Winchester juniors maintain good run in Hampshire League meetings

The third fixture of this season’s Hampshire Cross Country League took place at Prospect Park, Reading. The Reading fixture takes place every year one week after the annual Hampshire XC Championships event, and possibly because of that, is often the event that many junior athletes choose to miss during a very busy period for racing. This year was no exception, with relatively few WADAC juniors making the trip to Berkshire. The flip-side however, is that those who do take part have the opportunity to boost their position in the aggregate league table for the season, an opportunity that was grasped successfully by several of our runners.
nAlthough the weather forecast had been grim, the reality was that overhead conditions were OK, with hardly any rain and only the occasional strong gusts of wind. Ground conditions, however, were testing, with heavy mud in many places and some standing water. Athletes were no doubt grateful to stand-in U11s Team Manager Pete Curtis, who had had the foresight to pitch the club tent on higher ground than those of other clubs.
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nAs usual, the Under-11 boys were first away, with seven WADAC athletes among them. While considerably fewer than normal, surprisingly, this still represented the largest contingent from any one club. Leo Davies-Pratt (7th) was first home for Winchester, followed by Robin Ashley (13th), Jack Sansome (18th), Alex Olestsenko (20th), Zachary Parnell (25th), Leo O’Leary (28th) and Joseph Pritchett-Brown (38th). A good team performance from the boys, that was good enough to make them third best team on the day.
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nThe Under-11 girls followed, and in a very small field, the WADAC flag was flown solo by Isabelle Hoskins, with a 7th place finish.
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nThe Under-13 girls’ race was dominated by Aldershot, but three Winchester girls was enough to record a fifth place in the team event. Elodie Gill (11th) led the way, supported by Amber Price (23rd) and Evie Smith (32nd).
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nThe Under-13 boys was an exciting race from a WADAC perspective, with Luke Furby, from lower year, demonstrating his now trademark habit of working his way through the field as the race progresses. From around 12th place at halfway, he wound his way up to 2nd at the finish, and was near enough to worry the long-time leader on the run-in. Luke was ably supported by Sam Parker (8th) and Tom Savill (14th), making up the scoring team, as well as all-rounder Tom Price keeping his eye in at cross-country. The team second place keeps them in the hunt for end-of-season medals, as they lie second too in the aggregate league table after three races.
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nAnother WADAC team now lying second in the seasonal league table is the Under-15 girls. On Saturday they were third team on the day, pipping the home team to the podium by a single point, with Rosie Sharrock achieving her best ever finish in 6th, Grace Baker (9th) and Amelie Gill, also a PB, (13th).
nThe Under-15 boys were the most successful Winchester team of the meeting, finishing comfortably first on the day and moving joint-top of the seasonal aggregate table. Ruben Price celebrated his first Hampshire League race win, leading all the way from the gun, with Casper Wilson (6th) looking in good nick on his return from a lengthy injury lay-off, and Aiden Furby (8th) following in his brother’s progressive footsteps. Also in the top ten were Seth Noott (9th) and Sam Wilkinson (10th), supported by Billy Jones (22nd). Ruben’s individual win sees him retain his second place in the aggregate table for the season to date.
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nEve Bailey, from lower year, has made the podium in every U17 women’s race this season, a run which she maintained with third place on Saturday. Eve also remains well placed for a seasonal top three finish, still lying in joint-second.
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nIn the Under-17 men’s race, last week’s Hampshire Championships winner, Will Atkins, had to settle for second this time, with Oscar Newbery (8th) and Ieuan Thomas (17th) making up the scoring team. This gave them second place on the day and they remain second in the seasonal table. In the individual aggregate table, Will, also in lower year, remains a close second too.
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nThe next, and penultimate, race in the series takes place at Popham Airfield on February 11th. Please note that on that occasion, there will be no Under-11 races.