English Schools Cross Country Championships 2026 – England Vest for Year 9’s Dex
It was another great day for Suffolk Schools on a national level last Saturday, with nine Woodbridge School athletes competing on the Suffolk team, facing tough competition from major counties across England. Up to 44 county teams fielded their best eight runners in each race. With some fantastic result to report back with, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our runners, not only in this prestigious event, but for all their achievements this winter as this now marks the end of our Cross Country season at Woodbridge School. Wishing everyone good luck for their coming track season, in the meantime our report from last Saturday is below.
Inter Girls, Years 9 and 10
The Inter Girls race went off first and Suffolk were 29th team, with the first girl for the team coming 71st individually. Year 11’s Romilly, placed 145th overall and 3rd for her county.
Junior Boys, Years 8 and 9
The Junior Boys were next up, where Year 9’s Dex battled it out for a top 10 finish. To put the actual battle in context, the 7th, 8th, and 9th positions crossed the line clocking the same gun time, one dipping in front of the other. Dex earned a superb 7th position which qualifies him to run for England in the SIAB Home International in Bangor, Wales, this Saturday. This is not only an outstanding achievement but also makes Dex only the third Woodbridge School athlete to achieve this representation and the only Suffolk athlete of any age now in the England team. The team, which included five Suffolk Junior Boys in the top 50 overall, also secured a Silver national team medal.
Junior Girls, Years 8 and 9
The Junior Girls followed, getting a brilliant start in their race. Year 8’s Chloe placed 30th, first for Suffolk. Chloe, who is a year younger in this age group, was a mere 25 seconds off 10th position which would have secured her England selection. This is certainly something for her to consider for future English Schools’ races. Second Suffolk team member placed 31st. Year 9’s India J was 3rd home for her county in 74th place. Year 9’s Ella was 4th home for the team in 76th, and Year 9’s Alexandra placed 92nd and 7th home for Suffolk. These top 100 finishes are phenomenal and helped the Junior Girls’ team secure 5th position overall.
Inter Boys, Years 9 and 10
The Inter Boys were the fourth race of the day and over their fast paced 4.5km course, Suffolk came 34th team, with Year 10’s Hamish 124th and Year 10’s Digby 222nd – 2nd and 4th home for their team.
Senior Girls, Years 11,12 and 13
Although Woodbridge School had no Senior Girls running, Suffolk was 20th team overall with two in the top 30 finishers.
Senior Boys, Years 11,12 and 13
And the grand finale would be in the last race of the day where Suffolk’s Senior Boys took to the stage, packing six athletes in the top 50! Year 13’s Angus was 164th and was part of the team that took home team gold and The Wigan Cup. A truly magnificent result for this Suffolk team, many of whom train together regularly. What a great way to end the last English Schools cross country journey for some of these, including Angus. Wishing you all the best with your onwards journey in running.
Lastly, we are extremely proud to wish Dex good luck this weekend in his race in Bangor, running for England. Enjoy the fantastic experience!
Top class results don’t come from nothing, it is relentless work year in year out with careful planning and training, never faltering through adverse conditions or dark winter morning training runs.
“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, self-discipline, and effort.”
Jesse Owens
