Spring term saw pupils across Highclare School compete in a number of Cross Country meets, Tiffany Latham, a Highclare Preparatory School pupil, took it upon herself to write a review over the Easter break which sums up the Highclare Prep Cross Country season brilliantly! Thank you Tiffany, our Prep School roving reporter and congratulations to all pupils that competed!
“For me, the spring term means one thing – the cross country (XC) season. The first fixture of a busy season was at Bedstone College, the conditions for the race were perfect for me (cold and cloudy). I was really excited for this race as it is my favourite XC course. It covers a total of 1.8km of uneven farmland and woodland, with 2 stream crossings and many hills glazed with thick mud. This event is the Midlands regional qualifier for the ISA National XC race held at Rugby School in March. All students that come in the top 10 make the Midlands team. A very strong team was sent from Highclare and first up were the year 3/4 girls. Each race contained over 100 athletes representing over 20 schools from the Midlands. A fabulous run from Lily D secured her second place and it meant that she qualified for the Nationals. In the year 3/4 boys race Finley P came 3rd and William H came 8th so both would be joining Lily at the Nationals. In the year 5/6 girls race I came 5th and I was delighted with my performance as I was joining the other Highclare pupils at the Nationals. Next came the year 5/6 boys race where William S secured a fantastic 3rd place and James M came 7th to join us all at the Nationals. In total 6 students from Highclare Preparatory School qualified for the Nationals. It was a remarkable achievement considering the standard of athletes on display and the difficulty of the course.
The second race was at Hallfield School in Edgbaston. Once again we had fantastic conditions for XC and the 2km course this time was mainly on grass and had a small woodland section. Best performances were Heidi E who came 3rd in U9 girls, Finley P came 4th in U9 boys, I came 1st in U11 girls and William S came 3rd in the U11 boys race.
Third race of the season was at Twycross School and was a gruelling 2.4 km race on uneven hilly farmland. Lily D came 3rd in U9 girls, Finley P 3rd in U9 boys, I came 2nd in the U11 girls and William S came 2nd in the U11 boys race. Both U9 and U11 mixed teams came 1st overall and both received a fabulous trophy for the Highclare cabinet.
The final race of the season was the ISA Nationals held at Rugby School. I was nervous yet excited and I had been looking forward to it since last year as it had been cancelled twice due to snow. Sadly, the conditions were hot and sunny which isn’t great for long distance running but at least it wasn’t snowing and the race went ahead. A 2km flat grassy course lay ahead with the 7 ISA regions sending 10 of their top athletes each made an excellent field of 70 runners per race. Lily D came 33rd in U9 girls, Finley P came 25th and William H came 53rd in the U9 boys, I came 28th in the U11 girls, William S came 11th and James M came 45th in the U11 boys. Outstanding runs by all as just making the Nationals is a truly fantastic achievement.
I really enjoyed this brilliant XC season and I can’t wait for next season to start as I will still be in the U11 age category for a second year. We have such a great team and fantastic coaches at Highclare so hopefully next season will be even better!”
By Tiffany Latham J5P
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