The opening fixture of the League once again took place at Thornes Park, Wakefield, on a day more suited to more leisurely pursuits.
Some of our more senior runners were representing the Club elsewhere, but that being said, the numbers of those taking part were rather disappointing, with the result that we had only two scoring teams, compared to five the previous year.
However, team results apart, we did see some splendid individual performances in all the age-groups, though we had no Junior Women or Junior Men.
Making her cross country debut in the U11 Girls, Evie Trusselle showed real determination, and William Askew had his best run yet in the U11 Boys.
In the U13 Girls, Rebecca Flaherty was an outstanding individual winner, displaying a really mature judgment of pace. She was very well supported by Eleanor Dawson Grace Ross, Holly Walters and Lilly Smith, all of whom have at least one more year in this age-group, so their 9th place was very encouraging.
Jake Wallace showed a really aggressive approach in the U13 Boys, leading his team-mates Samuel Mantle and Alistair Trusselle to 8th place, a particularly pleasing result in view of the absentees in that team.
It is a great pity that we do not have a 3rd counter in the U15 Girls since Ruby Firth and Grace Dawson, as always, performed so well. Absence due to injury meant that in the U15 Boys we also had no 3rd counter, though it was good to see Alex Flaherty running with more confidence, and Joseph Carnelley finishing really well after a sticky patch in mid-race.
In the U17 Women’s race Emily Field produced an excellent run after her splendid achievements on the fells, and it was very pleasing to see the ever-reliable Katie Smith back in the fold.
James Askew and Josh Spencer in the Under 17 Men both showed how much they have improved since last year and I am sure that there is still more to come from them.
The individual results were as follows:
U11 Boys:
18th William Askew
U11 Girls:
55th Evie Trusselle
U13 Boys:
9th Jake Wallace;
18th Samuel Mantle;
72nd Alistair Trusselle
U13 Girls:
1st Rebecca Flaherty;
44th Eleanor Dawson;
46th Grace Ross;
53rd Holly Walters;
66th Lilly Smith
U15 Boys:
5th Alex Flaherty;
11th Joseph Carnelley
U15 Girls:
6th Ruby Firth;
10th Grace Dawson
U17 Men:
11th James Askew;
16th Josh Spencer
U17 Women:
3rd Emily Field;
21st Katie Smith
Well done to all the above, and many thanks to parents and supporters: this is only the beginning, and I’m sure we will achieve even more when we are at full strength.
Tony Kingham