Writes Kate Shockley, Second in English
Hot on the heels of House Cross Country, a brave band of long-distance runners from year 8 to year 13 travelled to Harrow compete in the first round of the English Schools Athletics Association Cross Country Cup. With the Warrior field hill still in their legs from the day before, all 14 runners took on the Philatheltic Ground course with zeal and determination.
First were the Juniors: Max O., Jack B., Charlie K., Aarav G. and Aamir K. (all U3rds), who worked together to tackle the 2.4km, securing a position in the next round of the competition. Max O. (U3rds) made it over the line in 8 minutes 50 seconds, closely followed by Charlie K. (U3rds) in 8:54, Aarav G. (U3rds) in 8:58, Jack B. (U3rds) in 8:59 and Aamir K. (U3rds) in 9:36 – superb performances all round. We look forward to the next round of the competition.
The Seniors were next, with another 4.8km of fast running ahead of them. Eliyaan J. (5ths), one of the youngest runners in the race as a year 11 student in the year 11-13 age category, was the first Taylors’ shirt over the line in a staggering 16:21. Despite an impressive House race performance the day before, he kept excellent form all the way round the two-lap course. Pietro F. (U6ths) was next up with a speedy 17:30, followed by Nicollo C. (L6ths) in 17:38, Rafi A. (L6ths) in 18:05 and Raffi S. (L6ths) in 19:07. We missed out on qualification for the next round in an extremely strong field of runners but should feel proud of these impressive times.
The last whip round the course was left to the Inters who had a gruelling 4k ahead of them. They rose to the challenge, though just missed out on qualification to the next round. More excellent times were chalked up for Taylors’, this time by Ayngaran M. (Divs), who powered over the line in 13 minutes 48 seconds alongside George H. (4ths) in 13:50, followed by Daniel Z. (4ths) in 13:57 and Hugo R. (4ths) in 14:08.
It was a pleasure for Mr Wickham and I to accompany the boys who showed grit and determination throughout whilst encouraging and supporting each other. It was great to see Sixth Formers shouting for Fourths shouting for Upper Thirds and back again – great sportsmanship on and off the track.
