Juniors dominate at Bridgend

The combined Wells & Yeovil team had several juniors finishing in the top ten at the tough Gwent XC League match this past Sunday, December 2nd. Best performances came in the u’13 girls where Emily Smith and Kayley Kennedy were 5^th and 6^th respectively, in the u’13 boys where Oliver Fox was 5^th, and in the u’17 women’s race where Nicola Morgan was an excellent 2^nd. In the Minor Girls race for u’11s Abi Gibbons made the long trip from Shepton worth while with a super 7^th place.

It was another good turn out by Wells & Yeovil athletes of all ages at the fixture which was the 3^rd Gwent XC fixture of the season. 30 in total competed despite the atrocious weather and the fact that many of the Harrier seniors were competing at the Full Monty race at Montecute. The Bridgend course featured the usual twisting and turning course but with more mud this year, and with a sharp wind and intermittent hailstones slowing all runners down. The Harriers tent withstood the gale and provided welcome respite for the tired limbs.

Proceedings got underway with three u’11 girls in the Minors race that featured over 50 runners. Abi Gibbons 7^th place was backed up by strong runs from Ami Gibbons and Lydia Guest, 36^th and 41^st. Abi’s result will no doubt place her in the overall top 10 positions after the 3 races. In the u’13 girls’ race Emily Smith and Kayley Kennedy ran hard over the 2.5km course, keeping in close contact throughout with Emily overtaking Kayley with 300m to go. They finished 5^th and 6^th and for both this is their highest position so far this season, with Kayley consolidating her 6^th place in the overall League standings. Naomi Marable also ran well, giving away a year to many of the other competitors and finished 34^th overall.

In the u’13 boys race over the same 2.5km course, Oliver Fox lead the way for the team despite only just being old enough to compete in this age group. Oliver finished 5^th here to consolidate his position near the top of the overall League standings. He was supported by James Todd who ran his best race so far in the League this season with his 18^th position.

The U’15 boy’s races over 4.4km saw George Harris improve again to 12^th, with Cameron Rafferty in 24^th and Reuben Whitcombe also improving to 32^nd place. The u’15 girls’ race saw the always consistent Jessica Wood and Lizzie Hart running well over the 4.4km course to record 15^th and 19^th positions.

The highest position of the day by a team member was left to Nicola Morgan who repeated her second place showing at the Swansea fixture to record the same again here over the 4.9km course. Leighanna Chappell also ran a steady race here for 21^st place in the same age group. Alex Wiltshire was the Club’s sole representative in the u’17 men’s race and finished in 6^th place amongst the combined u’17/u’20 athletes.

For the senior women over 6km Jenny Moore continues to demonstrate her strength and endurance over the country with her 6^th place here, consolidating her top ten position in the League and her overall 2^nd place in the F35 category. Angela Thomas, fresh from running for Team Wales, also ran well here for 75^th place and leaves her in 3^rd place overall for the F60 category after three fixtures. Kaye Watts again had a good run for 101^st place, her best result to date.

The women’s team was 16^th here at Bridgend and is top of its division (3) after three fixtures. In fact we are 8^th overall out of the 33 Clubs registered with the League.

The men’s team was depleted a bit with a number competing at the Full Monty, but 8 toed the start line in a field of 259 starters and 7 finished. The race was over three large laps and covered a total distance of 10km. Sam Weale ran well for 16^th place on his season’s debut in the team, with Jon Gilling 34^th and Andrew Deamer not far back in 52^nd place. Ed Willingham ran well for 97th place despite running out of breath, and Paul Chadwick was next home in 171^st, closely followed by Karl Watts, 178^th, and Clive Gibbons, 243^rd. Well done to Clive for making his debut at XC. Pete Grist dropped out after two of the three laps when just outside the top ten but we hope he recovers in time for the County Championships coming up.

The men’s team finished 8^th here and is top of its division (4) after the first three fixtures. In fact we are 11^th overall out of the 56 Clubs registered which is excellent given that it is our first year in the League.

Next XC races on Sunday Dec 16^th when we contest the Avon & Somerset County Championships and the SW League fixture 3.

Many thanks to all parents, coaches and the new minibus driver for a great day out. What a fantastic tent that is!