Category: Cross Country

Team Kennet were in full action in the Basingstoke Junior Cross Country League being held at Wellesley Woods in Aldershot over a much boggy and muddy course.

Lovely Spring Sun greeted all the athletes in the afternoons event, first up was the under 9 girls over the 1400m course, Isabella Chapman ran a great race to finish in 7th place, and Bella Dearns wasn’t too far behind in 10th place, the team came 3rd on the day with Gracie Williams 13th and Annabelle Jones in 15th.

The under 9 Boys had already wrapped up the team Trophy, but yet another solid display of team running made sure they took first team on the day to remain unbeaten, this time it was Matthew Jones coming home in 4th place in the Yellow Vest, with Lenny Wyvill 5th, Idris Gaye 7th and Chester Bailey 8th, other runners were Archie Pilling 14thand Rory Ridler 18th, this meant at the presentations Chester Bailey won overall and the boys won the team Trophy.

The under 11 girls were next to start over 2400m, Ella Larkin went off like a rocket to lead all the way round the course to come home as overall winner winning all three races, she also helped the team to win overall with her team mates Praiya Foreman coming home in a brilliant 3rd place to take 2nd overall, Matilda Saunders was 5th and Alice Stratford took 9th place, Olivia Kwit was next in 21stand Evelyn Barker 38th.

The under 11 Boys saw the biggest field of the day with well over 50 runners, Percey Reed was the clubs first runner home in 28th, followed by Joshua Kuijten 31st, Gethin Thomas 42nd and Jacob Williams 44th with Toby Clay 49th

The under 13 Girls again like the u11s, already sealed the team victory, they made sure they kept unbeaten all season, it was Olivia Bentley that took full control to win the race over the second lap to win her first cross country race, Penelope Lyth ran one of her best cross country races to come home in 5th, with Matilda Clare 6th and Ella McDonald 7th this was enough to win, Affra Bailey was next home in 12th and Harriet Saunders 13th, Harriet Saunders took overall individual win and Olivia Bentley taking runners up spot.

The under 13 boys were next to race, Harry Smith kept up his pressure around the course which paid off to come home in 2nd place this was good enough to take 2nd individual overall, Samuel Atkins was 11th, Josh Bailey 13th and Fynn Sanderson 16thtook 4th team on the day, and JJ Mercer came home in 18thout of nearly 40 runners.

The under 15 Boys and Girls run together, in the Girls race Amelie Tayton came home in 8th and Ella Cronk 9th and in the Boys, Rueben Kuijten was 9th. Although Anna Hall didn’t run, she took 2nd place overall in the league.

Team Kennet hosted the rearranged round 1 Basingstoke Cross Country League at Downe Grange in Basingstoke, over a technical and muddy course otherwise conditions were ideal for cross country running, first up was under 9 girls, TK fielded only 4 girls first home was Isabella Chapman in 6th place, next home was Florence Randall-Bird 10th with Bella Dearns 13th and Molly Bell 25th. The under 9 Boys were next and a superb race developed by two TK runners with Chester Bailey coming home 1st and Lenny Wyvill 2nd, Idris Gaye battled well to finish 8th and with William Winter 11th secured a team victory, Archie Pilling was next home in 15th and Rory Ridler 23^rd.

The under 11 girls were next to start which saw the clubs biggest turnout, Ella Larkin went off from the gun to control the race to come home in first place, Praiya Foreman ran a superb race to finish in 2nd place, Matilda Saunders was next in 5th place and with Alice Stratford 8th the team scored another victory, Ella Parsons ran a brilliant race to finish 9th, Cecily Wyer was 24th, Ayala Wyvill 33rd, Evelyn Barker 38th and Darcy Scaplehorn 39^th.  The under 11 boys only saw two from the club due to illness and other sports, Joshua Kuijten was 26th and Gethin Thomas 35th in a field of over 60.

The under 13 girls saw another winner, this time Harriet Saunders battled through the course to take victory, Olivia Bentley hung in well to come home in 4th followed by Tilly Clare 6th and Ella McDonald just behind in 7th which was good enough for another team victory, Affra Bailey was 13^th.  The under 13 boys ran well to pack in their race with over 50 taking part, Harry Smith took control of the race after a few minutes to gradually pull away from a small group to win, Samuel Atkins came through the field to finish 12th, with Josh Bailey 14th and Henry Bell 15th saw the team finish 3rd on the day, Elliot Bell was next home in 22nd and Ben Doherty 24^th.

The under 15 girls saw Anna Hall finish in 3rd place and Ella Cronk 12th The Under 15 boys Rueben Kuijten came home in 8th place.

