On Saturday 31st January, eight runners represented Ratcliffe College at the LRSAA Cross Country Championships. The event also served as a qualifier for the English Schools Cross Country Championships, which will take place in Liverpool on Saturday 14th March. All athletes showed great strength and determination, particularly through the wooded section of the course, which was extremely muddy following recent rainfall.
Although the Year 7 race did not count as a qualifying event, the 2.8km course provided an excellent opportunity for the athletes to compete on home soil. The girls’ race kicked off the championships, with Charlotte Long producing a dominant performance to secure first place, demonstrating impressive endurance following a strong run earlier in the week at the King Henry VIII Relays. Cece Buckly, continuing to gain valuable cross-country experience, finished in a commendable 7th place, while Holly Soar completed a determined first cross-country race for Ratcliffe. Noah Rainer was next to compete in the boys’ equivalent race. Running in his typically relaxed style, Noah demonstrated its effectiveness by claiming an excellent third-place finish. Hugo Beamond also performed well in his first cross country in a couple of months, finishing not far behind in a solid 7th position.
The distance then increased to 4.7km for the Junior Boys’ race, where Ratcliffe had two representatives. Josh Booker was the first to cross the line in 14th place, a good performance considering he had also raced at the relays earlier in the week and would have been carrying some fatigue. Close behind, Daniel Markham finished in 19th place, once again producing his trademark sprint finish. Both performances were particularly creditable as both athletes were competing as the bottom age of the group.
Finally, Matilda Don, also competing as the younger year, closed Ratcliffe’s championships in the Intermediate Girls’ race over 4.7km. Despite carrying a slight niggle following a solid relay leg earlier in the week, this did not affect her performance as she secured a clear second-place finish, automatically qualifying for the prestigious English Schools Cross Country Championships. Congratulations to Matilda on this achievement, especially after all your setbacks.
Well done to all the cross-country runners who represented Ratcliffe College.
Miss Jeggo and Mr Snowden
