Team kennet saw athletes compete in two major cross country championships over the last two weekends.
Last week was the CAU Inter Counties at Wollaton Park, in the under 15 age group in the girls Charlotte Bailey ran a good race to come home 4th scorer for Berkshire in 126th place, while in the boys race
Ex member Rory Barclay-Watt due to school changes finished in an excellent 4th place representing Devon with TK club athlete Ethan Kuijten 180th
This Weekend saw the English Schools Championships at Pontefract Racecourse, with conditions really boggy, Charlotte Bailey in the Intermediate girls ran a superb race to finish 3rd Berkshire girl by only a few seconds to come home in 61st place only 1 minute behind a medal. In the Intermediate Boys Rory Barclay-Watt couldn’t master last weekends results had to finish with 21st, Ethan Kuijten ran well in 271st place.
Team Kennet hosted the Annual West Berkshire & North Hampshire Primary Schools Cross Country Championships at Newbury Show Ground with conditions very wet and soggy underfoot.
The event now in its 26th year saw a record turnout beating their own UK record with 1576 children finishing from over 50 Primary schools.
All Four races saw record numbers with 773 girls and 803 boys finishing.
Race 1 the Year 3 / 4 girls saw 373 finishers with a break away group of 3 girls well clear of the field, it was Tinx Goad from Thorngrove school that came across the line in first place, not far behind was Matilda Saunders from St. Gabriels and last years winner Praiya Foreman from Chieveley taking third spot.
Race 2 the Year 3 / 4 boys saw 397 finishers, Chester Bailey from Hermitage broke away for an early lead which he maintained all the way around to take a convincing win from Lenny Wyville from Shaw Cum Donnington in second place and taking third place from Falkland school William Hale.
Race 3 the Year 5/ 6 girls saw 400 finishers first time this total have finished in any races, Ella Larkin from Falkland who has won both younger year races broke away with a huge lead to be crowned champion for third successive year, Penelope Lyth from Fir Tree school was next home timing her run to perfection for second place and taking third from Thorngrove school was Alice Hargreaves.
Race 4 the Year 5 / 6 boys saw a record field finish of 406 boys, Ronny Bowsher from Thatcham Park ran a brilliant race to be well clear over the field to come home as the winner, Alex Crosse from Falkland took second place and Malik Gaye from Spurcroft taking third.
The Major Awards saw Streatley defend their Small Schools Trophy over Basildon runners up and St. Martins in third.
The Hampshire Cup went to last years winners again Thorngrove with Woolton Hill second and St Martins third
The League Division 1 Cup went to Falkland with runners up Francis Baily and St. Nicolas third
The League Division 2 Cup went to St. Andrews with John Rankin runners up and Hermitage in third.
The League Division 3 Cup went to Springfield with Parsons Down in runners up and Basildon in third place.
The B team Trophy went to St Andrews and runners up were Falkland
The Overall Winners of all the leagues combined were
1st St. Andrews
2nd Falkland
3rd Francis Baily
4th St. Nicolas
5th John Rankin
Special thanks to event sponsors Newbury 4X4 and Leon Greenwood.
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 1st and 2nd, 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 14th, Gracie Williams 16th, Evelyn Barker 17th and Evelyn Pedersen 20th.
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 2nd place, Lenny Wyvill improving from last race next home in 5th place, William Moloney 8th and Idris Gaye 9th looked good for a win but Basingstoke just edged the club in to 2nd place, and the boys having to settle for runners up in the league. Next home for the u9 boys were Max Burt 20th , Jacob Williams 21st, Zachary Melvill-Smith 27th and Sebastian Lauder-Clarke 28th
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 3rd as she has done in all the other matches secured 3rd overall, Matilda Clare was next home in 7th place, securing 4th overall, then Ella McDonald in 8th 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 15th, Orlagh Stratford 16th, Alice Stratford 17th and Elodie Burdett 18th saw the B team home in 3rd place, other girls were Ella Parsons 20th, Sophia Barnett 31st, Matilda Pedersen 33rd, Ayla Wyvill 38th, Grace Hogg 40th and Megan Jones 41st
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 2nd place and take runners up in the individuals, Sam Atkins came in 3rd taking 3rd place overall with Fynn Sanderson 14th and JJ Mercer 15th the team were placed 3rd on the day. Other runners were Thomas Williams 17th, Toby clay 22nd, Joshua Kuijten 35th, Joshua Bailey 36th and Miles Phoenix 42nd
The under 13 girls made sure of wrapping up the League team title, winning their 3rd match in a row, Harriet Saunders set of at a steady pace then to open out to secure her 4th straight win and take overall individual title, New Comer Oliver Bentley made a great debut run coming home in 5th place, Jessie McCurtin was 6th, Anna Hall 7th and Emerald Hill Sawyer 8th saw the girls take the win on the day, other runners were Ella Cronk 12th
The under 13 Boys Harry Smith pushed hard to finish in 5th place as per last match, Oscar Larkin finished strong to come home in 6th place with Elliot Bell 10th and Henry Bell 12th made sure off the team coming 3rd on the day. Next home was Noah Lauder Clarke 15th, Harry Barnett 17th and Rueben Kuijten 18th.