Apologies for the late report however see below final results from the Oxford Cross Country Match 5 at Henley Showground.

Under 11 Girls – 6th Penelope Lyth, 16th Ella Parsons

Under 13 Girls – 17th Emerald Hill Sawyer

Under 15 Boys – 6th Ethan Kuijten

Senior Men – Andy Colling 74th, Mitch Poustie 139th, Phil Baker 141st, Tim Smith 156th, Simon Hockaday 202nd and Simon Gale 223rd.

Senior Ladies – 16th Sue Francis, 69th Katie Reynolds, 116th Emily Copeman

Overall standings for the 5 round series. To feature you need to have run 4 of the 5 races

Under 11 Girls – Ella Parsons 19th

Under 13 Girls – Emerald Hill Sawyer 8th

Under 15 Boys- Ethan Kuijten 6th

Men V40 – Mitch Poustie 31st, Phil Baker 32nd, Tim Smith 46th

Men V50 – Andy Colling 7th, Simon Hockaday 42nd, Simon Gale 44th

Ladies V45 – Sue Francis 4th, Katie Reynolds 14th and Anna Riggall 27th

A big thank you to all the athletes who competed this winter and for Simon Hockaday for sharing the driving duties.

Looking forward to next year, any senior men or ladies who would like to join us, we have a tent, a flag and hot drinks and snacks for after the races and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere

If you sign up as a senior, we would be willing for you to enter your son or daughter in the junior races.

Team Kennet were in action in the last round of the Basingstoke Junior Cross Country League, with several awards already wrapped up a good turn out at Down Grange in Basingstoke was needed to boost the awards in the individuals.

On the day conditions were perfect, no wind or rain and underfoot was soft but very good for running on. The under 9 Girls were up first, not  like the last round Praiya Foreman decided to take it on from clubmate Matilda Saunders, she opened up a 10m gap from the first 400m, both worked hard all the way around the course to keep their placings as they came in 1^st and 2^nd, meaning both Girls had to settle for equal first in the individual League, next home was Cecily Wyer showing great improvement from 2 weeks ago and then for the team win Matilda Hogg, this was enough for the Girls to wrap up the under 9 team League, other runners were Delilah Tippett 14^th, Gracie Williams 16^th, Evelyn Barker 17^th and Evelyn Pedersen 20^th.

Next up  was the under 9 Boys, they were in the lead in the teams going in to this match, so a win would secure the league, Tk Boys made sure they packed well Chester Bailey running a superb race for 2^nd place, Lenny Wyvill improving from last race next home in 5^th place, William Moloney 8^th and Idris Gaye 9^th looked good for a win but Basingstoke just edged the club in to 2^nd place, and the boys having to settle for runners up in the league. Next home for the u9 boys were Max Burt 20^th , Jacob Williams 21^st, Zachary Melvill-Smith 27^th and Sebastian Lauder-Clarke 28^th

The Under 11 girls were next to start, already secured the Team League, the girls wanted to make it 4 out of 4, they made sure of this with another brilliant win from Ella Larkin to be crowned under 11 champion, Another great run by Penelope Lyth finishing 3^rd as she has done in all the other matches secured 3^rd overall, Matilda Clare was next home in 7^th place, securing 4^th overall, then Ella McDonald in 8^th place for the team win. As all season the under 11 girls pack in very well, Affra Bailey led a late charge to come home in 15^th, Orlagh Stratford 16^th, Alice Stratford 17^th and Elodie Burdett 18^th saw the B team home in 3^rd place, other girls were Ella Parsons 20^th, Sophia Barnett 31^st, Matilda Pedersen 33^rd, Ayla Wyvill 38^th, Grace Hogg 40^th and Megan Jones 41^st

The under 11 Boys were chasing individual placing awards, Samuel Atkins decided to go out hard to keep him in the top 3, this he did staying in second place for 2/3 thirds of the race, to be over taken by Malik Gaye who came home in 2^nd place and take runners up in the individuals, Sam Atkins came in 3^rd taking 3^rd place overall with Fynn Sanderson 14^th and JJ Mercer 15^th the team were placed 3^rd on the day. Other runners were Thomas Williams 17^th, Toby clay 22^nd, Joshua Kuijten 35^th, Joshua Bailey 36^th and Miles Phoenix 42^nd

The under 13 girls made sure of wrapping up the League team title, winning their 3^rd match in a row, Harriet Saunders set of at a steady pace then to open out to secure her 4^th straight win and take overall individual title, New Comer Oliver Bentley made a great debut run coming home in 5^th place, Jessie McCurtin was 6^th, Anna Hall 7^th and Emerald Hill Sawyer 8^th saw the girls take the win on the day, other runners were Ella Cronk 12^th

The under 13 Boys Harry Smith pushed hard to finish in 5^th place as per last match, Oscar Larkin finished strong to come home in 6^th place with Elliot Bell 10^th and Henry Bell 12^th made sure off the team coming 3^rd on the day. Next home was Noah Lauder Clarke 15^th, Harry Barnett 17^th and Rueben Kuijten 18^th.

