Category: Sport
Suffolk Schools Qualifying Race
On a glorious sunny day at RHS, team Woodbridge arrived with 34 boys and 33 girls all in the Woodbridge vests ready to compete against the other 1700 children from 52 schools who had ventured out with a common desire of finishing in the top 50 to earn a place in the next Suffolk Qualifier.
The afternoon started with over one hundred competing in two senior races: in the girls’ event Amy and Sarah ran extremely well to finish in 4th and 7th respectively, while for the boys Nathan finished 2nd and Alex 4th, all four running with great control, taking their time to work through the field and finish in the top 10. Chris was not far behind, also finishing strongly to end in a well-deserved 16th position.
Racing next and suitably inspired, the minor girls and boys put in some outstanding runs of their own: Eloise 3rd, Rose 4th and Lara 10th (Rose and Lara both a year under age!); Sasha and Georgina 19th and 22nd; Millie a fantastic 29th, much to her own surprise!; Sophia showed incredible fighting spirit to finish 37th despite a big fall requiring first aid after the finish; Nancy A who must be thanked for helping poor Sophia came in a strong 69th, with Nancy N just on her tail 72nd. Phoebe and Bea both finished the race strong in 96th and 112 respectively. The minor boys also excelled with Ethan and James both finishing in the top 10 (8th and 9th) and Jonjo close behind in 16th. John, Jack and Will ran in a nice little pack at the front of the race, ensuring qualification for the next round in positions 23rd, 24th and 36th, while Arthur, Oscar and Oliver joined them in the top half of the race (65th, 69th, 75th). There were about 700 minors competing overall to give an indication of how well ours did.
The Junior girls saw Ruby 1st and Amy 4th finish in the top 10, with Ruby running away with the race by an astonishing margin. Anna made another top 20 finish with 14th and Isobel and Ella made the top 50 in 22nd and 47th. Libbie came in 57th and with Kitty 71st , Madeline 86th, Wilhelmina 95th and Iris 96th all breaking the top 100 it was an excellent performance of group running. The junior boys performed well, too. Henry was in excellent form finishing a strong 3rd with Ed just behind him in 11th. Jonny proved that running is definitely in the family with an impressive 22nd and with Moses finishing in 41st Woodbridge will have a solid number of representatives in the next round. Ronald was unlucky to just miss out on his place finishing 51st, whilst Senen in his first race finished a creditable 82nd. Samuel finished well in 116th, and Edward came 131st despite becoming ill while running (Tom 126th and George 124th helped him around the course and supported him through the finish – great teamwork). Once again all our runners were in the top half of their races, with 600 juniors competing on the day.
The Inter girls saw the second winner of the day for Woodbridge as April strode around confidently and made it to the finish line a good 50m in front of her nearest rival. Jess ran better than ever to finish an excellent 7th and even surprising herself; Bea 10th continued where she left off last season with another excellent performance whilst Charlotte 16th, Emily 23rd and Ashleigh 25th ran strong races to confirm their places in the next round of the Suffolk trials. The Inter boys rose to the challenge equally well: Charlie 2nd was closely followed by Kit 3rd and George 6th, all three finishing effortlessly; and Tom 18th and Barnaby 22nd worked hard together to ensure a top 25 position in what was Barnaby’s first race for school. 300 athletes competed at Inter.
All in all it was a fantastic day of running, with lots of positive improvement and some outstanding performances. Overall out of 65 runners 38 have so far made it through to the next round with a few more potentially joining them. The school also had a record 18 top 10 finishes this year and all should be congratulated for the hard work and dedication that it takes to perform at this level. As a school we won both inter categories and were second in both junior categories (but first combined); the minors had no team event, but judging by the results would have been top three or better, and would almost certainly have won the girls’ event.
The next round of the Suffolk qualifiers takes place at Ipswich High on Saturday 1st December so we will hopefully have even more positive news then.
County Round
Following on from an extremely successful event on Thursday, anticipation was high for the first round of the National Schools’ Cup. Unlike many other Cross Country races this is a team competition in which the best four runners count. The top three teams in the county round then qualify for the regional round. To add extra spice our runners knew that the regional and national round of the competitions are being held at Woodbridge School this year, so the opportunity to represent your school on ‘home soil’ is an opportunity not to be missed!
The competition began with the Junior girls’ team of Nancy, Issie, Georgina, Eloise, Ruby and Sophia. The initial pace of the race left a couple behind, but eventually the group settled into their running and made significant progress through the race, ably led by the imperious Ruby who finished a couple of fields ahead of her nearest rival in first. Eloise once again gave it her all and finished in an excellent 7th. Issie (with a slight injury) pushed herself to the limit for a 17th place finish ahead of Sophia 29th, Georgina 35th and Nancy 37th, working together to secure a team total of 54 points and qualification for the next round.
