Juniors Head Back To Acklam. Photos courtesy of Jo-Anne Tarn & Karen Harland.
Because of a change in venue, our juniors visited Acklam Grange School for the second time this season; the last NYSD meeting before Christmas. It was a cool, fresh day and numbers were down slightly on the usual attendance, but as you’ll see our juniors pulled out all the stops and produced some tremendous results.
Under 11 Boys
Running his first NYSD cross country this season was our U11 all rounder, Hugo Douglas-Reeves. He competed well, up to his usual high standard and finished strongly in an excellent 2nd place, crossing the line in 6:38.
It’s been a fabulous first season for young Harry Glenton; this was his third NYSD appearance and like both his previous runs, he’s finished in the top 10 to get those all important points on the board. Today it was 8th place again in a time of 7:46.
Well done boys, an excellent performance from both!
Under 11 Girls
It’s been a great season so far for Lottie Graves, and she was back in action again today as the only DHAC U11 girl. She impressed once again with another excellent run, matching her best NYSD placing so far with another 6th place, in an excellent 7:11.
Fantastic effort, Lottie, well done
Under 13 Boys
We had three U13 boy competing today, just enough to make a complete team, but what a team it was!
With Alex Boyer flying high at the moment he was going to be a tough cookie to beat, and as suspected he came away with another victory to his name, taking 1st place by a clear 24 seconds. He crossed the finish line with an impressive time of 8:53 to add another 10 points to his total.
Another young athlete who continues to impress is Elwood Kelley; he’s produced some really strong runs this season and adds another to the growing list today. He made it a one, two for DHAC as he followed Alex across the finish line to take 2nd place in a time of 9:17.
Completing our trio of talent was Matthew Vest; this was his third run from the four NYSD meetings, and by far his best performance so far. He put in a terrific run to finish in 7th place in a time of 10:04. Some top running from all the boys, and it’s no surprise that they took 1st place in the team event as well.
Congratulations boys, well deserved!
Under 13 Girls
Our U13’s really are an exceptional bunch! And not to be outdone by the boys, the girls also fielded a very strong team today, with four of them lining up at the start. Like Alex for the boys, Zara Jones has gone from strength to strength this season, producing some outstanding performances. Today she dominated once again, taking 1st place by a clear 28 seconds! She crossed the finish line in an impressive time of 9:49.
Apart from Middlesbrough Mandale who finished 2nd, it was DHAC all the way with our other three girls taking 3rd, 4th and 5th. The first of the trio was Libby Hammond who continued her excellent season with another top performance today; a terrific time too of 10:25.
Just a few seconds behind Libby, it was a welcome return to Sophie Bannister. We last saw Sophie compete as an U11 in the 2017/18 season so it was fantastic to see her back in action again – and what a return; 4th place in a time of 10:30, adding even more strength to our amazing U13 squad!
And hot on Sophie’s heels was Savannah Tarn; she’s competed at all four NYSD meetings now and scored points in all of them, including another six points for 5th place today – and another great time too of 10:37.
Another outstanding performance from our U13 girls and one that earned them 1st place in the team event! Impressive stuff girls, well done!
Under 15 Boys
We just had the one U15 boy running today, Dylan Wilson. This was his third NYSD appearance this season, and like many of our juniors, he’s scored points in all of them. Today was another excellent run, crossing the line in 11:27 to add another 5 points to his total.
Nice work, Dylan, well done!
Under 15 Girls
Onto the girls and some more impressive results to tell you about. Marissa Boon is absolutely flying at the moment; she’s had a cracking season so far producing some memorable performances.
Today she pulled another one out the bag, pushing hard at the finish to take 1st place by a couple of seconds, winning in a time of 11:28.
Not far behind was Mia Wetherill, running her third NYSD this season. As always, she put in a great shift earning a very healthy 8 points, as she took a fantastic 3rd place in a time of 11:57.
Next up was Macy Kelly who, once again, showed us what she’s made of; another strong run earned her more points for 7th place today, finishing in 12:38.
The fourth member of the team today was Emily Vest. She put in a great effort today but frustratingly, just missed out on the points by one place. Still an excellent run though finishing 11th in 13:54. And guess what…..the girls made it another 1st place for DHAC in the team event! Fantastic effort girls, well done!
Under 17 Girls
Last but not least, Amelia Grayson was back in action again competing against the Senior Women. She showed plenty of DHAC determination today and was the 4th U17 to cross the line in a time of 30:50. Another fabulous performance, well done Amelia!
We’re sure you’ll agree those results are pretty impressive. It just shows that we have some real talent coming through our junior ranks.
Congratulations to all who took part today, we look forward to seeing you at the next NYSD meeting at Ormesby Hall, Middlesbrough, on 19th January.