The conditions may have been horrendous, but it didn’t stop twenty four of our junior Harriers turning out in what some might call, proper cross country weather! Yes, it was wet, but the first fixture of the NYSD XC runs was as popular as ever, and clubs from across the region came together to battle it out in a not so sunny Acklam.
Under 11 Boys Just the two of our junior Harriers in the Under 11 Boys today. Sonny Campbell-Critchley was a regular at last year’s NYSD XC’s and he was back again today to begin his second season at this age group. He had an excellent run over the tough 2k circuit and finished in 19th place in a time of 7:29; a big improvement on his 2k at Richmond last year…..and it was fantastic to see Sonny’s younger brother, Luca Campbell-Critchley make his NYSD debut today. A fine effort from young Luca brought him home in 24th place in a time of 10:25 – great to have you on board, Luca, hope all that rain hasn’t put you off for life! Well done to both boys
Under 11 Girls A great turnout, with four of our Under 11 Girls competing today. The first of those home was Zara Jones who has started this season off where she left the last, with some impressive results. After finishing 3rd at Thirsk a few weeks ago, she went one better today, finishing in 2nd place in a super fast time of 6:10 – not bad going for 2k! Back again, and scoring points for the second time running was Savannah Tarn. She crossed the line after an excellent run in 6th place, with a time of 6:44; another huge improvement on last year’s 2k XC.
After her impressive performance at the Junior Great North Run, Freya Talman was in action again today for her first NYSD run of the season. It was yet another top ten finish from our girls as Freya came home in 9th place, crossing the line in 6:58…..and just a couple of places behind Freya was new recruit, Lottie Graves. After an excellent debut at Thirsk, Lottie impressed again today, finishing just outside the points in 11th place with an excellent time of 7:12. That’s four young athletes in the top 11 – shame there isn’t a team result for the Under 11’s as our girls would be clear winners! A terrific performance from all, well done girls
Under 13 Boys It was great to see five of our regulars in action for the Under 13 Boys today. As you might expect, those in year 2 of the age group were the first of our boys to complete the 2.8k circuit – Alex Boyer in 2nd place, finishing in 8:37, and nor far behind, Dylan Wilson in 4th place, crossing the line in 8:43. Two tremendous performances from two of the best young athletes for their age. The younger boys continue to impress, as they did throughout the T & F season after his excellent run at last week’s ESAA XC Cup, Elwood Kelley was the first of them to cross the line in 8th place, in 9:18.
Not far behind, and having a fantastic start to his XC season was Matthew Vest – in a point scoring 10th place! An excellent time too of 9:27. Yet another strong performance came from all-rounder, Ashton Harrison, who always gives it 100%. Ashton crossed the line in 15th place, although his time of 9:43 was the same as 14th place. Impressive results from all, and with the top 3 finishers counting towards the team event, our boys were rewarded with 1st place!! Tremendous effort boys, well done!
Under 13 Girls A trio of talent braved the elements from our Under 13 Girls; the same three girls that formed the dream team that finished in 2nd place at the Thirsk Relays – Libby Hammond, Fern Shelton and Tori Buckley. Still in her first year at Under 13, the first of them to cross the line was Libby in 8th place with an excellent time of 9:52. Just one place behind Libby in 9th place was Fern; more your hardcore cross country runner who was a regular at last year’s NYSD meetings. Another great time of 10.04 from Fern. And just behind that, another blue and white vest crossed the line in the form of Tori; also in her first year at Under 13. Like Libby, Tori’s had a busy T&F season and it’s great to see that enthusiasm continue into the XC season. 10th place for Tori today in 10:09. More tremendous results from Darlington Harriers, meant the girls came 3rd in the team event as well! A fantastic effort, well done girls!
Under 15 Boys There were four of our Under 15 Boys in action today; three of them back again after their recent success competing for Hummersknott in the English Schools XC Cup last week. Today though it was blue and white vests all the way, and the first of them to cross the line was Adam Russell in an impressive 4th place; an excellent time too of 9:19, just 16 seconds behind the winner. Not far behind Adam was twin brother, John Russell. The two brothers are never far apart and that was the case again today with John finishing in 6th place in 9:30.
Next up was their Hummersknott team mate, Harry Wilson. Another solid performance from Harry brought him home in 12th place, in an excellent time of 10:27. And making his NYSD debut today was a relatively new name to Darlington Harriers; Kyle Atkins. Kyle is a keen park and road runner, but produced a great effort today at his first NYSD cross country meeting. He finished in 21st place in a time of 12:58. Nice one Kyle, hope to see you back again. With the top 3 finishers counting towards the team event, the lads finished in 3rd place, just 1 point behind2nd! Another great team effort from DHAC, well done!
Under 15 Girls Two of our Under 15 Girls stepped out today, both of them still in their first year at Under 15. The first of them to complete the 3.6k course was Mia Wetherill. Mia has really impressed us this year with a string of excellent results on the track. It was another strong performance today crossing the line in 9th place in a time of 11:58. Not far behind after a fantastic effort was Emily Vest. Not to be out done, she matched her younger brother, Matthew, by finishing in 10th place, and got onto the scoreboard with an excellent time of 12:24. Well done girls, a terrific effort from both.
Under 17 Boys The only Under 17 boy from DHAC’s junior camp was James Roberts. Another athlete who is still in the first year of his age category, you can always be guaranteed 100% effort from James. Today was a tough 5.8k circuit up against some strong opponents, but he dug deep and was unlucky to finish just a few seconds outside the points in 11th place, in an excellent time of 20:08. Great stuff, James, well done!
Under 17 Girls Presumably because there weren’t that many competing today, the Under 17 Girls were grouped together with the Senior Ladies, three of those being our own DHAC girls. Well accustomed to running against the seniors was our first junior to cross the line, Ellie Phillips. She finished in an impressive time of 22:52, the 4th U17 to complete the 5.8k course, 8th place overall ( 3 places ahead of her Mum!), and incidentally, the first Darlington Harrier across the line! Next up was another regular, both on the track and cross country, Megan Noble. As always, another solid performance from Megan, being the 6th U17 to finish in a time of 25:51, 29th place overall (13 places behind her Mum! ☺)
Next was another young lady making her NYSD Cross Country debut, Amelia (Millie) Grayson. Millie has been an avid Parkrun fan since being an U13 athlete, but now in her first year at U17, she’s ventured into the world of cross country, and produced an excellent performance. She was the 7th U17 to finish, 37th overall (out of a field of 109), crossing the line in 26:39. Well done Millie, hope you enjoyed your first NYSD and we see you back again soon. A top performance from all the girls today…..and with the top 3 Harriers to finish being Ellie, her Mum, Sue and Megan’s Mum, Linda, DHAC were 2nd in the team result! Well done ladies!
Congratulations to all our Junior Harriers taking part today – an outstanding team performance. We look forward to seeing you at the next NYSD meeting at Whitby on the 4th November! #UTH! ☺
Previous photos courtesy of Karen Harland – you can see lots more of Karen’s photos from today by clicking here