Chingford League Juniors: Races 5 & 6
Chingford League Round-Up: WGEL Juniors in the medals!
WGEL juniors (U11-U15) completed their six-race winter Chingford league campaign with a race in January and February. Race 5 was held in Epping Forest and the final race in Victoria Park.
Chingford League Race 5 – Epping Forest (Sat 21st January 2023)
Orion Harriers hosted Race 5 with Epping Forest providing a spectacular back drop. The course did not disappoint the large crowd longing for mud and hills. U11 & U13s ran 2km out and back on muddy forest trails. U15s ran a 5km loop with a monster climb 800m from the end.
U15 Girls
WGEL’s Matilda Frith (1st) took victory running the muddy 5km course in 23mins 13s. Matilda finished ahead of Charlotte Palmer (Loughton AC) and Lizzie Knapman (Loughton AC). The three have enjoyed a friendly rivalry all season. Matilda goes into the final fixture looking to claim top spot in the individual competition. WGEL’s Juliet Taylor (4th) and Darcey Mackenzie (5th) packed well to close the team behind Matilda and in doing so moved WGEL U15 Girls to the top of the League.
U15 Boys
Aidan O’Driscoll (1st) returned to his favorite course (where he won last year) to produce another spectacular run, winning in 19mins 50s, ahead of Ryder Islam (Ilford AC) in second. WGEL’s Joseph Arnold (4th)had his best run of the winter. In doing so he helped Aidan by pushing the overall leader in the individual competition, Gabriel Buckley (Loughton AC), into sixth place on the day. This left the competition wide open going into the final fixture with Aidan in second place behind Buckley with Islam in third. WGEL U15 Boys remained third in the league.
U13 Girls
WGEL’s Jasmine Hall (1st) continued her fine winter form, winning in 8mins 01s. Team-mates Isla Fulling (2nd), Sophia Parker (3rd) and Marissa Higgs-Smith (4th) also ran superbly and were next home. WGEL’s great performances continued with Freya Barbieri (7th), Isla Barron (8th), Mayan Boulogne (13th) and Amani Clegg (15th) packing well and extending the team's overall lead at the top of the league. Sophia, an ever present this season, leads the individual competition. Marissa is second. Jasmine (missed two races) is third and Isla Fulling is fourth going into an exciting final race.
U13 Boys
Daniel Arnold continued his excellent form, taking victory for the fourth time this season in 8mins. Team-mates Toby Taylor (2nd) and Tayo Adetona (3rd) were next back, ensuring a clean sweep of the podium for WGEL. Stephen Ng (4th), Charlie Howes (5th), Lucas Freedman (7th) and Leo Mabey (10th), who made his debut, filled the top ten. Zac Freedman (11th), Okkie Lee (13th), Eddie Pamment (15th) and Cristian Scozzari (16th), another debutant, closed the WGEL team. The boys helped WGEL retain their lead in the league. Daniel leads the individual competition. Stephen is second and Toby is third with one race to go.
U11 Boys
Oskar Prince excelled taking his fourth victory of the season winning in 8mins 28s ahead of team-mates Eric Frith (2nd) and Woody Qureshi (3rd). Jack Arnold (4th) had a great run and led a fantastic group of boys home with Josh Housden (6th), Luca Cook (7th) and Blake Edwards (10th) all in the top ten. Behind them another pack of WGEL boys flew home, led by Daniel Hayden (12th) with Jax Connor (14th), Kyelan Brian (15th), Arav Patel (16th), Jack Tonge (17th), Idris Bernard (18th), Jessie Geller (19th), Jasper Ashford (20th), Noah Parker (21st) Harry McNally (22nd) and Lukas Sendar (23rd) completing the squad. The boys' outstanding efforts kept them top of the League. Eric leads the individual competition from Oskar and Lukas Vernal (Orion) going into the final fixture.
U11 Girls
Eva Prince stormed home for her fourth win of the season in 8mins 44s. Gracie Fayinka (2nd) and Rosie Barron (3rd) packed behind superbly to finish ahead of Chloe Summers (Orion). Next for WGEL were Grace Cherry (5th), Olivia Jonker (6th), Simi Adetona (7th) and Bonnie Harte (9th) who were very pleased with a top ten finish. Isla Hall (12th), Rosie Anderson (13th), Romi Jonker (14th), Aoife Pearce (15th), Maia Lalani (16th), Adriana McNally (17th), Sophia Khan (19th), Alice Mackenzie (21st) and Alyssa Clegg (22nd) completed the team. Special mention to Alice who finished despite losing a shoe in the mud!
These girls all helped the team retain their position top of the league. Rosie has been superb in her first season and leads the individual competition ahead of Eva (missed one race) and Summers (Orion) in third.
Chingford League Race 6 – The Finals at Victoria Park (Sat 4thFebruary)
The final Chingford League race of the season took place on the paths of Victoria Park. Conditions were perfect and the fields swelled by athletes battling it out for medals and newcomers attracted to the venue and a lack of mud!
U11s ran a single 1.6km lap. U13 ran this twice while the U15s ran a “figure of 8” loop (4km). Ahead of the race WGEL juniors had a number of age group teams and individual athletes in contention for medals. It was set to be an exciting day of racing!
