Round 3 of the NYSD Cross Country runs saw the biggest turn out of the series so far from our Junior Harriers. 28 eager athletes donned the blue and white vest from the Under 11s, Under 13s and Under 15s, and even with a few of our regulars elsewhere, we still had more juniors than any other club on the day! It may have been the massive improvement in the weather conditions from last week at Whitby, but whatever the reason, it was fantastic to see so many youngsters representing their club.
Under 11s Alex Boyer can do no wrong at the moment! His excellent season continued on Sunday with yet another 1st place – a convincing win, 8 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, with an impressive time of 5:44. Keep up the good work, Alex. 4th, 5th and 6th place all went to Darlington Harriers, all finishing within 5 seconds of each other! Some excellent running from Ashton Harrison, Louis Brett and Matthew Vest crossing the line in 6:00, 6:01 and 6:05 respectively. Great to see them up with the front runners, well done boys.
Not far behind them, and making it 5 out of the top 8 for Darlington was Josh Scott. A super run finishing in 6:14 – great stuff, Josh, keep it up! Running in their NYSD XC debut, both William Fenwick and Jack Johnson gave it maximum effort. Great runs from both, William finishing 15th in 6:44 and Jack, 21st in 7:55. Well done boys, it’s great to have you on board!
The Under 11 girls were on top form as well with 4 Junior Harriers in the top 7! Zara Jones was our leading lady finishing in 2nd place in 6:08. Another quality run in what has, so far, been a very successful season for Zara, so well done to her. Tori Buckley was our next junior to cross the line in 4th place. This was Tori’s first NYSD cross country race, up to now just taking part in track & field. A great run finishing in 6:24 – well done, Tori, an excellent start to your XC running! It was a close run for 6th and 7th places, both going to Darlington with only a second between them! Sophie Bannister just pipped it in 6:46 with Savannah Tarn right on her tail! Excellent running girls, well done! Another NYSD XC debut, this time for Ella McCarthy finishing in 26th in 8:24, closely followed by Olivia Tweddle finishing 28th in 8:32. Super running from both girls, keep up the good work.
An all round excellent performance from all the Under 11s. The future of DHAC is in good hands!!
Under 13s Just two Under 13 boys from Darlington took part today but some excellent running, nonetheless. Finishing in 3rd place was Dylan Wilson. Along with his older brother, Harry, Dylan has been producing some excellent results recently. Today was no exception – finishing in 10.55 against some tough competition from Richmond & Zetland. Well done, Dylan. Full credit to James Bennett-McNulty running in his first NYSD cross country – a great run finishing in 13th place in 13:18. Excellent debut, James, keep it up!
Four Under 13 girls competed today producing some excellent individual runs, which lead to a fabulous team result. First to cross the line was Gabrielle Hall in 4th place in 11:18 – another great run in what’s been a busy year, what with park runs, track & field and now cross country! Well done, Gabby, great stuff! Next up was Emily Vest finishing in 9th place. After taking a short break from athletics, Emily has caught the bug again and returned with a vengeance! An excellent performance today finishing in 11:45 – well done Emily, keep up the good work! Not far behind, in 11th place was Mia Wetherill. In excellent form today, Mia crossed the line in a time of 12:09 – a great effort, well done! Finishing 17th out of the field of 30 was Fern Shelton in 12:56. Just starting out in competitive athletics, Fern was one of the youngest running today and showed great promise running against the older girls. Well done, Fern, keep it up!
A tremendous performance from all our Under 13s….. The girls even managed a 2nd place in the team event, only beaten by Middlesbrough (Mandale) AC. #UTH
Under 15s A relatively small field of just 16 athletes took part in the Under 15 boys race. Four of them were our Darlington Harrier Juniors, and they all finished in the top ten! After their recent success in the schools cross country last week, James Roberts and Daniel Boyer were our first juniors to finish. This week it was James who crossed the line in 3rd place, closely followed by Dan in 5th with two excellent times of 14:43 and 14:58.
Well done, boys, impressive as ever! 9th and 10th places were both taken by DHAC in the form of Tom Finney and Harry Wilson. Two great runs from the boys with only 10 seconds between them, 15:48 and 15:58 – all resulting in a fabulous 2nd place in the team event! Great stuff boys, well deserved.
Within the 18 strong field of the girl’s race, Darlington Harriers accounted for 5 of the runners……….and what runners they were! Emma Hart bagged another resounding win with an excellent time of 16:22; she just goes from strength to strength well done , Emma! Peta Collins came in 3rd with a time of 16:46 proving what an asset to the club she is, well done and keep up the hard work! Jessica Hall was on Peta’s heels coming in 4th with a time of 16.58 showcasing her determination. Harriet Rogers put in a great run finishing in 17:52, gaining 8th position, closely followed by Megan Noble in 10th with a time of 18:30, excellent performance girls! It’s fantastic to see the blue and white vests bagging such great positions and it certainly makes for some nail-biting runs! As a result of the Under 15 girls’ determination, resilience and courage, they managed to win the overall team event for DHAC. What an achievement! I am sure that there are a number of very proud parents at the moment and quite rightly so. We’re lucky to have such a talented bunch of Junior Harriers flying the flag for the club, inspiring their peers to reach for the sky! Well done, girls, we can’t wait to hear about your next race!!!!
An excellent overall performance from our Juniors today. Well done to all who took part – we look forward to hearing about your successes at the next NYSD cross country at Hartlepool on 3rd December. #UTH! The full results can be viewed here
Photos courtesy of Karen Harland….many thanks! More of Karen’s photos from this event can be viewed here