Met League: U13 & U11 athletes dig in at Welwyn
On Saturday 13th November WGEL juniors took to the motorways of North London and headed for Stanborough Park (Welwyn Garden City) for their second Met League fixture of season. Stanborough Park is hilly with twists and turns, steep banked grass fields and tight wooded sections. It was a mild, overcast day and the going was soft underfoot. The U11s ran one large lap of the park (1700m). U13s ran one large and one small lap (3km). The start and finish were next to one another at the top of a steeply banked grassy hill. All the athletes started in this field, running a long uphill section that eventually leads into a second grassy field.
At the end of the second field, a large grass berm awaited them. The athletes ran around the bottom of the berm, along narrow hedge lined paths before popping out back in the grassy field. They then traverse a wooded section heading back to the first field to finish. At the end of the wooded section the U13s turn right, down to the bottom of the steeply banked first field and back to the grass berm to compete another lap before finishing.
On the day, it was all hands to deck with many WGEL athletes missing to sickness and fixture clashes. The question was could the teams protect the slender leads across all age groups after fine performances in the opening fixture? We were about to find out.
U13 Boys: Woodford A team 2nd & Woodford B yeam 15th
WGEL had 7 boys in a total field of 39 athletes, with 16 clubs competing. The field set off at a fast pace and after 800m coming out of the narrow path by the grass berm a lead group had emerged. Tom Mythen (St Marys), winner at Claybury, was leading with Arthur Phillips (SHB) behind. In the first race Mythen won convincingly but it was closer this time.
Our WGEL trio of Harry Stockill, Daniel Arnold and Rudy Parker-Bayes were again in amongst the leaders. However, disaster struck with Parker-Bayes pulling out after tripping in the woods. That left Harry and Daniel to hold off the chasing pack. The boys fought magnificently. The lead two were clear with 400m to go with Mythen beating Phillips (SHB) again to take the win. In third place Prince-Victorious (SHB) held off team mate Euan Phillips (SHB) to give Shaftesbury 3 athletes home in the top 4 places.
First for WGEL was Harry Stockill (5th). Harry kept focused throughout his race and was strong enough to hold off a sprint finish from Pflug (Highgate) at the death. WGEL athlete Daniel Arnold (9th) was right behind, improving on his tenth place in race one. Jhonathan Ghebretinsae was next in (11th) with a tremendous run. Jhonathan is quickly transferring his track speed to the hills! WGEL now had three boys back and did not have to wait long before their fourth athlete, Stephen Ng (20th), rocketed home. Stephen is improving fast to close the A team in 20 places. They were second on the day behind SHB. In the overall league they are just one point off the top spot which, given the circumstances, was a fantastic result!
Opening the B team were Leo Everitt (35th) and Luke Stoneham (36th). Despite preferring track, both deserve huge praise for racing and getting stuck in for the team! Sadly, depleted numbers meant WGEL did not close a full B team but the determination of these boys to score some points was crucial. They helped the B team hold 8th place overall in the league.
U13 Girls: Woodford A team 1st & Woodford B team 5th
WGEL had 15 girls in a total field of 50 athletes and were once again in sparkling form!
Despite some pre-race nerves, Natasha Wynn (WGEL) and a small group of 4 led from the off. This pack included Jorjia March (Barnet), Posie Shaw (SHB) and Kira Corkin (London Heathside), all previous Met League winners. Natasha looked strong. Coming out of the woods on lap one she started to put foot down and break away from the pack. With seemingly better leg speed than her competition, Natasha soon opened a commanding lead. Holding this throughout lap two, by the time she crossed the line she had put 30 seconds on the chasing pack and in doing so took her first Met league win! Natasha’s dedication and sensible, sustainable training has led her to this point in only her second season over the country. Congratulations!
Behind Natasha, Posie Shaw (SHB) had edged ahead of March (Barnet) to take second. March took third with Corkin (London Heathside) fourth. Right behind this group were the WGEL trio of Autumn Le-Chevalier Jones (8th), Tess Noblet (10th) and Jasmine Hall (13th). They packed superbly to close the WGEL A team in 13 places. It was great seeing Autumn recovered after illness and flat out on her back after the race! Tess Noblet also deserves huge praise. Given opportunity to train, Tess is a strong cross country runner and she bounced back from her disappointment at Claybury with a bang! Closing the A team was Jasmine Hall. Jasmine gave it everything and was taken ill after the race such were her endeavours to hold her place. Thankfully, she recovered well and will be back in kinder circumstances next time. The A team finished 1st and hold a commanding lead at the top of the table.
