Down District X-Country Championships
Congratulations to all the Strathearn athletes who competed in the Co Down District X-Country Championships on Wednesday 4th February. The girls were outstanding and brought home 4 out of 5 of the Co Down trophies with some exceptional individual and team performances.
The day started with the Mini girls race and our Form 1 girls got us off to a great start with Amelia Kane leading from the front and powered home well ahead of the field to win gold individually and helped the team to become Mini Champions with Eve McKibbin finishing 7th, Rebekah Burrows 9th, Jemima Thomas 14th, Emily Gault 15th and Tara Kerr 29th.
The Senior girls were next to take to the course and they finished in Bronze medal position with Emma Watson the first of the Strathearn girls to cross the line in 5th place, Anna Campbell was 11th, Amy Hepworth 16th , Chloe Johnston 19th, Lauren Brooker 20th and Amy Dutton 21st.
The Juniors were determined to continue their winning streak over the last 2 years and they did not disappoint! Olivia Nelson ran a magnificent race and sailed home full of running with nobody near her. The battle was happening further back for the next places with Erin McConnell and Sam McCormick fighting hard and finishing in 4th and 5th place respectively. Jessica Anderson-Bell was 12th, Zoe Hepworth 14th and Ruby Baxter 45th. The team were a massive 41 points ahead of the next school and were again crowned Co Down Champions for the 3rd successive year.
The Minor girls took on the challenge next and despite some illness in the team the others showed the meaning of team effort and worked very hard to keep the trophies coming our way. Aimee Stitt came home in bronze medal position with Harriet Platt and Grace Ruding not far behind her in 6th and 7th place respectively. Murphy Miller finished 14th, Freya Axten 23rd and Anna McKibbin 32nd. The team score was again better than any of the opposition and Strathearn added the Minor title to our list of wins.
The Intermediate team were the last girls’ race of the day and they had the challenge of running twice around the course to complete 3000m. Jessica Leeman led the Strathearn troops and finished in 3rd place with Sarah Brown narrowly beaten at the finish in 5th place, Alex Reilly was 17th, Kezia Beattie 30th, Jemima Mercer 36th and Georgina Gomes 45th. Again this team effort meant we finished first overall in the Intermediate age group.
So not a bad day’s work for the Strathearn X-Country teams and we are now looking forward to the Ulster Championships on Tuesday 24th February at Mallusk.
Well done girls!!!
(See Galleries for more photos)
