Border League XC Reigate

Border League at Reigate – Race Report

Blessed with some great conditions, last Sunday saw our committed young athletes take part in the last Border league cross country fixture of the season. With the sun shining down (for most of the time!), Priory Park offered up a memorable muddy testing course for all the runners.

With representation from U9 to U13 age groups boys and girls all gave great performances against the other competing athletic clubs and schools from Berkshire, Surrey & Hampshire.

Off in the U9 category Bella McMullan Hawkey put in a great debut run for the club, running the tough 1400m lap of the Park. Straight after the U9 boys ran the same loop with Hunor Dani finishing in a creditable 16th position of a field of 57 runners – building on his previous strong run at Stoke Park in Guildford.

PC: K Scott

The U11 girls ran a slightly longer lap of 1700m but this time the Walton team was not only depleted in numbers for different reasons, but one of our two runners wasn’t recorded in the results at all! However, I can confirm with my own eyes both Rachel Riedlinger (26th of the 68 runners) and Lottie Paul came charging over the brow of the hill for a fast-downhill finish in quick succession. Both girls have had a great series of Border league races running consistently strong every time.

Evie Bedford, as a first year U13, again showed her strength and natural affinity for cross country finishing in an excellent 5th position as she did at Stoke Park, further to her excellent 9th position in the Surrey County Schools Championships earlier in January.

PC: K Scott

However, the team performance of the day must be the U11 boys, perhaps spurred on by U11 girls team performance from earlier in the season. The quartet of Jake Meyburgh (2nd place), Josh Johnston (18th), Jack Wright (19th) and Samuel Shepherd (32nd) in a field of 80 runners pulled the team to a great 3rd place of 12 teams overall. Good depth and well supported by the remaining team members of Joseph Sandri Durban, Tom Guest, Tom Stevenson, Seb Clark and Daniel Mann – the latter running his first race for the club.

The season was topped off by Jake Meyburgh’s overall individual success, awarded 3rd place overall in the U11 boys’ category. Jake’s had a great series of runs with this last race arguably the best of all taking on the local Reigate runner (and overall U11 winner) on his home course by leading from the front only just caught in the final metres.

PC: Z Meyburgh

Congratulations to one and all and thanks to the parents for supporting a great final event.

Walton AC Academy & Satellite team