Young D&T middle-distance squad earn seven medals at county championship

Dacorum & Tring's young middle distance squad came away with three individual and four team medals at the Herts 2018 cross-country championships held at Watford's Cassiobury Park at the weekend.
Dacorum & Tring runners Thomas Durrant (No 688) and Jack Raine (233) put in some good performances in the under-15s boys race at the Herts 2018 cross-country championships. (Picture by Gary Mitchell)Dacorum & Tring runners Thomas Durrant (No 688) and Jack Raine (233) put in some good performances in the under-15s boys race at the Herts 2018 cross-country championships. (Picture by Gary Mitchell)
Dacorum & Tring runners Thomas Durrant (No 688) and Jack Raine (233) put in some good performances in the under-15s boys race at the Herts 2018 cross-country championships. (Picture by Gary Mitchell)

The squad put in some superb performances with seven medals won overall and numerous top-10 finishes.

The three individual medals were won by Olivia Edwards (bronze – under-13s girls), Kristian Imroth (silver - under-17s men) and Rhys Rowlands (bronze – under-20s men).

Olivia led a strong U13 girls’ team to third place in the team standings in the 3000m race, with Stella Whitlum finishing in sixth, Amy Lane in 17th and Summa Jo Bradley in 22nd place.

In the under-17s men’s race, held over 6000m, Kristian was ably backed up by Jamie Ayres (fifth place) and Angus Saunders (eighth) to win a team silver, while Rhys, the only club entrant in the under-20s men’s race, contested over 8000m, finished third, only a minute behind top spot.

The under-15s boys showed strength in numbers, with nine squad members toeing the line for the 4500m race.

Michael Armstrong and Freddie Truman-Williams finished in fourth and fifth place respectively, just over half a minute behind the leader, while Jack Raine finished in 12th, Thomas Durrant in 14th, Thomas Ashton in 17th, Sam Burnell in 19th, Jamie Bailey in 20th, Thomas O’Reilly in 25th and Ryan Ginn in 30th.

The under-15s boys’ Dacorum A team – comprised of Michael Armstrong, Freddie Truman-Williams and Jack Raine – finished in a creditable third in the team standings, while the Dacorum B side – made up of Thomas Durrant, Thomas Ashton and Sam Burnell – was just behind in fourth.

Dacorum C – Jamie Bailey, Thomas O’Reilly and Ryan Ginn – finished in sixth in the team rankings.

The under-15s girls also came away with bronze medals in the team standings.

In their race, contested over 4500m, Lily Boden finished in ninth while Amy Cassidy was just behind in 10th place. Olivia Hill crossed the line in 17th and Jessica Hill took 19th spot.

The club’s younger members were able to gain valuable experience and impressed with their results at the event: in the U11s boys’ race, over 1500m, George Doyle crossed the line in 11th place, just 32 seconds behind the winner, while Evie Light finished eighth in the U11 girls, just 31 seconds off top spot, and Milla Walsh was 10th, just five seconds further back.

In the U13 boys’ race, ran over 3000m, Archie Keith finished in 22nd and Rafael Armstrong came 26th.

Next up for the young squad are the upcoming rounds of the Chiltern League and North West London Young Athletes League, as well as the Herts Schools Championships in early February and the National Inter-Counties meet in March.

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