Lincolnshire Schools Cross Country Championships, Burghley Park
It was an absolute pleasure on Saturday to meet almost 60 Bourne Grammar students for the Lincolnshire Schools Cross-country Championships. Conditions were perfect for this significant event in the cross country calendar that would enable 14 students to automatically qualify and represent Lincolnshire Schools at the Anglian Championships on January 31 in Northampton.
Additionally, the top six in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior competitions would also be selected for the prestigious English Schools Cross-Country Championships to be held at Sefton Park, Liverpool in March. A further two places will be made available in each age group following performances in Northampton next weekend.
Whilst there were many excellent performances from our students, some highlights from the event saw Maddie Keith from Year 7 finish as the highest placed student for South Lincolnshire, finishing in 7th position, whilst in the Junior Boys event, up to 5 boys from School (Oliver Barker, George Calvert, Emmett Saka, Alfie Flemming, and Usaym Moin) will qualify too.
In the Junior Girls race, a strong performance from Sophie Alliston saw her gain a medal for third position, whilst excellent runs from Amberley Keith (10th) and Madeleine Hobson (13th) will see all three qualify and possibly Sophia Christoudias who finished in 16th position. Sam Griffin finished superbly in 2nd place in the Junior Boys despite being a year younger than others in the race. He will be joined by Kieran McKay (11th) too.
It was a delight to see Leah Graham finish superbly in 4th position for the Intermediate Girls having been injured and not competed since the summer. She will be joined by Edith Kaberry (10th), another student competing with the year group above.
The boys proved to be a challenging race with our highest paced athlete, Eli Saralis, finishing in 15th position. It is hoped that he will get selected following this outstanding performance. Eli will be joined by his brother, Theo (Senior Boys, 3rd position), with the possibility of Toby Staines (15th) and Miles Garrido (16th), being able to join Noah Henderson who finished in 14th position.
In the Senior Girls, Yvette Annis claimed another medal, finishing in 2nd position, with fabulous performance too from Cecilia Watson who finished in a credible 9th position, and still with a realistic prospect of gaining a place to go to Liverpool and reach the pinnacle of schools’ cross country.
A special mention must also be given to Zaid Thalnangara who, as a Year 11 competed in this competition for the first time having attended running club on a regular basis over the past 18 months.
Well done to all students who participated in the event and a huge thank you to the many parents who came to support.
The cross-country season returns to the School calendar with the Anglian Championships on the 31st of January, shortly after the exclusive King Henry VIII relays in Coventry on the Wednesday before (28th). After February half term, the two Fenland races will conclude the local inter schools’ competition, prior to the English schools in Liverpool in mid-March.