On 8th October 2009, Harrow Way School staged round 1 of the English Schools Cross-Country Cup Competition. We were invited to host the first round by the English Schools Athletics Association (ESAA) having entered the competition for the first time.
The event, organised by Mr Peters, was held at Charlton Sports Centre. It involved 16 schools and over 200 athletes from all over Hampshire and Sussex. The weather was absolutely perfect for cross-country running – sunny, no breeze and quite mild.
We entered two teams into the competition – a ‘junior boys’ team and a ‘junior girls’ team (allowing year 7s and 8s to compete alongside each other). Although neither of the two teams finished in the top three positions overall, and therefore did not progress to round 2, there were still some fantastic individual performances.
The junior boys finished 7th overall and particular congratulations go to:
Matthew Cook – year 8 (11th)
Callum Twigg – year 8 (16th)
Harry Fitzpatrick – year 7 (19th)
Connor Durbridge – year 7 (40th)
Matthew Gardner – year 8 (44th)
Troy Scanlan – year 8 (45th)
The junior girls unfortunately finished in last place overall but Chelsey Renshaw in year 8 finished as the fastest Harrow Way girl in a credible 54th place.
In order for a competition like this to be successful, it requires a lot of assistance and teamwork. That came in spades from a number of our year 9 sports ‘leaders’ who, between them, marshalled the course superbly and efficiently. They really did help to ensure the smooth running of the event (pardon the pun!). Huge thanks to the following year 9 students for their excellent contribution on the day:
Catherine Upfold
Lauren Gibbs
Sheree Villiers
Jessica Borley-Thorpe
Laura Jones
Gillian Parker
Ella Howells
Ben Cox
Michael Stacey
Alex Stones
Evan Roll
Charley Robinson