Met League 4 - Young Athletes

Report from John Stow.

With the temperature just above freezing it was great to see no less than 55 young athletes out in action on a muddy course following a lot of rain the previous two days

In the Howard Williams Junior Trophy we have now moved into 2nd place but a thriving VPH have a six point lead over us

This races also incorporated our club championships which probably boosted numbers

We had no less than 12 Woodies on the start line. Raphael Thomas led the team and race home after annexing the Hertfordshire U11XC a week earlier He took the lead early on and looked strong throughout. Jesse Geller still recovering from a virus was 2nd, a brave effort just ahead of an inspired run from Dominic Daza in 3rd place his best Met League race. With George Davies just a few yards back in 6th place that closed our scoring four for the first team to win easily.The next four lads were only separated by 12 seconds Rudy Pearson 8th 2nd claim member William Lowers (who was 4th Herts XC a week earlier)11th Noah Gavin 13th and Dylan Williams 14th These lads got us 2nd place on the day; great packing. We were not done then either as Seth Fayinka 16th Charlie Tonge 18th Ethan Porter 23rd and Rex Quorn 26th. These lads got us 5th place in the day. This was a tremendous effort on the day as we had nearly a third of the starting field. My thanks and well done to all twelve boys

Again a very good turnout with ten Woodettes on the line The team was led home by Esme Cherry in 10th spot having a very good run. Next in 13th place was Nola Hammond-Glover still recovering from jet lag but supporting her club and in the circumstances a good run. Kay Affleck 16th another reliable member of the squad was not far behind. These three have been regulars throughout the season. Our 4th scorer and closing the team in 2nd place on the day was Emma Marables in 22nd place. It was great to have Emma back and racing well. The next four girls were 11th on the day but all played their part in supporting the club. Well done to Lula Qureshi 30th Hannah Hussain 31st Dulcie Qureshi 32nd and Nell Ferreira-Kocijani 34th. It was also really pleasing to see Polly Whelan 34th and Hollie Bennett 35th. Again my thanks and well done to all ten girls

A much improved turn out meaning we had eight Woodies on the line. Henry Richards selected last weekend for the U.K. Inter Counties after his excellent run in the Essex Champs, led the team home in 4th place. henry is producing a great run of consistent performances this season. Another lad who is performing well is Jack Tonge who placed 12th. The two lads were well supported by Max Tharratt making his Met League debut placing 19th as Luca Cook closed the team in 29th with the boys in 4th place on the day. It was great to see four other lads wearing the green and white hoops who all ran well, Dillian Chauhan 36th, Arlo Barron-Smith 37th, Lukas Sender 38th and Noah Parker 40th. These lads placed 14th on the day Again my thanks and well done to all the boys

Once again a great turnout of eleven Woodettes. Poppy Barker was first home and appears to be back to her best after illness struck during the festive period. The next two had a good scrap for the club minor medals with Chloe Ward 10th just edging out Lotties Oates in 11th spot. Closing the team in first place was a fine run from Maia Lalani in 14th spot. The second four placed the club 7th on the day. Once again great packing from Rosie Barron 16th, Sarah Ramdane 25th, Jessica Dawkes 33rd and Emilia Herbert 34th, Grace Thorpe making her Met League did well for 35th. Our final two girls also ran well Karina Uddin 40th and Sophie Khan 41st Once again a big well done to the girls for their efforts

With a fixture clash at last Met League we were back to full strength which saw us win overall on the day and climb back up the table to 4th This was a combined race with around 80 starters

Soon after the start the likes of Harry Stockill, Oscar Eaton and Luka Norden were all in the top 6. Although it was good to have our top guys back they were short of training as all had been away over the festive period. To their credit Harry placed 3rd with Luka 5th Oscar 6th with these latter two involved in a big sprint for the line. Daniel Arnold seems to be getting back to his best after a huge growth spurt and placed 11th with fast improving Samuel Singh closing in 18th spot. It was a fine showing from our lads who are on their way back to full fitness.

We had five lads on the starting line, most of these are bottom year lads. Eric Frith had a good race for 13th spot and we now hope Eric will push on and make the English Schools next Saturday. He deserves it as he always works hard in training. Tayo Adetona 24th, Woody Qureshi 29th, Thomas Nicholls 33rd and Daniel Hayden 42nd all packed well behind Eric and all are great club lads. My hats off to all these runners racing alongside their U17 counterparts Well done to all

This is an area that is a big concern to the team manager and one he will need to work hard  on in the summer months to improve turnouts. Overall we were 8th on the day which is not bad and also reflects we are not alone with this problem

Sophia Parker and Chloe Summers are in my mind club cross country athletes of the  season. They turn out faithfully in all weathers at all the races and many others should take a leaf out of their books.

Sophia placed 11th and  Chloe 13th which are their highest positions this season. Great efforts from both

Well done to Alice Padian for 24th in the Under 17 girls race

I want to thank all the parents who brought the athletes to Stanborough Park, Steve Tonge for bringing the sheet and club flag, Joe Everitt who helped get the younger members out and finally James Geller who helped with the numbers

Our final fixture is at Trent Park on the 7th Feb where we hope to have a similar great turnout.

The athletes attention(U13 upwards) is now to the Essex Schools next Saturday where some will be striving to make the English Schools where others will be looking for their first County vest.

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