Minor boys 1-2 Bill Hughes and Will Perkin
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Minor girls medallists Hannah Thear, Hannah Morton and
Georgie Bingham
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Elangeni team with Orla Fawcett of Our Lady's
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An alternately sunny and snowy Stowe School played host to the Bucks Schools Cross Country Championships on Wednesday.
Fifty-seven Chiltern Harriers athletes were in action all the way through the age groups with great success, many runners gaining invitations to compete for the county at the English Schools Cross Country Championships in Manchester in March.
The first race featured both senior and intermediate boys racing over a tough 6K course. In the senior race Allan Stewart of Chesham High ran well, back in training after a long lay-off, to come third in 22.39. Dan Loach of DCGS was fourth in 23.45 and Alex Shelley, also of DCGS, eighth in 24.59.
The Intermediate boys had much larger field and Dan Barraclough of RGS Wycombe had a great run to be fifth in 23.18. Jack Dutton of Chesham High was eighth in 23.32, with George Gillingwater 13th in 24.07 and Jack Walker of RGS 14th in 24.28. Liam McDonald of Chalfont Community College was 17th in 25.00 and Ben Hall of DCGS 18th in 25.25. DCGS's Thomas Hughes was 33rd in 27.40.
The Junior boys had a long haul of 4.5K and James McCarthy of DCGS had a very good run as a first year to be second in 15.15. Also of team winners DCGS, Andrew Stenning was seventh, Joe Aherne was 12th in 16.21, Joe Cochrane 13th in 16.39 and Toby Wilson 16th in 17.01. Alex Johnson of Chesham Park Community College was ninth in 16.14, Callum Reid-Jones of Chesham High was 26th, Robert Hughes of RGS 56th.
The Minor boys had a short course of 1.7K and Bill Hughes of the Amersham School ran powerfully to just hold off a late attack from Year 6 boy, Will Perkin from Elangeni School in Amersham. Also running for Elangeni were Robert Hall (19th), Peter Hughes (36th), Charlie Stevens (48th), and Alex Ahern (69th ).
Another primary school, Chalfont St Peter, sent a strong team ending up in a superb fourth place with Jonny Stenning (17th), Seb Mills (23rd), Tommy Taylor (24th), Callum Hudson (25th), and Josh Hughes (29th). Tom Birchenough of DCGS was 20th and Alasdair Owens of Thorpe House was 50th.
Amongst the girls, Grace Birch of DCHS had a fine run to be second in the Senior girls event in 17.16 on their 4.5K course. Christina Nicholls of Chesham High was seventh in 22.49. In the Intermediate girls race, running alongside the seniors over 4.5K, Phoebe Cutter (DCHS) continued her strong recent form to be seventh in 17.13.
The Junior girls 3.4K race had a big field of 96 and saw great runs from Connie Lewis of DCHS, third in 13.58, Rosalind Firth (DCHS), fourth in 14.38, Emma Barraclough (Misbourne), fifth in 15.00, Alice Heinel (Beaconsfield High) 17th in 16.01.
For the DCHS team Amy Harris, running with a broken arm, did well to finish in 21st in 16.41 and there were solid runs from Maria Slade (27th in 16.55), Sophie Hart (32nd in 17.05), and Alice Hall (42nd in 18.07). The Misbourne's Hannah Shepard was 50th in 18.57, just ahead of Chesham High's Katie Jakeman, 52nd in 19.00.
The Minor girls showed the potential of Chiltern young female athletes with the first four all in the same training group which also comprised ten of the top twenty.
Hannah Morton of Aylesbury High won the 1.7K race in 7.07, holding off DCHS's Georgie Bingham in 7.10 and Year 6 girl Hannah Thear from Widmer End in 7.11. Claire Buttivant ran well to be fourth for Chalfont St Peter with Katie Bench sixth for Becky High, Lizzie Barraclough eighth for Elangeni, Orla Fawcett, 11th for Our Lady's, Robyn Lisle, 13th for DCHS, Harriet Church, 15th for Chalfont St Peter, Amy Fawcett, 18th for DCHS. Rachel Walker, 76th for Wycombe High.
Elangeni ran brilliantly to be third team, ahead of eleven secondary schools with Rachel Padwick 21st, Rhiannon Ward 23rd, Sophia Lingley 24th and Jessica Empson 52nd. Chesham High's Claudia Jones was 28th and Jessica Wilkinson of DCHS was 30th. Chalfont's Mel Rose was 53rd.
For several of the seniors, intermediates and juniors the final race of the season, the English Schools Championship on March 20th is now in sight.