The under 15 Boys secure the bronze medal in a thrilling finish at the South of England Cross Country Relays at Wormwood Scrubs yesterday!!
The first race of the day was the under 17 Womens relay over a 2:5km
Course. The team of Emma Horsey (8:36), Charlotte Vaughan (8:36) and Rachel Pharaoh (8:55) all did themselves proud in their first race of the Cross Country season and finished in 8th place.
Next up the under 17 mens race. Ben Marks led the team off with a superb run to come home in second place with a 10:15 clocking over the 3km course and third fastest time of the day. Handing over to Joshua Taylor who ran solidly to keep the team in contention with a 11:17 leg, Joshua handed over to club Captain Ben Fitzpatrick (10:56) on the final leg. Ben tried his best to get the team into a medal position with a solid run but just missed out. The boys did remarkably well to finish in 5th place.
The under 15 Girls were next to compete. A young and inexperienced team of Bella Wiles (8:08), Catherine Blandford (9:10) and Olivia Mensah (8:43) all did well against very strong opposition in their first taste of competition at this level.
Final race for Walton athletes and by far the most exciting of the day was the under 15 Boys. Jack Gemmell led the team off superbly, always in contention throughout the 2km course, bringing the team home in 4th place with a 6:43 clocking. Handing over to Ross Hurst who showed what potential he has as Ross closed the gap on the leaders and brought the team right into medal contention with a 6:48 leg. Ross handed over to the youngest member of the team Ollie Emment, Ollie showed maturity way beyond his years, and ran his own race. With just under half a mile left four teams were in contention but Ollie ran his socks off to bring the team home in third place with a 6:39 clocking securing the bronze medal. The B team of Joseph Daws-Twilley (7:01), Christopher Vaughan (7:35) and Callum Stewart (9:00) came home in 24th place.
Congratulations to all the Walton athletes who competed yesterday.