Met League – U13& U11 Athletes Shine at Claybury
On Saturday 16th October, at Claybury Park a sea of juniors took to the start at the first Met league race of 2021/22 season. It was a warm and bright day and the going was soft, with a small muddy section immediately after the opening downhill giving athletes a taste of some winter XC!
The U11 race was 1500m around the traditional “small lap” at Claybury. The U13 race was two laps (3km). All the athletes started on the long grass downhill, then ran along the flat (muddy) section before a left turn uphill to the upper field. Here they ran along a long grass section before turning right up a short steep hill. At the top, they turned left, immediately down a long tarmac hill to the bottom where a tight left turn and a small incline led to the finishing funnel.
Scoring in the Met League rewards overall team performance. In U11 and U13 competition, clubs’ “first 4” athletes to finish make an A team. The next 4 a B team. The athletes score points based on their finishing position (1st place scores most). Athletes’ scores are added together, creating a total team score. As we are about to find out, EVERY position counts!
U13 Boys: Woodford A-team 1st& Woodford B-Team 5th
WGEL had 12 boys in a total field of 44 with sixteen clubs competing. As expected, it was a frantic start but at the end of the first long muddy section a lead pack of 8 runners had gone clear.
A WGEL trio of Rudy Park-Bayes, Harry Stockill and Oliver Brown were in contention with Daniel Arnold just behind the leaders.This pack contained previous Met League winner Arthur Phillips (SHB) but also surprise newcomer Tom Mythen (St Marys)in his first club XC race. It was Mythen (St Marys) who went on to open a gap on the pack, running hard downhill at the start of lap 2. Only Arthur Phillips (SHB) went with him, but Mythen held on to takethe victory, with Phillips in second place.
WGEL athlete Rudy Parker-Bayes, just behind, was involved in a great battle, holding off Suheyb Awale (Hillingdon) in a sprint finish to take third place. Team mate Harry Stockill (5th) was 5 seconds behind Rudy in his first ever Met League outing. These were outstanding results. Oliver Brown (10th) was then next home for WGEL with teammate Daniel Arnold (14th). These two closed the A team (4 home in 14). They had hung on tremendously to the leaders. That determination was crucial. In the Met League every place counts and in holding their positions the A team won the race by 1 point from Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers. A fantastic result!
Jhonathan Ghebretinsae (20th) opened the scoring for the B team. Jhonathan had a tremendous track season and is not afraid to get stuck into winter races! Next was Ethan Day (22nd). Ethan boards at military school. His school training has seemingly gone well because this was a great run in his first XC of season. Stephen Ng (27th) and Zac Everitt (36th) completed the B team (8 home in 36) and secured 5th place overall.
The squad was completed by Joshua Richardson (39th), Aiden Fowell (40th), Jude Purser (42nd) and Leo Everitt (43rd). Josh has been focused on hockey training but looked good, with Aiden right behind competing in his first ever cross country. Jude and Leo ran together. Jude iscoming back to training and Leo is more accustomed to sprinting on the track these days!
U13 Girls: Woodford A team 1st & Woodford B team 5th
WGEL U13 Girls were also in sparkling form. The start was once again frantic and fast but a lead group of 4 appeared from the crowd quite quickly led by Natasha Wynn (WGEL). Natasha took on the early pace making, followed by Kiara Corkin (London Heathside), Jorjia March (Barnet) and Posie Shaw (SHB). These four have all competed as peers on the track over the summer and it was no surprise to see them battling it out at the front.
Natasha looked strong, holding her form and with seemingly better leg speed on the firmer sections than her competition. She held the lead through lap one and for a good part of lap two. Only Corkin from the lead group seeming waiting to mount a challenge. This challenge came toward the middle of lap two. Corkin moved past uphill. Natasha responded and dug in, sticking to Corkin’s right until the end, finishing 2 seconds behind to take second place. Behind them, March had opened a small gap on the classy Shaw to take third place. This was a tremendous run from Natasha in her first XC race of season.
The next WGEL athlete home was Jasmine Hall (5th). Jasmine started steadily, making her way to the front of the chasing pack. Her timing was superb. Entering the final 50m she had opened a gap on Amy Kirk (London Heathside) and the athletes behind. The group behind contained WGEL athletes Faye Owers (12th) and Amber Higgs-Smith (14th).These two worked well together to finish strongly. Faye may have suffered from some tired legs after a great run in the recent National Road relays, but was spurred on by the fast improving Amber. These two closed the A team in 1st place (4 home in 14) just two points ahead of London Heathside. What a result!
