Prospectus
The Downs School Hosts Area Cross-country Championship
The Downs School winners in over 350 runners!
On Wednesday, 28th January, The Downs School hosted the West Berkshire Area Cross-country Championships at the nearby Mayfield Farm in Compton.The competition was open to all of the secondary schools in the area (a total of 14 potential entries) across Under 13, 15, 17, and 20 age groups (boys and girls).
The series of races started with the Under 20 boys (a small field) who ran the furthest distance (approx. 6KM) on the undulating course around farmland fields.The race showed high quality at the front of the field, with a good time posted by the first 2 or 3 runners.
The following races saw The Downs School pupils show why the school has been at the forefront of Cross-country running for a number of years, with excellent individual performances in Under13 boys, Under15, 17 and 20 girls and Under17 boys races (several of our runners earned top 10 positions).
In each of the races, competition was fierce for the top team places with The Downs, Kennet and St Barts appearing in many of the top 3 positions once results were calculated.
Particular mention must go to The Downs School Under17 girls, who won their team event (having also been crowned County Champions for the 4 th year in a row 2 weeks previously).Also, the top team position was won by The Downs School Year 7 boys, who showed great strength in depth with 8 finishers in the top 25 (and 3 in the top 4).
The Downs School Under15 girls, also current County Champions, were beaten into 2nd place by Kennet, despite having 3 of the top 4 individual runners; The Downs School Under15 boys worked well as a squad of runners, also 2nd best on the day, as were the U17 boys who might have fared better had one of the strongest team members not been injured playing football earlier in the day (they lost by 3 points to eventual winners, St Barts).
Congratulations also go to: Downe House (Under13 girls winners), Kennet (Under15 and 20 boys), and St Barts (Under 20 girls).
The overall impression of the afternoon of racing from the 350+ runners was that the courses were good but tough and that all runners were tested fully in the wet under foot conditions.
Thanks were passed to members of Team Kennet Athletics Club who provided several adult marshalls, led by Nick Bull and the Rapid Response Firstt Aid team who were on hand to provide assistance as necessary.