The under 15 girls, individual placings were wrapped up, Charlotte Bailey wanted to make it 4 wins in a row, which she did, the girls had a team this time with Amelie Tayton making her debut for the club in 9^th and Lola Mitcham taking 12^th for the girls to take 2^nd place overall on the day and in the team standings.

Ethan Kuijten wrapped up two wins in a row to secure the under 15 title in a strong run over the undulating course.

Team Kennet Juniors were back in action in the third round of the Basingstoke Cross Country League, held at Hartley Wintley near Hook.

The conditions were very damp underfoot, which were ideal for cross country running, the rain held of till the last race.

The girls section of the club won all four races  with 5 team victories also on the day

The under 9 girls were first up and Matilda Saunders and Praiya Foreman took on the lead to battle it out together over the course, Saunders coming in as the winner, with Foreman taking second, it was then down to the next two girls to see if they won the team, next home was Matilda Hogg in 11^th and Evelyn Pedersen brought the team home in 14^th which was just good enough to secure the team win, Newcomer Gracie Williams was next home in 18^th and Iris Evans was 20^th.

The Under 9 Boys saw a record turnout in the race, made up of 10 of the Tk runners, a good group of 4 TK runners settled in the top 10 to battle it out together, this would see the Yellow vest certainly secure a team win, Chester Bailey was 2^nd his best run of the season, just behind in 6th was Lenny Wyvill another newcomer, close behind was Idris Gaye in 7th and the team was made up of William Moloney in 9^th, The second team was made up of Gethin Thomas 12^th, Toby Hartley 16^th, Alexander Cameron 22^nd and Jacob Williams 23^rd, also taking part were Max Burt 28^th and Joshua Phoenix 30^th.

The under 11 Girls wrapped up the league with a brilliant team win, this was matched again in the individual placings with Ella Larkin striding to her third victory of the year,  Penelope Lyth made it another 3^rd place so she kept her campaign to finish in top 3 overall, Matilda Clare was 6^th and Ella McDonald 7^th.

The second team was led in by new Comer Ayla Wyvill in 10^th place, just behind was a large group of TK girls Orlagh Stratford 12^th, Affra Bailey 15^th, Elodie Burdett 16^th and Alice Stratford 17^th which was good enough to take 3^rd team on the day, next home was Ella parsons 22^nd, Matilda Pedersen 35^th, Grace Hogg 41^st and Sophie Barnett 44^th.

The under 11 Boys were up next, in a tough age group this year, this race was certainly a strong field, as Samuel Atkins could only finish 12^th, Thomas Williams was 15^th, Connor O’Riordan 23^rd and JJ Mercer 24^th to take 4^th team, Fynn Sanderson was next home in 25^th, then Joshua Kuijten 40^th, Toby Clay 41^st and Miles Phoenix 48^th

The under 13 girls rose to the pressure again having to win the last two matches, Harriet Saunders took the first lap steady then put her foot down over the last two laps to secure her third win and securing the league title with one match to go, good packing from the TK girls saw Emerald Hill Sawyer 5^th having her best run of the season, Anna Hall 6^th and Jessie McCurtin 7^th to secure the team win, Ella Cronk was next home in 11^th

The under 13 boys were next, averaging 14 runners per match, they were down to just 7 to other commitments, Harry Smith was the clubs first runner home in 5^th place, Elliot Bell was 10^th, Henry Bell 12^th and Frank Edwards 15^th secured third team on the day, Charlie Adams was next home in 17^th, Harry Barnett 18^th and Rueben Kuijten 20^th.

The under 15 Girls and Boys race together, Charlotte Bailey made sure she secured her third victory of the season and secured her individua league title wit ha superb race, and Ethan Kuijten was in a  3 way battle for most of the race, but had to settle for a very good 2^nd place in the end.

Going in to the last match of the year, Team Kennet look good  in taking a lot of silverware home, they cannot be beat in the individual girls races and are secured of several top 3 individual awards as well, in the team placings the under 9 girls and under 11 girls are now secured, with under 13 girls, under 9 boys and under 13 boys could also get top 3 team placings.