Hundreds of young hopefuls turned out at a wintery Barnard Castle School for the Durham County Schools Cross Country Championships on Saturday. A host of our DHAC Juniors competed as they pounded the snow and ice in a bid to represent their County. It was a tough day, and the conditions got the better of a few, but our young Harriers battled on to produce some impressive performances.
Minor Girls (Year 7) Two gutsy performance from out Year 7 duo. Lily Large gave it her all and after a magnificent sprint finish managed to cross the line in 33rd place. Olivia Bell wasn’t alone when she found difficulty with her breathing in the cold conditions! After a brave effort she was forced to retire with about half a mile to go. Well done, girls!
Minor Boys (Year 7) It was a one, two for Darlington Harriers in the Minor Boys race! Daniel Richardson was first to cross the line running for South West Durham after a dominant performance. Not far behind after a magnificent run was the youngest of the Wilson brothers, Dylan. Both boys qualify for the Inter- Counties next month. An excellent run from James Wilcock who, at one point, looked like he might qualify as well! As it was he just missed out by a few places, but a great effort, nonetheless. Well done boys!
Junior Girls (Year 8/9) A quartet of Harriers talent battled against the elements, and some tough competition, in the Junior Girls race; Harriet Rogers, Mia Wetherill, Emily Vest and Sarah Wilcock. They all ran their hearts out, some still in their first year at this age group. Unfortunately, despite giving it 100%, they just missed out on qualifying. But some great running though girls, well done!
Junior Boys (Year 8/9) Three of our Darlington Harriers competed in the Junior boys race; Harry Wilson and Joe Mulroy ran for Darlington and George Peacock for South West Durham. Unfortunately, after promising runs, George and Joe were beaten by the elements, with George slipping on some ice and twisting his ankle! Harry, however pulled off an excellent performance finishing in 18th place, making sure both Wilson brothers will be running for the County next month! Well done boys. After an excellent run in the Darlington Championships, Nat Bell was due to take part here as well. Unfortunately he suffered a football injury last weekend so was unable to compete.
Inter Girls (Year 10/11) Always a successful year group for our current Darlington Harriers, hopes were high when this race started…..and the girls didn’t disappoint! It was another one, two after a tremendous performance from both India Pentland and Catherine Roberts. India was the clear winner followed by an excellent 2nd place for Catherine.
Not far behind after another impressive run was Ellie Phillips in 6th place….and not far behind Ellie, was Megan Noble in 9th place making it a full house!! All four in the top ten – impressive stats I’m sure you’ll agree. Also, as race winner, India qualifies directly for the English Schools Cross Country Championships, while Catherine, Ellie and Megan all qualify for the Inter-Counties. Well done to all of you!
Inter Boys (Year 10/11) Like the girls, this age group has had its fair share of success over the last couple of years, and today was no exception! Daniel Boyer , still in Year 10, was the first of our Harriers to cross the line in 5th place after another strong performance. Not far behind in 7th place after an impressive run was Hummersknott’s James Roberts. Unlucky for some, but not for Liam Brittle who crossed the line in 13th place after an excellent run, made it a hat-trick of Harriers to qualify to represent their County. Tom Finney put up a great fight with another excellent run, but unfortunately just missed out on the Inter-Counties. Well done to all!
Senior Girls (Year 12/13) Just a small field of competitors in this race, including two of our most experienced Junior Harriers, Lucy-Erin Hunter and Stella Jones. Lucy-Erin dominated the race from start to finish, crossing the line in 1st place after a commanding performance. Stella Jones showed her experience with another impressive run to add to her record – crossing the line in 4th place and qualifying for the Inter-Counties. As race winner, Lucy-Erin joins India Pentland qualifying directly for the English Schools Championships. Well done girls!
Senior Boys (Year 12/13) Just the one Darlington Harrier in this race, but yet another fantastic performance! Max Harris pulled out all the stops and crossed the line in 2nd place – another Inter-Counties qualifier! Well done, Max, a great run!
An impressive performance from all our Junior Harriers, you certainly stood out from the crowd! Well done to all that took part, and special congratulations to all those that qualified for the Inter-Counties, or Nationals! Once again, you did the cub proud! #UTH! (Huge apologies if we’ve missed any one out!!!)
