Dacorum & Tring AC’s cross country team dominated the fourth match in the North West London League cross country series for young athletes, held at Hampstead Heath, scoring six individual podium spots – including two outright wins – and four team medals.
The U15 age group ran rampant over the competition, with both the boys’ and the girls’ teams winning their division. In the U15 boys’ race, four runners finished in the first five places, with a fantastic performance from every runner. Joe Chamberlain won by a considerable distance, while Tom O’Reilly crossed the line in 2nd, and Jamie Bailey got the better of Jack Raine for the first time as the two finished 4th and 5th respectively. Tom Durrant was close to the top-10 with his 11th-place finish, while Euan Rigarlsford took a strong 17th.
The U15 girls (pictured in main photo, above, from left: Jessica, Stella, Grace, Lauren and Emma) were led home by Stella Whitlum in 3rd, with Grace Hucknall hot on her heels in 5th. Jessica Hill finished within the top-10, followed closely by Lauren Collis and Emma Cresswell. The girls put together a fine team performance with all of them picking up places in the last half mile of the race.
In the U17 women’s race, Indira Patel earned her third straight victory, finishing 37 seconds ahead of the second-placed runner, while Angus Saunders ran a well-judged race to come through strongly in the latter half of the race, crossing the line in 3rd – his best finish of the season. With Patrick Scahill finishing 11th, the U17 men’s team achieved a well-deserved third place in the team standings.
The U13 girls achieved impressive results, finishing 3rd as a team, and Isabelle Jelfs achieving her best-ever finish in the series, a close 2nd – just one second behind the first girl! Also producing her best race was Indie Frost in 6th, with Amy Lane showing her usual consistency with a strong top-20 performance – just 14 seconds behind Indie.
Alexia Bede, running in the U11 girls event, had her best race of the season, crossing the line in 7th place.
The final match takes place in two weeks time at Wormwood Scrubs, and afterwards presentations will be made to the winning individuals and teams. Expect more silverware from D&T’s young athletes, with many of them up for individual awards and the U15 boys set to win team gold, while the U13 girls’, U15 girls’ and both the U17 men’s and women’s teams are also in the running for medals.
