WADAC junior teams triumph again in latest Hampshire XC League fixture

The third raceday of five in the Hampshire Cross Country League took place at Reading (Berkshire) on Saturday. In stark contrast to the rainfest at the Annual XC Championships a week earlier, athletes were treated to blue sky, not a hint of rain, and cold, crisp conditions.
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nThe Hampshire League fixture straight after the annual championships often has relatively low attendance, and so it was again this time. Happily, WADAC are well placed to take advantage of these occasions, and even with several absentees, were able to field strong teams in most race categories.
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nFirst away were the U13 girls, and with a fit again Poppy Taylor added to the usual solid runs from Kate Atkinson, Grace Baker and Elodie Gill, the team win was reasonably comfortable. Kate (4th), Poppy (5th) and Grace (7th) completed the scoring team, Elodie was a creditable 26th from lower year, and there was an eye-catching run from U11 Amber Price in her first appearance at U13 level.
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nDespite missing half of the previous week’s championship-winning team, Winchester’s U13 boys were again victorious. Casper Wilson led from hooter to tape to complete another race win, Seth Noott finished strongly in 5th, and with lower-year Oliver Foden stepping up to take the third scoring spot in 10th, here too there was a little to spare, as the boys maintained their 100% record for the season. U11 Luke Furby ran magnificently from outside the age-group to finish 11th, followed by Iosu Harfield (14th) and Daniel Cooper (15th), and then two more U11s debuting strongly at U13, Toms Pate and Price.
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nThe biggest breakthrough for WADAC came with a first ever team win for the current U15G cohort. As usual Darcy Hawkins led the field out, and despite a minor misdirection from marshals, was as solid as ever in finishing 2nd. Rosie Sharrock and Eva Johnson are starting to show what they can do on raceday, and with 6th and 7th place finishes respectively, the team victory was complete, ahead of strong contingents from both Basingstoke and hosts Reading. Scarlett Anderson had her best race for some time in 13th, and Amelie Gill was her ever-reliable self as she broke into the top twenty. Great news for WADAC that this group has recorded a team win, and given a strong turnout in the remaining two fixtures, seasonal team medals are now a possibility.
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nThe U15 boys had recorded the narrowest of victories in the championships a week earlier, but on this occasion the margin was greater. Will Atkins again showed great form in running the winner close, finishing 2nd, and Ruben Price was a superb 4th from lower year. James Lewis is returning to his best week by week, and with his 6th place came confirmation of the team win. Aiden Furby (11th) is on a big upward curve, and there were encouraging results too for Ieuan Thomas (15th) and Billy Jones (25th).
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nInjury and illness decimated the U17W team for the second week running, and so this time it fell to Ellie McErlean to fly the black and gold flag alone, which she did to good effect with a fabulous top ten finish.
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nThere was near disaster for the Winchester U17M team, and their quest for seasonal team medals, as the late injury-withdrawal of leading runner Harry Wilson threatened to leave us short of a full team. Happily Ben Schofield appeared to make up the scoring trio however, and his performance (16th) added to seasonal bests from Ben Chesterfield (6th) and Harry Harvey (7th) gave WADAC the points that they needed to finish third team on the day.
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nWith the Hampshire League season now approaching the business end, all six WADAC teams in U13, U15 and U17 are still in contention for top spot in their leagues, but will need to get all their athletes out on Feb 19th and March 19th in the last two fixtures if they want to maximise their chances.