It was another great turn out of Junior Harriers last Sunday for the fourth of the NYSD Cross Country meetings. Even with some of our regulars not there this week (more on that later), there were plenty of blue and white vest flying the flag for Darlington.
Under 11’s There were 6 of our junior boys competing this week, from a field of 20. Making it 4 out of 4 victories (5 if you include the relays!) was Alex Boyer. Yet another excellent performance from Alex finishing in 4:46 – what with his recent victory in the National Biathlon, there really is no stopping him at the moment. Well done, Alex (we’re just pleased he wears a DHAC vest!) 5th, 6th and 7th places all went to Darlington Harriers with only five seconds between them. It was a close call for Ashton Harrison finishing in 5:00, Sylvan Tarn in 5:01 and Matthew Vest in 5:05.
A great team effort from all you boys – well done and keep up the good work. Showing real promise after another solid run was Sonny Campbell-Critchley, finishing in 15th place in 5:57. Well done Sonny for a determined effort, keep it up!
We had 4 Under 11 girls running this week, in a field of 24, and they all finished in the top 6! Zara Jones has had an excellent cross country season so far, always finishing in the top 3 of the NYSD meetings. This was no exception…..another fantastic run bagged Zara 2nd place finishing in 5:06. An impressive record, Zara, great to see! Tori Buckley went one better this time out – after finishing 4th in her debut NYSD XC at Preston Park, after a very determined run she came in an excellent 3rd only 6 seconds behind Zara in 5:12. Definitely one to watch! Well done, Tori.
Two more fabulous runs gained DHAC 5th and 6th places. Savannah Tarn, who’s finished 7th in all three previous meetings, gave us her best performance to date finishing 5th in 5:20…..and not far behind was the ever smiling Libby Hammond, finishing 6th in 5:33. Excellent running from both girls, showing us that hard work and determination really does pay off!
A great show from our Under 11’s this week, with some really top performances…..you should all be proud of yourselves! Under 13’s Just the one Under 13 boy this week. Never one to disappoint, Joe Reeve can always be relied upon for 100% effort and a great result. Yet again, another tremendous run from Joe which bagged him 2nd place out of 18, finishing in an excellent time of 12:16. Well done, Joe!
The Under 13 girls had 4 out this week, in a field of 23. An impressive run from Gabrielle Hall meant it was another top 5 finish for her in what is becoming a very successful season – this time Gabby was 5th finishing in 13:40. Well done, Gabby, excellent work. Next up was Mia Wetherill – after a strong run from Mia, she managed to finish 11th in an admirable time of 15:11. Excellent run, Mia, keep it up! Only 4 seconds separated 15th and 16th places, both going to DHAC. An impressive run from Fern Shelton meant she finished 15th in 15:44. A great effort, Fern, well done. Poor Emily Vest didn’t have much luck at today’s event – she was accidently “spiked” at the start of the race! This left her way behind, but she showed true guts and determination, doing really well to finish at all under the circumstances. She was left with a very sore foot and a running shoe full of holes!! Hats off to you, Emily – evidence of your strength of character!
Well done to all the Under 13’s…..all that training is certainly paying off!
Under 15’s As you probably know by now, there’s usually a good turnout of Under 15’s from Darlington Harriers, however, numbers were low this week. The reason being many of them decided it would be a good opportunity to get in an extra training session with Bernadette – all in preparation for the North Eastern Counties Cross Country Championships on 9th December. Good thinking, guys! As only 5 out of the 6 NYSD races count towards their final total, they can afford to miss a week, and this is as good a reason as any! We still had one Under 15 running though – Harry Wilson stepped up for the boys with another strong run to add to his tally this season. He crossed the line in 5th place, finishing in 14:43. Well done, Harry, a great effort.
Under 17’s Just the one Under 17 as well this week – Ellie Phillips, once again running against the Under 20’s and above, in the Senior Women’s race. Ellie is training hard at the moment, competing on a regular basis and is getting stronger as the season goes on. Another excellent run today finishing 4th overall and 1st for the Under 17’s in 18:59. Fantastic stuff, Ellie, well done!
Yet again, some terrific performances from our young Harriers – you’ve done the club proud! Hope to see you all at the North Eastern Champs at Redcar!
Many thanks to Karen Harland for her photos! You can see more by clicking here
For full results click here