followed by teammates – Matt Geddes (25th), Alex Sprotson (31st), Alex Riley (50th), Henry Yelling (70th), Luke Newton (97th) and Charlie Ferris (118th) to give a score of 283 points.
All these results show that Sussex is in a very healthy place regarding cross-country running. Well done to all the athletes for a fantastic day!
Special thanks to all the team managers for all their time, assistance and guidance with the athletes. They were Tim Brown, Sue Thomas, Emma Satterley, and Vince Golding, but especially Jason Jeffery, who drove the minibus all the way to Nottingham and sorted out our accommodation!
by Sue Thomas
Thanks to AC photos for the beautiful photos. View them all here https://linktr.ee/ac_ph0ts