Report of 4th Event – 28 January 2017
We were pleased to see an excellent turnout on a day when it would have been easy to stay in bed to avoid the heavy rain and muddy conditions. We were also pleased to welcome Charlie Rayner of Cale Green to his first event. Charlie is visually impaired and ran the Boys Y3-4 race with his guide, Stockport Harrier, Evie Wild who kindly volunteered for the role. He started at the back to avoid the mêlée in the first 100m or so of the race.
We have a couple of anomalies in the results that somebody might be able to assist us with. In the G3-4 race, we have two girls in 28th place and nobody in 25th place, and two girls in 73rd place and nobody in 78th. We suspect that this has arisen from transcription errors.
Again, we have allocated times of 50:00 minutes to runners who had to drop out races for one reason or another. This is to allow us to account for them more easily when determining which runners have done 5 or more races and are eligible for an endeavour medal.
As usual, please advise me of any questions that you have about the results.
Girls Years 3-4:
Aisling Brooks of Ladybrook became the 4th runner to claim 1st place this season, winning in a time of 6:46. Ella Buckley of Pownall Green and winner of the first race came 2nd in a time of 6:49, one second ahead of 3rd-placed Niamh Mackintosh of Ladybrook who won the 3rd race in the series. Rosie Philbin of St Mary’s Marple, winner of the 2nd race, finished 4th and Alexa Billman of Cheadle 5th.
The close competition means that there are now three runners at the top of the League table within two points if each other: Niamh in 1st place with 10 points, Rosie in 2nd with 11 points and Aisling in third with 12 points. Their positions are under greatest potential threat from Ella, who has 5 points from the three races in which she has competed. She needs one more race to be able to challenge for a top league position.
In the team competition, Ladybrook won their 4th race in a row with a low score of 12 points to retain their overall lead in the League table with a score of 73 points. High Lane came 2nd and held onto 2nd place in the table with 131 points, while Lady Barn held onto third place in the table with 199 points despite their worst points-score of the season. Romiley came 3rd in the race and lie 5th in the table, 16 points adrift of St Mary’s, Marple, who finished 4th in the race.
Ladybrook’s team now looks secure at the top of the table but the other teams in the top five still have the opportunity to defend or improve their positions.
Boys Years 3-4:
Our congratulations go to two fine runners: Josh Garrone of Vernon Park who became League champion by winning his 4th successive race of the season in a time of 6:07 and Will Bailey of Buxworth who took the silver medal with his fourth 2nd place. Will’s fellow pupil, Oliver Ecob, came 3rd in 6:31, which keeps him in third place in the League. Josh’s brother, Matteo finished 4th in 6:36, just ahead of Isaac Reed of Rose Hill.
Oliver’s 3rd place in the League looks secure from other runners who have completed 4 races so far, but less secure from Matteo and Isaac who have completed one less race each and have two opportunities to improve their positions.
Vernon Park won the team race again with 25 points, 5 points ahead of High Lane and 15 points ahead of Buxworth Primary. Buxworth hold onto the top position in the table with 153 points but Lady Barn, who finished 4th in the race, slipped to third, two points adrift of High Lane. The race for top place in the table looks to be between the top three teams but Vernon Park’s team has yet to do its 4th race and with two wins to its credit could move into the top slot if it can maintain its good form.
Girls Years 5-6:
Jasmine Reed of Rose Hill won the race in a time of 10:47, her 3rd win of the trio of races in which she has competed. Similarly, Freya Murdoch of Pownall Green took her third 2nd place in a time of 11:21. Grace Longden of Buxworth, competing in her first race of the season, came home in 3rd place in 11:58.
Saffron Meade of Great Moor finished 4th in 11:42 to hold onto 2nd place in the League table, while the leader, Mary Seymour of Romiley, held onto her first place by finishing 6th in the race. Gabrielle Sampson of St Mary’s Marple finished in fifth place between Saffron and Mary and took her tally of races in the series to three.
The final positions in the table are by no means settled. There are runners yet to do their 4th race with good point scores, notably Jasmine and Freya, who can change the shape at the top of the table. These runners also include two runners with good average points-scores who have competed in only two races so far.
In the team competition, Romiley Primary again won the race with 25 points and increased their lead at the top of the table to put themselves in an unassailable position. Congratulations! St Peter’s, in their 2nd race of the season, came second with 43 points and Buxworth, in their first race with a complete team, finished 3rd. Romiley’s B-team was 4th and moved into 2nd place in the table in the absence of Lady Barn House’s A-team. St Simon’s team finished 9th in the race but held onto 3rd place in the table with 291 points, just three points ahead of High Lane who finished 5th in the race.
Boys Years 5-6:
Our congratulations go to Luke Carrington of Gee Cross who won his fourth race of the season in a time of 10:18 and therefore took the League title. Our congratulations also go to Finlay McLaughlin of Lady Barn House whose third place was sufficient to give him an unassailable score 9 points in the table, thereby securing the silver medal. Harry Ahearn of St Christopher’s had his best race of the season, finishing 2nd in a time of 10:30. He now lies third in the League table, one point ahead of Patrick Doohan of St Winifred’s.
The competition for third place in the table is by no means settled. A clutch of runners with similar scores have been jockeying positions through the season and look set to give us an interesting end to the competition.
Romiley’s team won the race with 35 points to give themselves a 4-race point score that appears to be unassailable. However, two teams, St Winifred’s and St Peter’s, with two races apiece and good average point scores could potentially challenge Romiley. But they need to do the last two races. Lady Barn came 2nd in the race and held onto 2nd spot in the table with 295 points, 22 points ahead of Gee Cross who finished 3rd in the race.
Next Event
The next event takes place on Saturday 4 March 2017
Please remember that the race times changed this year to:
Race 1 Girls, years 3 & 4 at 10:30
Race 2 Boys, years 3 & 4 at 10:45
Race 3 Girls, years 5 & 6 at 11:00
Race 4 Boys, years 5 & 6 at 11:25
I would like to thank and congratulate to all the children who took part in the league races and to express my appreciation to their managers, family and friends for supporting them, St John Ambulance for tending to those needing medical attention and members and supporters of Stockport Harriers who helped put on a successful event. I hope to see you again at the next event.