The ESSA English Schools’ Track and Field Cup took place at West Suffolk Arena in Bury St Edmunds over two parallel days recently, with qualifying schools each attending one of the days, Woodbridge competing on the second of them alongside another ten schools. With girls’ teams of thirteen (juniors consisting of our best Year 7 and 8 athletes, and intermediate of Years 9 and 10) and boys’ teams of fifteen, everyone was kept busy, each competitor entering two events, with points awarded according to distances and times.
The top four teams over the two days qualify for the regionals. Our junior girls’ team came 1st with 333 points (the best the day before was way off with 266); our intermediate girls’ team came 1st with an extraordinary 379 points which sets the bar impressively high for the regional finals; the junior boys’ team completed a stunning hat trick, winning in their turn on a score of 329, ten clear of second and even further ahead of the best from the day before; and the intermediate boys, frustratingly one man down on the day, came a very creditable 6th on 264. Wow.
Individually there were some outstanding contributions, notably Amy Graham scoring 48 points from her events of 800m and javelin, sister Sophie Graham going one better to score 49 in hurdles and Javelin, Nathaniel Gun scoring 40 points in 200m and discus, and Oscar Butcher 36 points in 200m and triple jump, but of course the success of the team comes down to consistent high performance from all – and so the congratulations do indeed go to everyone for a brilliant day.
