From Jason Wall (Lead Juniors Coach)
Firstly, well done to all of the team who ran in the final Harriers League fixture of the season at Alnwick on Saturday.
U11 Boys
Fantastic running from Flynn Cook (37th) and Euan McKinnon (43rd). Both will stay in the Under 11s next year.
U11 Girls
An amazing debut run from Robyn Jardine in 28th place. Obvious potential from the first race and one to watch for the future. Again, Robyn will stay in the Under 11s next year.
U13 Boys
A full squad of 5 out for the last race of the season. Alex Smith led the line in 7th place (5th fastest) followed by Joseph Brown (11th and 8th fastest) and Alex Parkin (20th and 15th fastest) making up our three counters. Jake and Finlay Smith (28th and 32nd respectively) pushed other vests back down the order and all of the team were in the top 25 places on time. The team were 3rd placed team on the day beating eventual league champions Blaydon for the second successive event – Alex Parkin made the decisive move down the hill to push past a Blaydon vest and make the difference. The team ended the season 4th in the league only 2 points off second place. Congratulations to Alex Smith who finished the season 3rd overall in the Individual Grand Prix and to Alex Parkin, 13th in his debut season. Alex Parkin will stay in the Under 13s next season with everyone else moving to the Under 15s.
U13 Girls
Again, a full squad of 5 for the final fixture with counters Leila Burden (24th), Emily Daglish (26th) and Hannah Baqir (38th) closely followed by Freya McKinnon (42nd) and Olivia Daglish (43rd). The team finished the season with their best team result of the season in 7th place pushing Elswick down into 8th in a very close contest. The team finished 12th in the division. All of the team will move to the Under 15s next time.
U17 Girls
Rosie Swatman ended the season with 17th place in the very tough Under 17s category. Rosie will move into the Under 20s next season.
U15 Girls
Slightly out of order, however, I’m sure you will agree very appropriate that we leave this category until last.
Mary Parkin finished the season with 4th place and 2nd fastest on the day at Alnwick. At the start of the day, the Harrier League Individual Grand Prix was very tight with only 3 points separating the top 3 and Mary in 3rd. We are very pleased and extremely proud to report that Mary overturned the 3-point deficit and finished the season 1st place in the Individual Grand Prix and is the Under 15 Girls Harriers League Individual Champion for the season. A fantastic achievement for Mary to round off a great Harrier League season for the whole team. Mary will remain in the Under 15s next season.
Finally, on the matter of the Harrier League, we need to mention that: Emily Daglish; Olivia Daglish; Freya McKinnon; Alex Parkin and Mary Parkin all represented the club in every Harrier League fixtures this season. Well done to all of you.
