We left with mixed emotions after the fifth and final fixture of the North West London cross country league at Wormwood Scrubs. Having set out with realistic hopes of winning their age group, the U15 girls were denied victory by just two points. The U15 boys and the U17 men also had to settle for second place.
Overall, however, the club’s juniors acquitted themselves extremely well: with third for the U13 boys and the U17 women, and fourth for the U13 girls, all the older teams finished in the top four. The only real weakness was in the U11 age group, where patchy numbers at some races undermined some splendid individual efforts.
As usual, the U15 girls put out a strong squad. Nicola Ravenhill led them home, in second place for the third time in the league. In 8th, Erica Wallace delivered valuable points, while league stalwarts Laura Stewart, Roisin Lynch and Jasmine Loh (13th, 14th & 16th) packed well in a valiant attempt to overhaul TVH. Despite missing the third race of the league, Nicola finished third individual in her age group.
For the U15 boys, John Fielding clocked up another excellent run in third, with the indispensable George Kerry in 15th and Luke Adar (24th) yet again ensuring a full team.
In the U17 category, Olivia Will finished 7th in a race where none of the clubs fielded more than one athlete. In the final league standings, she was ranked fourth in her age group. The U17 men’s race was also a small field, so the efforts of new member Rainuk Mainali (9th) were appreciated, as was the third consecutive appearance by Conor McCarthy (12th). Although Mukhtar Farah was absent from the final fixture, he placed second overall in the U17 men.
The U13 girls and boys have formed the club’s largest squads this season, and the last fixture was no exception. For the girls, Lucy O’Brien (6th) was first across the line, followed by a trio who have spurred each other on all season: Maryam Hussain (17th), Cameron Thomas (18th) and Anisa Ibrahim (19th). Rosie Cox (30th) and Sarah Freegard (41st) completed the line-up. Lucy finished 5th overall in her age group, and she and Anisa have to be commended for appearing at all five races.
The U13 boys’ race saw a repeat of last month’s battle between Naoki Kanai (5th) and Lucas Sheehan (6th), Naoki getting the upper hand again. The team was completed by William Coutts (19th), M Jacobs (33rd) and league regular Kirk Lebdiri (36th). Lucas put in a good series of races and finished the league as fifth U13 boy.
For the U11 boys, Masaki Kanai was again first to cross the line (37th), followed shortly by Mohamed Ibrahim (38th). Also in the squad was Dylan Foster (42nd), while league regular Mikey Kouwiloyan (45th) can be seen enjoying himself in the photo! Fiona Coutts (14th) and 10 year old Amy Kerry (46th) have been the backbone of the U11 girls’ squad, and both finished the league in style.
U11G (1.2km): 14 Fiona Coutts 5.40; 46 Amy Kerry 7:01; U13G (2km): 6 Lucy O’Brien 7:57; 17 Maryam Hussain 8:30; 18 Cameron Thomas 8:33; 19 Anisa Ibrahim 8:35; 30 Rosie Cox 9:12; 41 Sarah Freegard 11:02; U15G (3km): 2 Nicola Ravenhill 11:11; 8 Erica Wallace 11:41; 13 Laura Stewart 12:01; 14 Roisin Lynch 12:14; 16 Jasmine Loh 12:29; U17G (4km): 7 Olivia Will 18:53
U11B (2km): 37 Masaki Kanai 9:40; 38 Mohamed Ibrahim 9:51; 42 Dylan Foster 10:13; 45 Mikey Kouwiloyan 11:52; U13B (3km): 5 Naoki Kanai 10:39; 6 Lucas Sheehan 10:47; 19 William Coutts 12:11; 33 M Jacobs 13:33; 36 Kirk Lebdiri 14:27; 38 Kane Foster 14:59; U15B (4km): 3 John Fielding 14:44; 15 George Kerry 16.29; 24 Luke Adar 17.20; U17M (4.7k): 9 Raunuk Mainali 20:10; 12 Conor McCarthy 20:57
Full results here