It was a welcome return to XC running for Caitlin Hancock (18th) who opened the scoring for the B team. Caitlin is a talented sprinter, but is looking to get some endurance work in over the winter. On this evidence she could be a core member of the team! Next in for the B Team was Eva Whetham. Eva ran schools XC day before. Despite tired legs she ran a good race, her first in a WGEL vest, and looked very accomplished. Next home was another fast improving athlete, Daisy Sherrin (28th), who finished just ahead of team-mate Ella Traynor (33rd) who is also progressing. These two closed the B team which finished 5th overall. A tremendous result!
Completing the squad: Tess Nobelt (34th), Lila Vadher (41st), Darcey Mackenzie (42nd), Ishana Malcolm (45th) and Eliza Malik (46th). Tess is an accomplished distance runner but had been unable to train for 6 weeks due to school demands. Despite giving it her all, her legs could not carry her. She is top 10 potential IF she can get back to her training. Lila, Darcey and Eliza are fabulous new members of the endurance team and will take confidence from how well they ran in their first Met League. Special mention also to Ishana Malcolm who is a sprinter at heart but was not afraid to step up and run for the team!
This completed the U13 match with Woodford taking victory in both the Boys and Girls races. The squad now takes a slender lead into the next race at Welwyn Garden City in November!
U11 Girls: Woodford A team 1st & Woodford B team 2nd
There was a resounding victory for the U11 Girls in a fine display from the whole squad. Packing superbly inside the top 10 the A team finished first, with the B team packing well behind to close in 24 (8 in 24) and make it a 1st and 2nd for WGEL on the day!
Isabella Marriott (Trent Park) won the race, ahead of Sofia Bennett (Ealing) and Charlotte Beale (London Heathside). They were 10 seconds clear of the chasing pack. That pack was led by WGEL athlete Zoe Wright. Zoe has been running well and working on her breathing to combat stitch. She ran a great race. Starting steadily, getting into a rhythm, before coming through the field to end strongly with a great sprint finish to take 5th place.
Zoe was closely followed by team mates Sophia Parker (7th), Marissa Higgs-Smith (9th) and Mayowa Alake-Nyantakyi (10th), who closed the A team. These girls train together and have been progressing well as a squad. It was great to see them working as a pack and driving each other on!
Leading the B team was Gracie Fayinka (13th) who outsprinted Edith Deakin (Enfield) into the funnel and finished with a huge smile! Gracie recently graduated out of the WASPS. She is improving quickly! Completing the B team were some more new WASP graduates: Isla Barron (17th), Bridey Kelly (23rd) and Tiana Donkor (24th). Again these girls all train together and are progressing fast!
The squad was completed by Bianca Matos (25th), Amani Clegg (27th), Hannah Richards (28th), Laial Ferdinand (29th), Shantay Charles (30th), Amelia Rodrigues 932nd) and Emma Pattrick (33rd). All these girls are brand new cross country runners, and will be looking to close in on the runners ahead as they continue their training and build experience for future races! Well done.
U11 Boys: Woodford A team 4th and B team 11th
The U11 boys battled hard for 4th place, which was a tremendous effort given 7 of the 8 WGEL athletes competing were lower age group runners. The race got off to a hectic start. Leading the pack was WGEL athlete Joseph Pennell. Joseph had opened a small gap on Callum Whiteside (VPTH) and Jack Hayward (ESM) but took a wrong turn before the end of the first long straight and went off course. With marshals eventually calling him back he turned to see he’d gone the wrong way, but his race was over. It’s a learning curve for Joseph who will be back even stronger next time!
Callum Whiteside took full advantage from that point to finish first ahead of Jack Hayward (ESM) and Marcus Muers (ESM). Jack Jones (ESM) was 4th and completed an impressive run from the Ealing, Southall and Middlesex team who took the victory on the day.
First home for WGEL was Albie Manuel (13th) with Eric Frith (14th), Oskar Prince (17th) and Toby Taylor (19th) right behind. These lads packed superbly, with only 5 seconds between them. They closed the A team in 19 (4 in 19). They are mostly lower age group runners and if the can edge themselves further up the field they will soon be on the tail of the leaders.
The B team was completed by Aidan Hill (28th), Okkie Lee (34th), Elijah Waterfield (35th) and Romeo Malik (37th). These boys are also mostly lower age group. They should be very proud of their runs and, given how tight the field was, could soon close the gap on those ahead if they continue to train well!