The Inter Girls were next: April immediately hit the front to dominate the race, controlling the speed to forge a comfortable lead and win; Molly produced an excellent performance, surging through the field on the second lap to finish 4th, whilst Jess and Bea worked hard as a team to push each other on and finish in 6th and 7th respectively. Amy 10th and Anna 15th both ran excellent races and ensured that the team total of 17 points was enough to give the team a dominant 1st place.
The Junior boys had been so enthralled supporting the previous race that they nearly forgot to line up at the start, and so when the gun went they were towards the back. Undeterred they picked off runners quickly and by the second lap were at top speed: the race eventually became a line of Woodbridge vests vying for top honours. Eventually the boys finished in 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th positions for a points total of 26 and another 1st place for the school. A fantastic race from Edward, Ethan, Jonny, James, Moses and Jonjo.
The inter boys’ race began with Charlie immediately out in front to dominate the race, setting his marker down to finish comfortably in 1st place. Kit meanwhile settled into an excellent pace and slowly made his way through the field to take 2nd some 50m behind. George also powered through the field to finish in 6th, while Henry effectively sprinted the whole third lap to turn 15th into a fantastic 7th on the line. Tom and Ed worked hard to bring the team home in 16th and 17th. The team total of 16 points earned a third first place for Woodbridge.
All four teams through to the next round – three in first place! Roll on the regional finals on the 10th November here at Woodbridge!
The U15Bs put on a great display of determination and team play against Finborough recently. In particular, in the second part of the first half once our team had settled to its task, Emily made some great attacking runs up the pitch and Erin kept things tidy at the back. We discussed decision making at half time and tracking back which made a huge difference in the second half, exemplified by Phoebe and Katie B who worked a fantastic attack only for the ball to come back off the post. We made some great chances in the second half and really put the pressure on Finborough, their goalie (who was a year older!) making a series of fine saves. Talia and Lottie played some perfect passes up the pitch with Ella and Becky working hard in their attacking roles. Sophie and Bea had solid games in defence, clearing the ball wide, and Lakisha and Elsa played well in goal. Katie B-M and Olivia also made telling contributions and Maisy put some real pressure on the right of the pitch. It was an exciting game to watch and we were unlucky to lose 0-2. Well done girls, and many thanks to all the parents for supporting.
The under fourteens very much enjoyed taking part in their first tournament of the season recently, hosted at Portman Road. Split into two teams, the first group opened their day against Kesgrave A in a hard fought and tiring encounter concentrated in midfield. Kesgrave took an early lead they never relinquished, but Fazil and Theo in particular helped us get back into the game, and Ollie made a brilliant penalty save towards the end. The second game, against Beccles A, was a slower paced match with much of it played in the opposition half. Moses made a series of brilliant tackles in what proved to be a frustrating encounter in the end, as Beccles stole a goal on the break to win. Unfortunately the pattern was similar in the final game against Saxmundham A: plenty of possession but very few attempts on goal. In an end to end game, Saxmundham took their two chances to secure the win. The B team had a better day of it: in the first game Max scored twice up front while Tom kept a clean sheet in defence thanks to a fine save. 3 points won – the team feeling good! The second game was against Farlingaye which added a bit of local rivalry to the proceedings. In a tight encounter we defended as hard as possible and Erwan made some amazing saves. The match ended 0-0, giving us a well-earned point. The final games was against group leaders Kesgrave (we were joint second). Our approach was determined, but two headers from the opposition in rapid succession proved too much for us as they ran out winners by 3-0. The team, made up of Year 8 and Year 9 players who had not played together before, was proud of its efforts and the points gained.
Last Saturday, four Woodbridge girls took to the mountains of Norwich to compete in the National Finals of the ESSKIA dry slope skiing competition. They were the embodiment of what has come to be known as the Learning@Woodbridge qualities. Their perseverance to make it through a tough qualifier, by far the most stacked in the country, and endure miserable (but fast!) conditions in Norwich was commendable. They took responsibility for their own training regimes, all attending school training as well as clubs or academies outside school. They were collaborative and worked excellently as a team to qualify for the prestigious team finals. And they were aspirational, competing in the Under 19 category as two 13 year olds, a 15 and 16 year old. I could not have been prouder of the way they represented the school, skiing competitively and exuding positivity, improving times between runs and proving that they are a team for the future.
With results yet to be ratified, our team of Katherine (Y12), Beth (Y11) Honor (Y9) and Madeleine M (Y9) has finished in the top dozen schools in the country, a fantastic achievement. And hot off the press, Honor has been selected to represent Great Britain in the upcoming races in Andorra next January, so many congratulations!