WGEL athletes Faye Owers (17th) and Amber Higgs-Smith (20th) led the B team home, working together just behind the leaders. They have been training well and are finding their cross country legs! Next in were the fast improving Ella Traynor (27th) and Alexia Ashton (33rd) in her first cross country race. These two closed the B team who finished 5th on the day and are 5th in the overall table. A tremendous result!
Completing the WGEL squad were: Isla Fulling (35th), Daisy Sherrin (37th), Chloe Jennings (42nd), Darcey Mackenzie (43rd), Lila Vadher (46th), Ishana Malcolm (47th) and Eliza Malik (49th). These girls gave it their all. Many of this group are new to club racing. Given how well they train they will soon be closing the gap on those ahead this winter!
U11 Girls: Woodford A team 1st & Woodford B team 11th
There was another resounding victory for WGEL U11 Girls who put on a fine display over the hills of Welwyn! Olivia Grant (Herts Phoenix) and Cora Naylor (Herts Phoenix) had home advantage and took an early lead from the start from a pack that included Isabella Marriott (Trent Park), the winner at Claybury, plus Sofia Bennett (Ealing) and Charlotte Beale (London Heathside) who made the podium.
In amongst this lead pack were a trio of WGEL athletes. It is testimony to how these girls are improving to see them up there at the front of races. WGEL athlete Zoe Wright has been out with a heel injury but was deemed fit for this race and had a storming run! Starting steadily, she came through the field to emerge from the wooded section with 200m to go in third place and only 3 seconds behind the leading Phoenix pair of Naylor and Grant.
These two won the race with Zoe in third, improving on her 5th place finish at Claybury and ahead of Marriott, Bennett and Beale who beat her last time out. What a run! Zooming in behind Zoe was Sophia Parker. This was Sophia’s best run in a WGEL vest. Sensible and controlled, she moved through the field with Zoe to finish in 4th place. Sophia is a very graceful runner and is now developing some speed and strength in her training and progressing nicely!
Sophia was closely followed by team mates Marissa Higgs-Smith (8th) and Sofia Sneath (10th) who closed the A team in an incredible 10 places. These girls train together and are driving each other on. They sit at the top of the table going into the next match at Uxbridge in December.
Leading the WGEL B team home was Isla Barron (16th). Isla out-sprinted Charlotte Burkitt (Serp) into the funnel to finish in style! Isla recently graduated out of WASPS and is improving quickly. Completing the B team were also new WASP graduates Laial Ferdinand (31st) and Shantay Charles (30th). Both these athletes are new to club racing and should be very proud of their efforts. Unfortunately, again sickness and school fixture clashes meant the WGEL B team was unfinished but the three girls performed well and overall the B team held onto sixth place in the league. Tremendous effort.
U11 Boys: Woodford A team 3rd and Woodford B team 12th
WGEL had 8 athletes from a field of 43 in total. 17 clubs competed. The league table was incredibly tight before the race. Every single place was going to count! The race got off to a flying start. Leading a small pack was Jack Hayward (ESM), second at Claybury, with Rory Willis (London Heathside) and Ben Kasper (SHB). This was Willis' (London Heathside) first appearance in the Met League, but his outstanding performances in the Chingford League suggested he could run well.
Over the 1700m course, the lead pack never really got away from the chasing group and it was going to be a tight finish. WGEL athletes Eric Frith, Oskar Prince and Joseph Corrigan were right in the thick of it. Into the last 200m Hayward (ESM) was able to find his legs. He out-sprinted Willis (London Heathside) to take the win. Only 2 seconds separated them and right behind were a pack of ten boys!
First home for WGEL were Eric Frith (10th), Oskar Prince (11th) and Joseph Corrigan (16th). Eric and Oskar are fantastic competitors and Joseph, in his first ever race for WGEL, excelled, following them all the way. In fact only 5 seconds separated all three boys. The A team was completed by Albie Manuel (22nd) who, very much like Joseph, is new to club racing but learning fast. The A team closed in 22 places vs. Ealing Southall and Middlesex in 20, SHB in 19 and London Heathside in 20! The underlying points meant the A team finished 4th on the day and remain third in the table just 23 points off second. It’s all to play for!
The B team was opened by Toby Taylor (28th). This was another good run from Toby, who prefers track but is a great all-round athlete and finding his cross country legs! Next for WGEL was Elijah Waterfield (36th), followed by Daniel Hayden (42nd) and Romeo Malik (47th). These boys are all new to club racing and should be very proud of their runs. Their efforts ensured WGEL completed a B team and held on to 12th overall in the table.
All the teams now move on to Uxbridge for Met League 3 on Saturday 4th December 2021.