Round three of the SYAL was hosted by Telford AC. The course conditions were very heavy and soggy meaning the athletes had to really work hard to get to the finish. We are very proud of each and every one of our athletes who persevered in the tough conditions.
With a big bug going around the schools, we’re were short of many of our stars across most of the age groups. So the few that we did have had to really dig in to maximise our points.
First up was the U11 girls race. This was over 1.5k and turned out to be a great race. Norah K led most of the race with Georgie Rae H close behind. Norah pulled away before being caught right at the end and they had a great sprint finish with Norah winning by inches with Georgie Mae in 2nd. We also had some great runs from Lucy D in 7th, Annabel H in 8th and Freya L in her first race battling to finish in 13th.
Next up our U11 boys team served it up to the competition against a very strong Wrekin team. Our boys stuck to their task and we had some great performances. Lucas R added another 3rd to his tally and he is now almost certain to get an individual medal. Further amazing performances from Riley G in 6th, Owen R 14th, Harry C 15th, Alexander R 16th, Jack S 19th and Max W in 20th ensured we came second on the day.
With the course now fully shredded up the combined U15/U17G race took place. In the U15 race Megan B was able to stay strong to the finish and come home in 2nd just ahead of Emma Jayne C who was 3rd and Emilia H in 10th for another great display in this age group.
In the U17 race our multi event competitor Elle W was next up and even though out of her comfort zone was able to perform really well finishing in 3rd.
The penultimate race of the day was the U15/17B race. In the U15 boys race Fin T was our only runner. Fin stuck on well in really tough conditions enabling him to finish in 7th.
In the U17 boys race we had a very strong team. Adam B was having a meeting with his co-runners for the first 2k before he put the peddle down and was able to close down on the leader and blast away for victory. It’s good to see Adam running in his final year in the SYAL as he’s been with the club competing in SYAL since his U11 days. Next up was Joe F in 3rd, Sam T in 5th,Toby A 8th and Josh M 9th.
Last up was the combined U13 boys and girls race. The start line was very narrow causing a little bit of a chaotic start. In the U13G race Libby C powered to victory pulling away from the rest of the girls. Next up was Selina V who finished in 3rd leaving her with a chance of an individual medal if she does well at the last event. Lucy H was next in 5th, Amelie W 6th, Evelyn H 7th and Eva W in 9th.
In the U13B race Oscar A pulled clear from half way to win his race with Logan W in arguably the performance of the day passing runners all the way to the line to finish in 2nd. Josh T ran a great race in 8th and Thomas Lay who was under the weather came him in 9th in a great and gritty performance.
This is means Shrewsbury are currently in a commanding position to win the overall trophy again and defend our title when the clubs compete in the final event at Oswestry in two weeks.
We would like to thank Telford AC and their volunteers for setting up the event as well as the event organisers and marshals/referees and finally the parents that helped out with tokens our tent set up/take down.
Report and pics courtesy of Jamie Adams