Woodbridge made a lightning start against Thomas Mills, scoring five well-worked tries in the opening half before the opposition had barely found time to draw breath. Fazil touched down for two and there was one each for Erwan, Edward B and Obi. So slick was the play that spectators might have felt they were there for a masterclass in flowing attacking rugby by Woodbridge: tries scored out wide after quick passing and good handling from the backs. One onlooker was even drawn to make comparison with the All Blacks! The forwards played their part magnificently, opening up the pitch beautifully with their powerful running to allow the backs to flourish, George N, Hector and Sam W being particularly impressive. The second half was much the same with another five tries: Barnaby, Fazil, Robert S (2) and Moses scoring. This meant that Woodbridge were dominant victors with Fazil scoring his third hat trick in three games.
The under fifteens recently travelled up to Culford on a cold and rain swept Saturday afternoon, but came away with smiles on their faces nonetheless. The match proved to be unexpectedly straightforward thanks to the successful use of many of our tactical plays – typically, the forwards crashing through in the heart of attack, and the backs finishing off superbly in the corners. Woodbridge were stronger, faster and fitter on the day, and it paid off with a score of over 50 unopposed points by halfway. The second half allowed the less experienced players to get some game time, and it made for a much more evenly matched game thereafter. Meanwhile the weather ended as it started, with heavy rain, though with a silver lining to the clouds thanks to the convincing victory by 64-14 (tries by Tom, Mauricio, Ollie, James, Ruben and Jack). Roll on East Bergholt!
The under fifteens have continued their season with two spirited encounters. The first was against RGS Colchester: after another strong week of training, strategies were in place before the whistle, only for a slow start to lead to a converted try against us. Happily, a few clean breaks from numerous players got us back on our feet, and Jack finished the phase with a well-deserved try. Unfortunately Colchester then scored twice more through their strong and consistent forwards to secure the lead at half time. The start of the second half saw some fine individual performances from the likes of Tom B and Mauricio, and another try followed as John dived into the corner. But the physicality of the game began to show, and with substitutions for injury, Colchester eased away again before Woodbridge answered back with a lovely weighted kick from Barney for Mak to touch down under the posts. 19-35 the final score.
Next for the team was the national cup fixture against Ipswich. It was a shame that not all wounds had healed from the weekend, but our team gave their all in another physical and demanding match. The highlight came early in the first half when multiple strong carries by Jack W and others, led to John’s try – one for the whole team. Just before the break Mauricio then scored a very cheeky try in open play with a chip and chase, leaving the boys close enough to hope for more in the second half. Sadly it was not to be as Ipswich’s strength in depth proved decisive. Despite defeat, the team were immensely impressive: relentless tackling and hard work for the full 70 minutes, but Ipswich played their best game and they deserved the win. Special mentions go to Jack W, Kit and Barney who all had very strong games and refused give up or to allow Ipswich through.
Ten athletes from Years 6 – 8 travelled to Birmingham to compete in the National Prep Schools’ Athletics Championships, after gaining 1st or 2nd place at the Regional round at Bedford in June. To have ten athletes from one school representing the East team is a phenomenal achievement!
Better still, three of our athletes gained podium positions – truly phenomenal achievements: Fazil Akyol won the U13 High Jump with an amazing jump of 1.54m; Beau Barrington-Hibbert became the U13 discus champion with a huge throw of 25.85m; and Henry Dinwiddy showed extraordinary determination on the track to gain a bronze medal and third place in the 800m.
Close behind them, but not quite on the podium this year, Lexi Barrington-Hibbert and Tom Mitchell were both called up to represent the East team in the discus, and for their first major competition they performed exceptionally well against some tough competition; Tom Martin managed to secure a distance in his last throw in the javelin, but he was unlucky not to be called up for a 4th throw in the top 8 of the competition; and the U13 Relay team of Ada Marson, Maddie Buchanan, Libbie Brightey and Ruby Vinton ran a good race with slick changeovers, but unfortunately they were just outside of the qualifying time for the finals.
Many, many congratulations to all the athletes: they performed brilliantly on what was a fiercely hot day. Thank you also to Mr Graham and Mr Goddard for their coaching in preparation for the event and on the day, and to all the parents who came to support. Roll on next year!
Congratulations to Oliver Juszt who has just returned from completing a series win over Germany this weekend, playing for the England U18 Hockey team, this all despite still being an under sixteen! Indeed it was his string of exceptional performances as the number 1 shirt for the England U16 team over the season (against The Netherlands, Spain and Ireland to name but a few) that earned him this very unusual and prestigious call up to the more senior squad.
Next up for Oliver is a Test series with the England U16 team against Belgium, and the summer Six Nations event. We wish him the best of luck and great success in his career as an England international over the course of this summer and beyond.