U15 Boys
Aaron Hick (Ilford AC) won the race in 14mins 23s ahead of William Muffett (Orion). Behind the leaders, Ryder Islam (Ilford AC) and WGEL’s Aidan O’Driscoll battled it out for the overall title. Aidan prefers mud. He had beaten Ryder in Epping, but on tarmac Ryder found the going easier and finished third, ahead of Aidan (4th) by 25 seconds. Aidan has progressed well over the winter and, despite disappointment at not winning, secured a much deserved second place in the individual competition. Right behind Aidan was Oliver Brown (7th). Oliver said he’s found being a lower age athlete a challenge this winter, but next season as an upper age group athlete he could really flourish. WGEL U15 Boys finished third in the league. Winners were Orion Harriers.
U15 Girls
Matilda Frith (2nd) was first home for WGEL in 17mins 17s. On this occasion Matilda finished just behind race winner and closest rival Lizzie Knapman (Loughton AC). Matilda has been outstanding this season. Winning on three occasions, and despite giving up ground on the firmer surface to rival Lizzie Knapman (Loughton), she deserved her overall victory and crown as U15 Girls Champion.
Ella Traynor (15th), Juliet Taylor (18th) and Darcey Mackenzie (21st) ran well and scored vital points to help their team become U15 Girls League winners ahead of Loughton AC and Orion Harriers. Well done team!
U13 Boys
Stephen Ng was first home for WGEL, taking victory for the first time this season in 12mins 13s. Stephen ran superbly, attacking the course from the start. Team-mates Callum Clydesdale (2nd), Daniel Arnold (3rd) and Toby Taylor (4th) were right behind, leading a pack containing Tayo Adetona (5th), Lucas Freedman (6th), Charlie Howes (7th), Zac Freedman (8th), Okkie Lee (10th) and Eddie Pamment (16th).
The boys all ran their hearts out and ensured their place as U13 Boys League winners ahead of Orion Harriers and Loughton AC. In the individual competition, Daniel’s won four races out of 5 over the season and was rightly crowned U13 Boys Champion. Stephen also had a tremendous season and took second with Toby (who prefers track and field!) a well-deserved third.
U13 Girls
WGEL’s Isla Fulling took her first victory with a brilliant run finishing in 13mins 35s. Faye Owers (2nd) was next in 14mins 02s with Sophia Parker (3rd) making it a clean sweep of the podium for WGEL. Marissa Higgs-Smith (4th) was right behind with Isla Barron (6th), Freya Barbieri (8th) and Tyleah Edwards (9th) packing out the top ten!
This team have been dominant this season and were deserved U13 Girls league winners ahead of Orion Harriers and Loughton AC. In the individual competition, Sophia was rewarded for her consistency, rarely out of the top 3 and crowned U13 Girls Champion. Marissa had a superb season and her reward was second and Isla Fulling, enjoying a great run of form, taking third.
U11 Boys
Oskar Prince (2nd) was in a tremendous race. He finished neck and neck with eventual winner Carlo Wilson (Enfield) with one second separating them at the end! Right behind was team-mate Eric Frith (3rd) who ended his league campaign in style among the leaders.
A sea of green and white then flooded the finish, led by Henry Richards (6th), Jax Connor (7th), Felix Brown (10th), Jack Arnold (12th), Luca Cook (13th), Woody Qureshi (14th), Harry McNally(15th), Leo Ciarlet (16th), Kyelan Brian (18th), Daniel Hayden (19th), Jack Tonge (20th), Jesse Geller (23rd), Idris Bernard (24th), Aarav Patel (25th), Shayan Patel (26th) and Noah Parker (28th).
These boys should all be proud of their efforts.They were crowned U11 Boys League Champions! With four wins out of five, Oskar was crowned U11 Boys Champion. Eric was on Oskar’s tail throughout the season and finished second with Henry third.Well done boys!
U11 Girls
Eva Prince finished her Chingford league campaign in style. She took victory over her nearest rival Chloe Summers (Orion), running 6mins 59s for the mile. Grace Cherry (3rd) was next with another impressive run, backed by Rosie Barron (4th) and Olivia Jonker (5th), who led a huge pack of amazing WGEL juniors home including; Rosie Anderson (6th), Bridey Kelly (8th), Phoebe Quorn (9th), who had a fall at the start, Maia Lalani (10th), Aoife Pearce (12th), Romi Jonker (13th), Sophia Khan (14th), Adriana McNally (15th), Emma Pattrick (16th) and Alice Mackenzie (17th).
Many of these girls are lower year and or racing for the first time this season. Each and every one of them contributed to an amazing season that led to the team being crowned U11 Girls league Champions! In the individual competition, Eva with 5 wins from 5 races had an incredible season and was rightly crowned U11 Girls Champion. Rosie, in her first season of racing has been fantastic and her consistency and regular top 5 finishes secured her third place overall.
Next Fixture: Chingford League Relays (Wanstead) & Medal Presentations (Sat 11th March)
The Chingford league has again been a great experience for all WGEL juniors this winter. Over 100 WGEL juniors raced for the club this season. Our experienced runners got to lead races and run from the front and were joined by many new runners racing for the first time.
The team at WGEL would like to thank all the parents and families for getting the athletes to fixtures and to the organisers for a brilliant league campaign.
Medals for the winning teams and individual athletes will be presented at the Relays at Wanstead Flats on Sat 11th March 2023.