The Harriers were out in force at the home leg of the North Midlands XC League held at Wicksteed Park on a crisp autumn afternoon, and put in some superb individual and team performances culminating in a win in the Team U11 mixed race & U13G, 2nd team in the U15B & U17G, and 3rd team in the U15G.
The U15G race saw an improved finishing position over round 1 for Beth Gordon in 11th who was pushed hard all the way by Claudia Nevitt enjoying just her second race in a harriers vest who finished on place behind in 12th, with Pricilla Wilson running her first ever race for the Harriers finishing as 3rd scorer for the team in a very respectable 15th place, Hanna Winstone & Elenor Iizzard for the Harriers in 17 & 19 position respectively.
The combined U15 Boys & U17 girls race just short of 5km, saw both age groups coming an excellent 2nd position in the team competition, in the U15 boys race Jack hope ran a superb individual race to finish in 2nd position in 15:47, and was supported for the team with excellent runs from Edward Cannell in 10th (16:55) & Ethan Mehmet in 11th (16:58).
There were also good runs from debutant Matt Brookes who finished in a fine 16th with Ben Tierney in 21st. The U17 girls race saw Claudia Kelsall improve by 3 positions on the first round to finish an excellent 5th in 18:31, with Fran Ashworth running a strong race for 9th in 19:11, and Lauren Mehmet 3rd scorer in 13th in 20:34.
The U13G had a full team on this occasion and responded by winning the team race, first to score with a superb 3rd position was Tabby Walford, with a massive improvement from Rebecca Hughes from her 30th position in the first round by finishing in 13th position with a battling run, third scorer for the Harriers was Sophie Moss who ran her first XC race in a Harriers vest to finish in an excellent 17th position, also running for the packed U13G Harriers team was Sophie Warrant in 30th, Amy Robinson in 27th, Chloe Hearn 30th, Jennifer Robinson 33rd, Eleanor Aldernan 34th and Jasmine Willoughby 39th.
In the U17 men's race Liam Kirk enjoyed a much better race from round one finishing the 6km course in a fine 12th position in 22:53, and in the U13 there was similarly a lone representative for the Harriers, with Travis Bowley fresh from football training running a solid race for 15th position in his first XC outing this season.
In the U11 race there was literally a sea of red & White with 20 Harriers taking part in the mixed 2km race, in a field of over 65. The U11 mixed team were superb winners of the team event, with a superb battling run from Dylan Bowley who finished just behind the winner in 2nd position, and supported with another excellent run from Henri Codling who finished in 9th position overall (7th Boy) with a fine run from 3rd Harrier Zac Winstone in 18th (13th Boy). For the girls, enjoying her first race in a Harriers vest on XC, Emily Williams had a storming finish to score first finisher for the Harriers in 21st position (7th Girl), with Ellie Rea in 29th (11th girl) and Isabella Moxey in 41st (16th girl). Other U11 competing well were Lewis Morgan Barton, Alice Barton, Harriet Drake-Lee, Chloe Jennings, Ethan Nealis Reece, Luke Shepherd, Callum Kennerdy, Harriett Darby-Reece, Daisey Robinson, Miranda Spooner, Emily Parsons, and Ellie Loake.
Well done to all the athletes who competed, particularly the athletes experiencing XC for the first time and the superb U11 team who showed the strength in depth for the next generation of Kettering's Endurance Athlete's.
The next race will be the Kettering Charity Cup on 08th December at the same venue of Wicksteed Park, let's try to see similar strong fields in all age categories, Details & Entry forms online or from the clubhouse, closing date 5th December.
Shane Smith Endurance Coach