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 9th and Lola Mitcham taking 12th for the girls to take 2nd 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 11th and Evelyn Pedersen brought the team home in 14th which was just good enough to secure the team win, Newcomer Gracie Williams was next home in 18th and Iris Evans was 20th.
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 2nd 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 9th, The second team was made up of Gethin Thomas 12th, Toby Hartley 16th, Alexander Cameron 22nd and Jacob Williams 23rd, also taking part were Max Burt 28th and Joshua Phoenix 30th.
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 3rd place so she kept her campaign to finish in top 3 overall, Matilda Clare was 6th and Ella McDonald 7th.
The second team was led in by new Comer Ayla Wyvill in 10th place, just behind was a large group of TK girls Orlagh Stratford 12th, Affra Bailey 15th, Elodie Burdett 16th and Alice Stratford 17th which was good enough to take 3rd team on the day, next home was Ella parsons 22nd, Matilda Pedersen 35th, Grace Hogg 41st and Sophie Barnett 44th.
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 12th, Thomas Williams was 15th, Connor O’Riordan 23rd and JJ Mercer 24th to take 4th team, Fynn Sanderson was next home in 25th, then Joshua Kuijten 40th, Toby Clay 41st and Miles Phoenix 48th
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 5th having her best run of the season, Anna Hall 6th and Jessie McCurtin 7th to secure the team win, Ella Cronk was next home in 11th
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 5th place, Elliot Bell was 10th, Henry Bell 12th and Frank Edwards 15th secured third team on the day, Charlie Adams was next home in 17th, Harry Barnett 18th and Rueben Kuijten 20th.
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 2nd 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.
Several Team Kennet athletes travelled to Burgess Hill to compete for Berkshire in the Sportshall South East Regional Final.
Some performance highlights from the day, Ella McDonald , (U11G) – 3rd in target throw, Matilda Clare (U11G) – 2nd in Javelin, Malik Gaye (U11B) – 1st in Target throw and Samuel Atkins (U11B) – 4th Balance Test.
Well Done to Everyone who took part. Results below.
Team Kennet presented the Road Running League Awards at CCAT on a club night that saw over 60 road runners compete for the club in its 5 divisions which covers distances of 5km up to Marathon Distance.
Mens Div 1 Winner Mitch Poustie, Runner up Simon Gale, third place Simon Whatson
Mens Div 2 Winner Casey Warwick Runner Up Andy Colling, third place Phil Cowhig
Mens Div 3 Winner Nick Burdett Runner Up, Runner Up Phil Murphy
Ladies Div 1 Winner Cheryl Angell runner up Katie Reynolds, Third place Jennie Drake
Team Kennet saw several athletes represent their schools in the Berkshire Schools Cross Country held at Newbury Showground.
In perfect conditions for the event after the wet then cold spell, it was a lovely day for running, Team Kennets best result came in the under 15 girls race where Charlotte Bailey(Kennet) led till the last 400m to be overtaken and still working hard she kept herself in 2nd place to automatically selected for the Berkshire team at the English Schools.
Oskar Larkin (Park House) ran a superb race to finish 6th in the under 13 boys and Harry Smith (St. Andrews) wasn’t far behind in 9th.
Harriet Saunders (St. Gabriels) also had a fine run in 6th place and Eleanor Wilkinson(St. Gabriels) 41st saw St. Gabriels win the team event in the under 13 Girls.
