This season is proving very successful for the girls and already they have won 3 individual medals and 3 team medals. A total of seventeen girls have run for Brighton and Hove. It has been fantastic to see a mass of red and black vests on the start line for the under 13s with seven or eight runners in each league race and a record number of ten under 13s at the County Championships.
The girls who have run for the club are Carmen Adjare,, Amber Anning, Kate Blencowe, Ellen Carrick, Georgia Coleshill, Elizabeth Duran, Aneira Farrar-Daniel, Grace Fitzpatrick, Isabel Jones, Nancy Jones, Alice O’Kane, Scarlett Springett, Ella Witt, Martha Coyle, Esther Lutz Davis, Steffi Paraskevas and Emma Dixon.
The girls have all produced great performances and also impress with their great enthusiasm and team spirit. Well done to all the girls, great results from everyone. Our thanks go to John, Peter and Steve for giving up their time to train them.
Sussex County Cross Country Championship at Stanmer Park – 8th January
The girls found the very hilly course hard but all rose to the challenge. In the under 13s Nancy won the individual bronze medal, while the team of Nancy, Amber and Scarlett won the silver medal. The results were Nancy 3rd, Amber 8th, Scarlett 13th, Isobel 17th, Ellen 19th, Alice 23rd, Aneira 29th, Elizabeth 30th, and Carmen 41st. This year our under 15 team has been reduced to just 3 girls. They all ran exceptionally well and make an impressive team. Martha won individual bronze medal in the under 15s and the team of Martha (3rd), Esther (10th) and Steffi (12th) won the silver medal. In the under 17s there was a well deserved gold medal for Emma who was running her first race after being out of athletics for 4 years with a knee injury.
Cross Country County Relays – Goodwood 1st October
In the relays the first team of Ellen, Ella and Nancy gained a bronze medal, while our second team of Carmen, Georgia and Isobel came 11th. Well done to all of the girls especially as the conditions were extremely difficult for distance running – no not the mud, rain and cold but the heat! The temperature reached 23 degrees and instead of covering up with jumpers or coats we were applying suncream! The trees, usually used to protect us from the rain, were used to provide shade from the heat of the sun.
Cross Country League Races
At Goodwood in October there was an outstanding performance by Nancy who came 3rd in the under 13s. There were great runs from the rest of the team with Ella 14th, Ellen 17th, Isobel 24th, Grace 25th, Aneira 34th, Kate 36th and Carmen 40th. Our teams finished 3rd, 7th and 17th. In the under 15s the first Brighton and Hove runner was Martha, still in her first year of the age group, who was 3rd after a fantastic battle with the 4th place runner. Martha put in a final burst to beat her by 2 seconds showing outstanding effort and determination. Ester was the next Brighton runner, Esther put a spirited fight but was just beaten into 9th place by the Chichester runner although both athletes had exactly the same time. Steffi came in 13th which in a field of 31 runners is another great performance. Overall the team was 3rd.
Plumpton provided it usual challenge for the second league match and although apparently a flattish course all the girls found the muddy conditions under foot made it a very difficult course. In the under 13s again we had eight girls on the start line, more than any other club. Nancy was the first runner back in 3rd place followed by Ella in 8th, Ellen in 21st, Scarlet in 27th, Isobel 28th, Alice 29th and Carmen 37th. The teams were 3rd, 9th and 16th. In the under 15s the Martha was first Brighton runner in 4th position, with Esther 11th and Steff 15th. The team were 2nd.
In League Race 3 at Bexhill in January eleven athletes turned out, despite this being their third race in just seven days. In the under 13s Nancy gave a stunning performance and led the race from start to finish. The other runners all improved on previous performances with Ella 8th, Scarlett 13th, Ellen 15th, Isabel 23rd, Alice 26th and Carmen 30th. The Brighton teams were 2nd and 7th but are in 2nd and 6th place overall with one more league match to go. In the under 15s Martha was 4th, Esther 9th and Steffi 11th. The team were 2nd and are currently in 3rd place overall in the league. In the under 17s Emma gave another brilliant performance and was the second under 17, 6th over all in the women’s race and was first home for the Brighton and Hove women’s team.
Other races
In the Haywards Heath Gallop in October Amber was the winner in the under 11s race. In the Phoenix Races at Preston Park in October Amber was again the winner in the under 11 age group, while in the Under 13s the Brighton and Hove team were second with Nancy 3rd, Ella 5th , Grace 7th , Carmen 20th and Georgia 22nd. In Brighton Schools races at Waterhall Year 7 Georgia 9th, Carmen 14th; in Year 8 and 9s Martha 1st, Nancy 2nd, Ella 3rd, Isabel 5th, Aneira 6th, Scarlett 7th, Ellen 9th, Grace 11th, Alice 18th; in Year 10 and 11 Esther 1st, Steffi 2nd, Holly Turner 6th