Burghley House Stamford 20th January 2018
Louth Athletic Club had 14 athletes representing Coast and Wolds District at the schools County Championships held in the scenic grounds of Burghley House. All had qualified to run in this event through their fine performances at the District event held at Hubbards Hills.
It was a fine crisp winter day, ideal for running, not too cold and very little wind and our athletes did not disappoint over the undulating parkland course.
In the junior girls event (years 8/9) Evie Brooks continued her fine form finishing an excellent 7th, closely followed by Freya Plaskitt in 12th. These performances earned both girls selection to represent Lincolnshire at the prestigious Anglian Schools Championships.
Next up was the Intermediate Girls (years 10/11) Over the 4K course Hannah Reid consolidated her district win by finishing an outstanding 5th. A performance which showed that she is at last putting her injury issues of last year behind her. Not only has Hannah gained a team position for the Anglians but has gained automatic Lincolnshire selection for the English Schools Championships. Another outstanding performance in this race came from Issy Dhami in 12th place who also gained Anglian Championship selection. Newcomers to the club Megan Forman 36th and Tilly Mossop 38th had strong runs and will benefit enormously from the experience.
In the boys races Declan Templeton finished a credible 14th in a large field in the Year 7 race. In the Junior boys (Years 8/9) Matthew Spendlove continues to grow in stature, he had an outstanding race finishing 6th gaining automatic selection for Lincolnshire at the English Schools Championships as well as the Anglian Championships. Taran Dhami finished 25th after being very badly baulked in a rather chaotic start to the race.
The Intermediate boys (Years 10/11) saw several very good performances from club athletes. Jevon George-Jones managed to put recent injury problems behind him to finish a brilliant 6th, he was closely followed by Jayden Daniels in 9th and Lloyd Buck in 10th. All three boys qualified to represent Lincolnshire at the Anglian Championships with Jevon also qualifying for automatic selection to the English Schools. Unfortunately one of the clubs strongest athletes, Caleb Stephenson suffered a recurrence of a muscle injury midway through the race forcing him to ease back on his pace finishing in 20th position. Well done on completing the course. We wish Caleb a speedy recovery.
With 8 athletes gaining selection for the Lincolnshire Team to compete at the Anglian Schools Championships and Hannah, Matthew and Jevon all being rewarded with automatic selection for the English Schools Championships, this was an outstanding day for Louth Athletic Club’s junior athletes.