The Shropshire Schools Cross Country Championships took place at Oswestry School on Saturday 1st February in cold, windy conditions that tested the grit and determination of all competitors. Held on the school’s challenging fields, the event brought together athletes from across the county, competing in four age categories: Year 7, Junior (Years 8 & 9), Intermediate (Years 10 & 11), and Senior (Years 12 & 13). Athletes in this event compete for their school and not the club, so I do apologise if I have missed any runners out in the report and please feel free to tag/name them in the post.

For the Junior, Intermediate, and Senior races, the stakes were high, as these races served as qualifiers for the prestigious English Schools Cross Country Championship, set to take place in West Sussex on March 15th. With qualification spots for the top 5 finishers on the line, each race saw fierce competition, with athletes pushing through the tough, windy conditions in their bid to secure a place on the county team.

YR 7 Girls

It was a win for Roni in this race. A gun to tape win and gradually increasing the gap over the rest throughout the race. Grabbing 3rd place on the podium was Selina in another strong run. Also running in the race and doing well was Lucy (4th) Arya (6th) Eva (8th) and Grace (9th) out of the 37 competitors.

YR 7 Boys

Logan was our only runner (I believe) in this race and he bagged himself a 3rd place finish in what is proving to be a great season for him on the grass.

YR 8&9 Girls

Libby YR 8 won this race in a brilliant performance. She was on the shoulder of the leader for the first half of the race before dominating the last half pulling clear. Emma-Jayne was next home also finishing on the podium in 3rd, with Megan next in 4th, Amelie YR 8- 7th and Zara YR 8 - 26th.

YR 8&9 Boys

This race was another race stacked with talent. Oscar YR 8 came 2nd behind one of the top YR 9 talents in the UK. Next up in 7th was Charlie YR 8 who showed a return to good form, Dexter in 8th and Archie YR 8 in 14th. Very impressive considering Archie is a sprinter.

YR 10&11 Girls

Chloe (YR 10) continued her domination on the local scene with a commanding win in this race with Elsa in 2nd and Olivia (YR 10) in 10th.

YR 10&11 Boys

Tom (YR 10) was first home for us in this race in 11th closely followed by Sam in 12th one second behind with Toby in 22nd.

YR 12&13 Girls

Beth (YR12) was our only runner in this category and she managed to come home in 2nd.

YR 12&13 Boys

Joe won this race in a closely fought finish with Adam in 2nd and Zac in 3rd for a SAC podium clean sweep. Next up was Alex in 5th in a race dominated by our athletes.

Apologies if any have been missed off the list as it’s been tough trying to locate some of our athletes from the results page

A huge thank you to all the organisers, officials, and helpers who made the cross-country event such a success. Your hard work and dedication were evident in every detail, from smooth registration to flawless timing and event management. The day ran seamlessly, and that’s all thanks to your commitment and teamwork. We truly appreciate everything you did to ensure a great experience for all participants.

Thanks to Jamie Adams for the Race Report and pics. More pics in the gallery.