The cross-country season got off to a good start last Saturday, write Bridie Lebdiri and Fiona Kennedy, when twenty-five of our young athletes tested their legs and their lungs at the first NWLL fixture on Horsenden Hill. The weather was bright and sunny, and the going was still firm underfoot, but they didn’t have things too easy, with a pesky breeze providing an additional challenge.
The U17 women got our highest team placing, with second. New member Angel Grimes-McTavish displayed very fluent running to claim second, as did Anisa Ibrahim in finishing fourth.
Our U13 boys were well represented and did well to place third in a very tightly-packed set of team scores. Finn Combe led them home, looking much stronger and more confident in his second year in this age group.
For the U13 girls, the still-improving Lucy Henson paced herself well, working her way through the field from 10th to fifth.
U11s Kara Larkham and Hana Proudmore both coped well in their first cross-country race, as did Finlay Vadon in the boys U11. Alec Edgar had done cross-country at school the previous day and was feeling fatigued, so he did very well to finish fifth in the circumstances.
For the U17 men, Kirk Lebdiri was heard to say that the fear of getting left behind meant he probably ran his fastest ever cross-country race. A lot of athletes can probably relate to that feeling!
Well done to all who represented the club and thanks to the team managers, officials and other volunteers who helped make it happen. The next NWLL fixture is on Saturday 28th October in Kingsbury. Click here for the full club fixture diary.
ESM results summary
U11G (1200m): 18 Kara Larkham 6.41, 37 Hana Proudmore 7.24
U13G (2000m): 5 Lucy Henson 7.22, 35 Josie Booker 8:58, 40 Athena Freemantle 9:22
U15G (3000m): 15 Fiona Coutts 12:47, 18 Anna Ilchenko 12:56, 27 Katie Hay 14:16, 30 Lauren Beale 14:32
U17W (4000m): 2 Angel Grimes-McTavish 14:52, 4 Anisa Ibrahim 15:15, 14 Maryam Hussain 17:07
U11B (2000m): 5 Alec Edgar 7:24, 12 Finlay Vadon 7:56
U13B (3000m): 8 Finn Combe 11:11, 18 Mohamed Ibrahim 11:53, 24 Maxi Steel 12:04, 34 Arun Smith 12:28, 44 Joseph Flitter 12:52, 55 Hussain Zaaiter 14:04
U15B (4000m): 14 Arun Manget 14:03, 25 Marcus West 14:57, 34 Matteo Lamagna 15:33
U17M (4700m): 17 Chauncey Edwards 17:35, 21 Kirk Lebdiri 18:43
Full results on powerof10