Woodbridge Goes Through to National Cross Country Finals

Regional round of the English Schools Cross Country Cup  

Six Woodbridge School teams competed in the regional round of the English Schools Cross Country Cup which was held in Southend on Saturday 13 November.  It was an extremely exciting competition, with three of our teams qualifying and going through to the nationals due to be held 4 December in Newquay, Cornwall. 

Team results were as follows:   

The Junior girls finished an incredible 3^rd at their first ever regional event. Congratulations to Aurelia (Y8), Charlie (Y8), Eloise (Y8), Felicity (Y7), Romilly (Y7) and Sophie (Y7).   

Our senior girls won the regionals and congratulations go to Ruby (Y11), April (Y13), Amy (Y12) and Izzy (Y11) – with Ruby taking individual 1st and April 2nd.  

The senior boys team were also crowned regional champions with congratulations to Henry (Y11), Kit (Y13), Charlie (Y13), Jonny (Y11) and Obi (Y11) – with Henry coming in 1^st and Kit in 2^nd place.   

Our junior boys, inter girls and inter boys all came 10^th place celebrating the amazing achievement of competing at the regionals in great spirits.   

Cornwall will mark the fifth national cup final in succession for Woodbridge School cross country athletes, all of whom should be congratulated on their achievements. 

English National Cross Country Relays 

The English National Cross Country Relays took place in Mansfield on the weekend of 6 November, with Y11’s Henry a key member of the silver medal-winning team.  

Competing for his club, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, and competing against the very best cross country athletes in the country, Henry won the first leg and in doing so ran the fastest U17 leg of the day.  Henry is now the fourth student from Woodbridge to medal with the club at a national event in the last two years.   

Year 11’s Ruby was less fortunate in that her team had no runner for the final leg of their relay, however, she still ran the second fastest U17 leg of the day and would have finished third if she had run the first leg of the U20 women’s race – going to show just how fast the younger athletes were running.   

Shaftesbury’s U20 men’s team won gold, adding to the club’s national collection, with Kit (Y13) and Nathan (OW) competing for the second team.  Kit ran the second leg moving the team from 35^th to 26^th position, while Nathan ran the final leg taking the team from 26^th to a competitive 17^th.   

It was a similar experience for Year 13’s April, whose team finished 14^th in the U20 women’s race, running a brilliant leg to record the 9^th quickest U20 second leg of the day.   

The day was rounded off nicely with the Shaftesbury senior men’s team taking gold in the final race!