The second fixture of the North West London cross country league last Saturday witnessed some excellent individual performances from our juniors. The team results were mixed, but the U15 girls and boys both improved on their result from the first fixture.
The U15 girls’ team finished second, with Nicola Ravenhill runner-up in her race. Erica Wallace (4th) was just half a minute behind, despite nursing a cold, while Laura Stewart completed the team 20 seconds later in 9th. The squad was backed up by Jennifer Connelly in 20th. After two races, the team lies second overall in the league.
The U15 boys’ squad bounced back from a poor turnout at the first fixture, the team finishing third. John Fielding (pictured) was a key player, placing second. George Kerry was also back in action (13th) about 60 metres ahead of Alex Sung Tong (14th). The team was backed up by Luke Adar (29th) and Daniel Ayres (31st).
The U13 girls turned out in force again, and the A team finished fourth. Lucy O’Brien had a great run to finish 4th, with Maryam Hussain (15th) next to score. Anisa Ibrahim (21st) closed the team. The B team finished tenth, with Cameron Thomas in 26th, followed shortly after by Leah Kelly (28th). Rosie Cox (32nd) was third scorer. The line-up was completed by Elsa Stocking (35th) and Sarah Freegard (37nd), and the team now lies joint third in the league.
The U13 boys also fielded two teams and the A team was fifth. Lukas Sheehan finished ninth in his race, Bradley Payne 18th and Robbie Connelly 29th. Tim Wallace led the B team home in 33rd, with Callum Ayres 46th and Kain Foster 47th.
For the youngest age group, there was a full team of three ESM boys in the U11 race, all new club members: Kyrese Willis ran a well-judged race to finish 32nd, followed by Dylan Foster (39th) and Mikey Kouwiloyan (42nd). Amy Kerry was the only representative in the U11 girls race, but the nine-year-old put in a good performance in only her second race in club colours.
All clubs struggled to field a full team in the U17 age group, and ESM had just two girls and two boys. For the boys, Mukhtar Farah put in his usual strong performance, holding on to second place despite himself and the leader going briefly off course. He was backed up by Aydarus Ibrahim (21st) who bravely completed the course in his first race for the club, despite twisting his knee. The U17 girls were represented by Olivia Will (7th) and Tara Kelly (11th), and they are third in the league standing.
Full results here