Dacorum & Tring young guns firing in the Chiltern League

U13 runners Freddie Truman-Williams, Michael Armstrong, Thomas Ashton, Sam Burnell and Adam Jolly were on form for Dacorum & Tring AC

Dacorum & Tring’s middle distance squad did their club and coach Mike Dunphy proud at the second race of the 2015-16 Chiltern League cross country race, held at Milton Keynes’ Teardrop Lake park.

First off the blocks were the U11 girls, with the club’s youngest cross country star, Olivia Edwards, finishing a brilliant fourth overall and third among Chiltern League athletes.

Team-mate Stella Whitlum finished a strong 50th in a field of over 80 girls in the two divisions, with the two girls combining to finish as 12th team on the day.

On the boys’ side, Sam Day was the club’s only representative in the race, finishing a respectable 55th out of nearly 100 runners, in his first outing for the club.

Six club members competed in the U13 girls’ age category, running strongly enough to grab second place overall in Division 2, one better than in the first event last month in Bedford. Leading the charge was Jessica Hoar, in eighth, followed by Jess Benveniste in ninth, Emma To (12th), Amy Cassidy (16th), Olivia Moore (26th) and Megan Sullivan (34th).

The U13 boys equalled their second-place finish achieved in the first race in the series, finishing a close five points behind Wycombe. Freddie Truman-Williams was first across the line for the boys, grabbing a brilliant second place finish in the Division 2 race, with Michael Armstrong in fourth, followed by Adam Jolly (seventh), Thomas Ashton (eighth), Jamie Bailey (10th), Sam Burnell (12th), Ethan Brimmer (14th) and Yoan Tonev (15th).

In the U15 girls’ category, Indira Patel had a breakthrough race, finishing first overall in Division 2, while team-mate Maddie Perry crossed the line in a strong fourth position. Although there were only two of them, they managed to grab third place in the team category, solidifying their third place standing in the league after two races.

For the U15 boys, Jamie Ayres also had a stellar race, finishing second in Division 2, with team-mate Luke Burford finished a strong 20th in the division.

The club’s U17 athletes performed strongly, with Grace Birdseye finishing eighth in the U17 women’s race, while Rhys Rowlands and Joshua van Heiningen had a closely-fought sprint to the line, with Rhys just edging his team-mate to finish fourth, with Joshua one second behind in fifth. The two combined to finish as third team on the day, and sit second overall after two races.

The points earned by Dunphy’s squad keep them safely in third place overall in the Division 2 young athletes category.