Yes it’s that time of year again…..Christmas is now a distant memory, the kids are back at school, and those that qualified from their town cross country championships last year, now battle it out in a bid to represent their county.
Cleveland Not wasting any time, the first race to take place was the Cleveland County Championships last Wednesday at Stewart Park, Middlesbrough. We had four Junior Harriers representing their town/area – Gabby Hall (Year 7), Jess Hall, Peta Collins and Anna Reeves (Year 8/9).
The muddy conditions certainly didn’t slow Gabby down! She ran to her usual high standard, and was just pipped at the post finishing in 2nd place, only beaten by a girl from Hartlepool.
Peta Collins and Anna Reeves both ran a fantastic race. Peta crossed the line in an exceptional 3rd place closely followed by Anna in 4th…..and Jess Hall, who did well to run at all, due to illness, managed to finish in 15th place. Having won this race the last couple of years, Jess was really disappointed with her position, but at least she still managed to qualify for the next round…..
In fact, huge congratulations go out to all the girls! All four of them qualified to run for Cleveland in the Inter-Counties Championships at Barnard Castle on February 3rd.
Our thoughts go out to Jacob Rutter who was supposed to run as well but unfortunately couldn’t due to illness. Get well soon, Jacob, from all at Darlington Harriers
North Yorkshire Next up was the North Yorkshire County Championships held at Knaresborough. Taking part was our Under 15 endurance expert, Emma Hart (Year 10). Emma always gives it 110% and today was no exception. Up against some quality opposition she crossed the line in an excellent 5th place, running against girls one year older then her – another Harrier through to the Inter-Counties Championships next month. As an added bonus, in North Yorkshire the top 5 automatically qualify for the English Schools XC Championships in March. Great stuff, Emma, well done!
So what’s next on the County Championship calendar? The big one, as far as Darlington is concerned…. The Durham County XC Championships to be held at Barnard Castle School next Saturday 20th. There will be a host of our young Harriers taking part in all age groups. We know they will give it their all and wish them the very best of luck…..we look forward to reporting on their success next week! And please remember to send in your photos…..they really do make a difference to the report!! #UTH!