Basingstoke Junior Cross Country Match 1

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 23rd.

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 39th.  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 13th.  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 24th.

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.

Berkshire County Indoor Sportshall Championships 2025

Team Kennet travelled to Thames Valley Athletics Centre to compete in the annual Berkshire County Sports hall Championships. The U11 girls had a huge turnout with 2 teams participating, the blue team of Ella Larkin, Sophia Mahoney, Olivia Kwit, Ines Field, Praiya Foreman and Hazel Balch finished in 3rd place.  They had some great results with 2 first places and 2 second places in the track events.   In the field, Ella Larkin 5th in the standing long jump and 1st in the speed bounce.  Ines Field 4th in the high stepper. Praiya Foreman 3rd in the vertical jumo and Olivia Kwit 5th.  The Red team were 6th with some more great performances, Marlie-Jai Proctor finishing 3rd in the Speed bounce. 

Under 13 girls had one team and finished 5th out of 9 teams with some great individual performances, Isla Ladds 5th in the standing long jump and high stepper, Penelope Lyth 4th in the Speed Bounce and Matilda Clare 4th in the vertical jump.

The Under 11 boys finished 5th out of 9 teams, and some of the boys the youngest in the competition performed well finishing in 2nd place in the paarauf and Harvey Baker 4th and Chester Bailey 6th in the standing long jump. 

The Under 13 boys didn’t have a full team on the day so it was always going to be a challenge to be in medal position, but they put in a great performance to finish 8th on the day with a great performance in the standing triple jump by Samuel Atkins finishing 7th

Results

South of England Indoor Track and Field Championships

Several Team Kennet athletes travelled to Lee Valley Athletics Centre to participate in the South of England Indoor Track and Field Championships at the weekend. Theo Nightingale for the Under 17 boys finished 4th in the high jump with a leap of 1.70m.  Isabel Payne for the Under 15 girls finished 11th in the long jump with 4.17m.  Turkay Altuntas Under 17 boys was 5th in the shot throwing 12.84m.   Berkay Altuntas for the Under 15 boys was 9th in the shot  8.08m Ella  Larkin and Elodie Burdett represented the Under 13 girls entering the 800m.  Ella Larkin went on to the final finishing in 4th with  2:36:31.

Hampshire Cross Country Championships 2025

On Saturday Team Kennet athletes competed at the Hampshire Cross Country Championships held at Fairthorne Manor near Southampton.

The day started with the U11 girls racing in sub-zero temperatures. Matilda Saunders joined the leading group from the start and fought hard to finish a very creditable 4th in her first year in the age group. She was followed by Elodie Burdett in 13th, producing a gutsy performance despite being unwell over the Christmas and New Year period.

In the U13 race Harriet Saunders settled into the breakaway group and, with a display of strong running, finished just outside the medals in 4th. Olivia Bentley took a while to settle into the race but battled throughout and, with a fast finish, secured 14th place.

Harriet’s performance secures automatic selection for the Hampshire team however there is no county team for U11.

Berkshire Cross Country Championships 2024

Team Kennet had several athletes take part at the annual Berkshire Cross Country Championships held at Hungerford Rugby Club.  The annual event is a qualifying race for the 2025 CAU UK Inter Counties Cross Country Championship with those finishing in the top 8 a guaranteed place.

First up to tackle the course was the Masters Men 9.3km race.  Andy Colling finishing 13th and Chris Turner 22nd

Under 13 boys course was 3km, Harry Smith 14th, Samuel Atkins 19th, Henry Bell 20t,  Elliot Bell 21st and Josh Bailey 25th.  Team Kennet finishing in 5th place as a team.

For the under 13 girls all 3 making their debut at the event Penelope Lyth finishing 8th, Matilda Clare 11th and Affra Bailey 17th.  This placed the team in 4th place.

Under 15 boys 4km Arthur Patterson finishing in 14th and Under 15 girls Anna Hall 13th, Emerald Hill-Sawyer 14th and Ella Cronk 17th, team also finishing in 4th

Full results below.

Oxford League Cross Country Match 2

Cirencester Park hosted round 2 of the Oxon XC league. Rain & mud were the order of the day, with the ladies race getting some particularly heavy rain half way through.

In the under 11 girls race, Matilda Saunders was an excellent 3rd and Ella Parsons worked hard for 16th in the mud

Harriet Saunders ran excellently for 2nd place in the under 13 girls race.

Harry Smith was 10th in the under 13 boys, an excellent result.

Anna Hall kept up her good from for 8th in the under 15 girls race.

Senior men saw Hefin Jones in 27th and 1st in the V50 category, 94th was Richard Saunders in his first Oxon league race, Andy Colling was 119th and 3rd in the V60 category.

Other places

190 Phil Baker

224 Mitch Poustie

258 Simon Hockaday

275 Simon Gale

279 Rob Parsons

Our lone lady runner, Katie Reynolds came in 86th, another excellent run in the heavy rain.

Cardiff Cross Country Challenge

On Saturday 9 November four Team Kennet athletes travelled to Cardiff to compete in the first round of the UK Cross Challenge Series – a Gold Label event on the World Athletics Cross Country Tour and incorporating the European Trials at the next round.

First to race was Matilda Saunders in the Under 11 Girls event. Matilda ran hard from the start to stay in medal contention for two thirds of the race but couldn’t quite stay with the leaders in the closing stages eventually finishing 6th. Matilda remains in the same age group next year.

Harriet Saunders then took part in the Under 13 Girls event over a longer course. An extremely strong field had assembled for this race with athletes travelling from across the UK, including the National Record holder over the mile for this age group. Harriet fought hard throughout the race to finish a very respectable 13th.

Josh Bailey then raced the same course in the Under 13 Boys event, his first time in this age group. In one of the most exciting races of the day there was little to separate the top three as they sprinted to the finish but the high quality racing extended further down the field with Josh pacing his run well to finish in an excellent 19th place.

Last to race, over a yet longer distance, was Anna Hall in the Under 15 Girls event. In another very competitive race, Anna continued her impressive start to the cross country season by settling into the race well and producing a very strong second half to finish 27th. Anna remains in the same age group next year.

Oxford League Cross Country Match 1

The Oxford xc league began at Cornbury Estate on Sunday.  Weather conditions were good for the races on what was a very tough course. First Team Kennet runner to tackle the challenge was Ella Parsons who came 12th in the girls under 11 race.  Anna Hall was our other junior, finishing an excellent 7th in the girls U15 category.  The men’s and ladies’ races took place over an undulating 8.2k course and In the men’s race Hefin Jones led the way in 30th and a 2nd place in the V50 category.   Andy Colling was next in 128th and 2nd in the V60 category Our other finishers were 184 Phil Baker, 219 Dave Smith, 236 Mitch Poustie, 268 Simon Hockaday,299 Simon Gale and 305 Rob Parsons.  Katie Reynolds flew the flag for the senior ladies finishing in 99th position.