Met League CC, Alexandra Palace: Young Athletes
With the majority of our juniors representing their districts at the Essex Schools Championships in Chelmsford, those that were free to run at Alexandra Palace were hard placed to continue our good run of results in the Met’ League and inevitably we slipped from first place in each of the age groups that we led. However the enforced absentees allowed the limelight to shine elsewhere, Rosie Poole and Lauren Freemen being the chief beneficiaries. All the junior age groups avoided racing on the steep hill in front of the Palace, staying instead on the relative flat of the old horse racing course and the open area at the foot of the hill. For those who raced at Hadleigh the previous week, it was a welcome reprieve despite the soggy underfoot conditions.
Our first runner home was U13B Canaan Solomon, who continued his good run of results with another 2nd place, 9 seconds behind Herts Phoenix’s Jamie Dee who also won at Trent Park. Harry Cavell (26th) and new member Taylor Reece (28th) were our other representatives. We did however have better representation in the U13G event. Here Rosie Poole had a fine race for 4th place, quietly agreeing afterwards that she had run well. Jodie Ratcliff, 23 seconds back in 9th, finished well despite being troubled in the latter stages after turning an ankle in a deeper than expected puddle. New signing Aoife Guyatt (18th) seemed to thrive in the conditions and looked delighted afterwards with her first outing. Saffron Earl (20th) closed the team with Katherine Myers (21st) and Niamh Bartlett (23rd) following her home.
In the U15/17W race Lauren Freeman (14th) showed that she had recovered from the illness that kept her from running at Hadleigh and showed great determination to get amongst a group of six finishers in a tight sprint for the line. Holly Bedeau, short of training and race practice, was pleased to get round for 21st, whilst Billie Bradley battled hard for 27th and looked like she had benefitted from racing at Hadleigh.
As all our U15/17Ms were racing at Chelmsford, there were no green and white hoops to be seen in this event and as a consequence our league position suffered and we dropped from first to fifth. We have also dropped to 2nd place in both U13 leagues and to 3rd in the U17W table. With one remaining fixture to go (Horsenden Hill on 12th February), we will need to maximise our turnout to make up the lost ground.