North Yorkshire Primary Schools – Cross Country Finals
Settle Harriers Juniors at Dalby, The Great Yorkshire Forest!
North Yorkshire Primary School XCountry Finals
Tuesday 5th November
Wow, what a day! Our junior harriers did themselves proud and were a credit to their schools and their club today. Despite the horizontal rain and mud, glorious mud, the runners showed great determination and resilience to complete the challenging courses.
Robert got the running off to a cracking start in the Year 3 Boy’s race and kept battling right through to the line. These are tough, fast races and due to a bottleneck after about 300m, it’s a particularly fast (sprint!) start. Awesome running Robert, 19th!
The harriers were next represented in the Year 4 Boys race by Carl and Ben. They stormed round the course together and reappeared on the race field just one place apart. The final part of the course took the runners off the forest track and back onto a muddy field with a gradual incline to the finish. It looked like an energy-sapping end to the race but the boys pushed on to the finish line in 18th (Carl) and 22nd (Ben); fantastic running. Francesca was our Year 4 Girls runner and she ran like the wind, with a fast start, a very strong finish and a brilliant 23rd place. Our runners really were storming round and there was such a great atmosphere that we were beginning to almost forget the rain!
Connie, now in year 7 and having been to Dalby for the previous 3 years, had an important role to play in the Inclusion Race as a buddy for Hance. They came in 7th place and there were an impressive 10 runners from the Craven District in that race. Well done to both of them. The programme then included a ‘Lunch Break’, aka another 20 minutes of getting very soggy and chilly! After the break it was the Year 5 Boys with Mack in his first run at Dalby. He got himself into a great position heading into the forest and hung on for 9th place. Well done Mack!
The Year 6 squad of Finn, Lucas, Lucy and Lily ran magnificently and were fantastic to watch. They all set off hard and paced themselves well around the longer course. Lucas placed 20th, Finn 38th, Lucy with an unbelievable sprint finish was 7th and I’m sure Lily was smiling as she crossed the line in 23rd. Super impressive stuff. Their positive attitudes and great sportsmanship were also apparent in their support for fellow competitors throughout the day. They brought to a close a really terrific day of sporting participation, achievement and enjoyment. Hot chocolates all round and we set off back on our 100-mile return journey. Well worth it and WELL DONE to you all.
Jess Bagnall
