Secondary Cross Country Championships - News - Feltham SSP and Isleworth & Syon SSP

Secondary Cross Country Championships

The Hounslow Secondary Schools' Cross Country Championships took place on Thursday 1st December at Grasshoppers RFU under a clear and dry sky!  Lovely conditions for fast races and definitely more enjoyable for athletes.

Athletes from Chiswick Community School, Cranford Community College, The Green School, Gumley House Convent School, Gunnersbury Catholic School, The Heathland School, Heston Community School, Isleworth & Syon School and St. Mark's Catholic School competed in races.

The event got underway with the Junior Girls (Yr 8/9) racing over 2900m and Ellie and Maeve from Gumley led the entire race.  The girls were neck and neck for most of the race but eventually Ellie pulled away to take first place with Maeve coming in for second place, nine seconds later.  The girls were 90 seconds in front of the rest of the chasing group - a massive margin.

The Junior Boys (Yr 8/9) were next up and in a similar fashion to the previous race, Mohammed from Isleworth & Syon led for the entire race.  The real battle in this race was between the second and third placed athletes; Sekeria from Isleworth & Syn and Mustafa from The Heathland School - they were inseparable for the majority of the race and it wasn't until the finish line was in sight Sek pulled ahead with a very fast finish.

The Minor Girls (Yr 7) were experiencing their first taste of Secondary School cross country and really set out with intent.  Gumley House largely dominated the race with their athletes finishing first, second, third and fifth and with these results, had the best team score of the day with only 11 points.  However, there was a battle between the Gumley girls and Evie and Emily were together until metres from the line.  Evie's sprint finish proved to be faster and she took first place.

The Minor Boys (Yr 7) race was equally exciting and once again it was a close race with Joe and Oscar, both from St. Mark's, neck and neck for a significant distance.  Both Joe and Oscar started their sprint towards the finish line early and determination was written over their faces.  However, it was Joe who more strength left at the end and he crossed the line 6 seconds ahead of his team mate.

There was a small field of athletes in the Inter (Yr 10/11) and Senior Girls (Yr 12/13) race and Rebecca and Rachel winners of these respective age groups ran a relatively leisurely race winning comfortably, well over a minute ahead of the rest of the girls.  All the girls qualified for the Hounslow team which will compete at the Middlesex Schools' Cross Country Championships.

The Inter Boys (Yr 10/11) race provided the final entertainment of the day and four athletes immediately set off ahead of the rest of the boys. Jamie, Jivendra, Charlie and Sathira were together as a group for a couple of laps until Sathira dropped off slightly.  Charlie stuck with the two club athletes Jamie and Jivendra who have both had some fanstastic runs this season until the last part of the race.  Clearly a pre-race chat had taken place and Jamie and Jivendra eventually pulled away from Charlie, crossing the line at the same time.

A Hounslow team has now been selected to compete at the Middlesex Schools' Cross Country Championships which takes place on Tuesday 21st February in Harrow.  The top six athletes in each race were automatically selected while athletes have now been identified for the remaining places.  Teachers were informed of these on Tuesday 6th December so please ask your teacher if you have been selected.

The event was supported by a large number of staff and students, including pepole from the Hounslow Sports Development Team, School Sport Partnership, Osterley Sports and Athletics Centre, Sports Leaders from Isleworth & Syon School, and local people with UKA qualifications.  They really helped to ensure the races ran smoothly did an amazing job.  Thank you to everyone who contributed.

A selection of photographs can be viewed in the Gallery, while results can be found below.

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