Essex XC Champs U13/U17

The clouds loomed dark over Gloucester Park, Basildon, but the rain that was forecast did not materialise fortunately for all concerned. The fields in general may be lacking in numbers certainly did not lack talent up the front. The course in general despite the recent rain was reasonably good going but each race incorporated the steep climbs to the east of the park.

WGEL had a fairly good turnout but like other clubs were hit with a few missing due to illness.

U17 Women

We only had two starters but how well they both ran. Kezia Beeton and Emily Caton joined us as U11s and here they both are battling it out as U17s. Kezia got a good start and she was one of three that broke away early on, with Emily on the back of another small group behind. The winner, Lizzie Welsted, got away soon after the halfway point, leaving Holly Watson and Kezia to battle out for the other medals. Holly's track speed saw her pull away from Kezia over the final flat part of the course but Kezia should be delighted with her bronze medal to go alongside the bronze she won as an U13 girl back in 2018. Behind Kezia, Emily Caton was battling hard to get top 6 and automatic selection for Essex and at the final turn she was 7th. A strong finish saw Emily grab the 6th spot, an excellent run as she still recovering from a recent virus.

U17 Men

Illness and injury took three of our best runners out before the start where we only had three other athletes. Poor Jimmy Geller turned his ankle at the mid part of the race, forcing him to retire, plus Chris Richardson had to also retire with an asthma attack. Credit to Nate Harding, a bottom year athlete, who ran well for 20th place.

U15 Boys

Havering's Freddie Rowe led from start to finish and is still only bottom year. Luka Norden and Harry Stockill both had very good runs. They worked hard throughout to place 8th Luka and 9th Harry. These two are bottom year runners and Freddie was the only other one ahead of them. They may get selected for Essex as 8 are selected from each age group, but that decision will be taken by our so dedicated and committed county team managers. Behind these two was an excellent run from Aidan O’Driscoll who placed 29th. Aidan is training well, incorporating Sunday runs. Next home was Oliver Brown, another bottom year runner, in 37th. Oliver will improve now that he is back into a routine. Joseph Arnold in 41st ran really well when you consider this lad races just off football training. Ethan Day in 42nd and Max Koschek in 47th rounded off a good turnout in this age group for the Woodies. The team placed 5th.

U15 Girls

Lyla Belshaw, another top runner, led the race from start to finish. Natasha Wynn, Bethan-Rose Davies and Molly Sherrin all got out well too, and after the hill at the bridge we had three in the top 10. Could we hold on? Unfortunately Natasha pulled up shortly after this with tight quads. The other two held on well. Bethan is still recovering from a nasty virus she got just before Xmas and placed 10th knowing that she will improve in the weeks to come, whilst Molly is existing mainly off football training as she now in an academy, and she was an excellent 11th. Matilda Frith came through strongly over the second part of the course to place 24th with young Ella Traynor, having a great race, in 25th. Eliza Bridges in 30th and Summer Maw in 33rd closed in another good turnout for the Woodettes for 4th place.

U13 Girls

We only had four out, the minimum for a team, but how well they did. Jasmine Hall, short of training after being away all over Xmas, was even more affected when she fell at the start. Jasmine battled hard to get into a forward position but the fall affected her confidence and although she pushed through the field she placed 10th, but had been hoping for a top 6 and automatic Essex selection. Faye Owers, such a great club girl, ran well for 17th and seems to be running more freely now following a back injury. The other two girls should take great credit as they are bottom year U13s but so reliable. Sophia Parker, our Year 7 girls West Essex Champion, placed 20th, and Marissa Higgs-Smith 32nd. The girls placed 3rd so county bronze medals were awarded to them all.

Under 13 Boys

Daniel Arnold placed 13th but was disappointed with his run, admitting maybe due to festive season just prior to race he was not fully prepared. Nevertheless a good run from our lad. Next in was Rahul Solanki who placed an excellent 15th. The next two lads, Teddy Newson, a welcome return, and Stephen Ng completed the scoring four with 19th and 20th respectively. The other lads packed well behind. Many had not trained over the Xmas period so great credit to them. Lucas Freedman 25th, Toby Taylor 31st, Tayo Adetena 36th, Charlie Howes 44th and Callum Clydesdale limped over the line 52nd with a hamstring issue after being in the top 10 early on in the race. The boys were 5th but it was mighty close. Well done to them!

So now the attention turns to Met League activity this coming Saturday with the intention of holding our overall lead in the Howard Williams Junior Trophy. We are going for this title for the 5th year in a row.