Co Down District Cross-Country Championships
Congratulations to all the Strathearn athletes who competed in the Co Down District Cross-Country Championships on Tuesday 6th February. There was a new venue again this year which meant travelling just across the road to Campbell College instead of our usual journey to Downpatrick and beyond! Our girls were outstanding and Strathearn had a clean sweep bringing home all 5 of the Co Down trophies with some exceptional individual and team performances. This is the 2nd year in a row we have done this and shows the strength and depth of talent we have here in Strathearn.
The day started with the Mini girls’ race and our Form 1s got us off to a great start with Bethany Johnston leading our team home finishing in 4th place just off the medals. Lucy Wills was hot on her heels in 6th place, then Maddie Haldane in 11th, Hannah Dadley-Young in 17th, Amy McClean 20th and Charlotte Moore 21st. These results combined ensured we were well ahead of all the other teams and were crowned overall Mini Champions.
Next up were the Minor girls and they have to have been the team of the day with no other team scoring anywhere near their points. Mabelle Wilcox powering home to claim individual gold, Emmy Thornton claiming individual bronze and Niamh Hatfield just missing out on a medal in 4th place. Alice Browne was 6th, Connie Hanna 8th and Ellie Gordon 13th.
The Junior girls took on the challenge next and the team worked very hard to keep the trophies coming our way. Lara Whitten finished just shy of the medals in 4th place, Freya Adams came home in 6th place, Martha Todd in 8th, Anna McKinty in 16th place, Faith Heyburn 18th and Amy Ellison 37th. The team score was again better than any of the opposition and Strathearn added the Junior title to our list of wins.
The Intermediate team had the challenge of running 2500m and we knew we had a strong team starting having some girls on this team trying to win their 4th and others their 5th successive Co Down title. But they still had to complete the race. Amelia Kane and Murphy Miller charged off from the start into the lead group, with Amelia leading the race from early on and pulling away from the others all the way round finishing 1st individually for the 4th successive year at these championships. Murphy came in 5th place, Freya Axten in 12th and along with Rhiannon Brady, Jemima Thomas and Aimee Stitt Strathearn finished well ahead of the other teams and brought home another Co Down trophy.
The Senior girls were the last team to take to the course and they put in a great team performance with Olivia Nelson the first of the Strathearn girls to cross the line in 2nd place, narrowly beaten by one of her former team mates Erin McConnell who unfortunately left us at the end of last year. But the other girls made sure we kept the trophies coming our way with Alex Reilly finishing 5th, Sophie Kenny 7th, Katie Wills 10th, Ruby Baxter 11th and Sam McCormick 20th. For some girls this is their 6th successive Co Down title, what a brilliant record!
So a fantastic day’s work for the Strathearn Cross-Country teams, and this time last year we said it would be hard to live up to in years to come, but you’ve done it again, well done!!!! Now we look forward to further success at the Ulster Championships on Wednesday 21st February at Mallusk.
Well done and GOOD LUCK girls!!!
