28 November 2017

On a very busy week of racing Abingdon experienced success at numerous events including; Harrow, The ESAA National Cross-country Final, The British Modern Biathlon Championships and the Eynsham 10km road race.

Harrow Cross-country Meet

21 boys competed in the Harrow 10 schools cross-country race on 23 November. This early season race is great for gaining an understanding of the quality and depth of the team with so many boys racing. Both great quality and depth was definitely shown on the day with all teams and a member of each age group coming in a top 3 position. Juniors came in 3rd, seniors 2nd and inters 1st, with the inters winning by just a single point, showing the value of the boys' efforts. The overall result was an excellent 1st place for Abingdon. The boys enjoyed the race with fairly dry and cool conditions allowing for fast races with the harrow hills providing a good challenge. Well done to all involved, especially to those competing in their first cross-country race in the juniors and inters.

Juniors:

Rowan Miell-Ingram- 2nd
Seb McAllan- 7th
Thomas Kent- 12th
Ross Tselos- 21st
Jeffrey Lau- 29th
Johnnie Willis-Bund- 37th
Aryann Gupta- 39th

Inters:

James Coode- 3rd
Freddie Cunningham- 4th
Tarik Kurkcu- 7th
Tom Rolfe- 9th
Kiran Gathani- 14th
Cameron Butcher- 15th

Seniors:

Calum Steer- 2nd
David Bunn- 8th 
Henry Barlow- 10th
Josh Crichton- 14th
Fergus Mitchell- 16th
Oliver Moody- 20th
Matthew Kunov- 22nd
Alfie Monger-Godfrey- 29th

Written by Calum Steer, U6
Captain of XC

ESAA National Cross-country Final

On Saturday 25 November the combined U12 and U13 team travelled to Sevenoaks to compete against the fastest runners in the country at the National Cross-country Final. Racing over a distance of 2.8km the course encompassed every aspect of a true cross country race; a fast flat start before competing for position at the first corner, undulations to break the rhythm of even the most experienced runners, steep ascents and descents, technical woodland, and of course muddy sections to test the spike laces were securely fastened. The junior athletes raced valiantly within a field of 156 athletes. Alexander Darbishire was the first Abingdon pupil to cross the line closely followed by Callum Aiken, both were only 1 minute behind the overall winner.

Individual results:

63: Alexander Darbishire, 10:54
78: Callum Aiken, 10.59
104: Thomas Mennie, 11:13
128: Jonathan Pannett-Smith, 11:25
142: Robin Hambidge, 11:40
147: Geordie Anderson, 11:53

Team Result: 26th

An outstanding achievement to qualify for the National Final, a first for Abingdon at this age group. Well done to all involved.

British Modern Biathlon Championships

Over the course of the weekend three pupils competed at the British Biathlon Championships in Solihull. Benjamin MacLennan of the 1st year finished in 18th position in the U13 category. He achieved two personal bests on the day, swimming 100m in a time of 1:14 and running 1600m in a time of 5:38. Freddie Cunningham finished in 19th position in the U16 category and Henry Barlow finished in 8th position in the U17 category as a result of a strong run heat, achieving a time of 4:56 for 1600m. 

Eynsham 10km

On 26 November three boys, Alfie Monger-Godfrey, Matthew Kunov and Calum Steer, three teachers Mr James, Mr Litchfield and Mrs Kaye and one OA, Alex Miell-Ingram, competed in the Eynsham 10k. The fast road race always has the prospect of producing personal best times. The Abingdon runners fulfilled this prospect with all boys getting PBs and 2 teachers doing the same. 

Positions and times: 

9th: Alex Miell-Ingram, 34:04
14th: Calum Steer, 34:20
17th: Mr James, 34:56 
93rd: Alfie Monger-Godfrey, 39:23
129th: Matthew Kunov, 40:43
184th: Mr Litchfield, 42:47
464th: Mrs Kaye, 55:40 

Written by Calum Steer U6
Captain of XC

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