In the Under 17 Boys Ethan Kuijten (Kennet) came home in 10th place, Max Adams (P.house) 19th and Oliver Carroll (the Downs) 30th
TK saw a large group of boys in the Under 15 races. Arthur Patterson (Trinity) came in 29th, Frank Edwards (Trinity) 31st, Noah Lauder Clarke (Kennet) 56th, Josh Brian (P.House) 61st, Ben Daley (The downs) 75th and Rueben Kuijten (Kennet) 78th, in the Under 15 girls more TK athletes who ran were Emerald Hill Sawyer (john O’Gaunt) 35th , Anna Hall (St. Barts) 44th, Chloe O’Riordan (Kennet) 49th, Ella Cronk (The Downs) 54th and Amelie Tayton (Kennet) 74th.
In the under 17 girls, Clare McGonnell (St. Gabriels) was 21st and Leilah Gaye (Kennet) 24th
Sunday 14th January Team Kennet Juniors participated in their first Berkshire Indoor Sports hall Championship since pre COVID at the Thames Valley Athletics Centre. SPORTSHALL ATHLETICS is an indoor form of track and field for children between the ages of 4 and 16 and it allows the young athletes to train during the cold and dark winter months. A superbly organised event with the girl age groups participating in the field events first, and the boys the track, That Saw Team Kennets under 11 Girls Blue Team Crowned Champions of Berkshire.
We had teams representing U11 and U13 age groups and following their huge success in track and field finishing on top of the Wessex and Oxford leagues, the U11 girls were able to provide two teams.
In the U11 boys we had a team of 7 and the team achieved 6th place with 266 points. In the field events Malik Gaye managed 2nd place in the Vertical jump, and the chest push and Samuel Atkins 1st place in the balance test. On the track Jenson Nichols and Joe Mercer secured a 3rd place in the 1+1 lap event. Other boys taking part Gethin Thomas, Sebastian Lauder-Clarke and Sebastian Lane.
For the U13 group the girls had a smaller team of 5 also finishing in 6th place with 226 points. In the field Ella Cronk secured 2nd place in the standing long jump. Jessie McCurtin 3rd place in the speed bounce. The girls were consistent with their track events finishing 5th in the 4 events. Other girls taking part Anna Hall, Emerald Hill-Sawyer and Harriet Saunders, if they had one more team member they would have been able to finish in the top 3.
In the U13 boys we had a full team of 8 securing a 5th place with 270 points. Euan Jones and Noah Lauder-Clarke had success in the 3+3 Lap event finishing in 1st place . In the Paarlauf Lauder-Clarke teamed up with John Brian to finish in 3rd place. Other boys taking part Ben Daley, Harry Smith, Josh Brian, Oscar Larkin, Henry Bell and Elliot Bell.
With two teams entered it was sure to be a busy day for the U11 girls. In the red team Sophia Mahoney secured a 4th place in the balance test and on the track in the 1+1 Millie Barlow and Gracie Cooke finished 4th. Also in the red team Alice and Orlagh Stratford and Ella Parsons. With 268 points the red team secured 6th place.
For the blue team there were some strong field performances, a 1st place for Matilda Clare in the standing long jump, 3rd place in the vertical jump for Ella McDonald, 2nd for Penelope Lyth in Speed Bounce and 1st and 3rd place for Isla Ladds and Penelope Lyth in the Hi Stepper. In the field 2nd place for Isla Ladds and Penelope Lyth in the 1+1 race. Also, success for the team with 3rd places in the 2+2, 3+3, Paarlauf, 4×2 relay and 4th place in the 4×1 relay. Completing the team were Maisie McCurtin, Affra Bailey and Matilda Pedersen. These performances secured the girls 1st place with 318 points.
Prior to the Championship there were three trial events and Team Kennet have 9 athletes which have been selected to represent Berkshire at the Intercounty competition in February. These athletes are Emerald Hill-Sawyer, Ella Larkin, Ella McDonald, Isla Ladds, Matilda Clare, Jenson Nichols, Joe Mercer, Malik Gaye and Samuel Atkins.
Thank you to all the Athletes who took part in the Santa Mile after the last training session of the season on Wednesday 20th December. Special thanks to the Coaches and Helpers who ensured the event ran smoothly.