Junior Boys and Girls Through to National Finals

Woodhouse Grove pupils won both the Junior Girls’ and Junior Boys’ Races at the English Schools Cross Country Cup Regional round. These individual victories were supported by a determined team effort which saw both teams qualify for the National Finals.

Our Junior girls dominated the race with all five team members involved in the lead pack, before Maisey Bellwood powered ahead to win by more than 20 seconds.  The rest of the team battled hard, mostly with each other, and finished 10^th (Georgina Rayner), 11^th (Mabel Walker), 13^th (Eilidh Molloy) and 14^th (Grace Ross). The team were victorious, with their score of 35 points earning many compliments from other team managers. This performance bodes very well for the National Finals which, if the girls can push each other again, will hopefully make them medal contenders.

The Junior Boys’ team were missing two key runners but, in true Grovian spirit, faced their challenge head on.  Archie Peaker dominated the field, despite a slip in the first 200m, eventually winning by a comfortable 75 metres. Captain, Harry Bates, broke into the lead pack and worked hard for his 13^th place closely tracked by a focused Joey Hall in 15th and Cameron Bojas closing the team positions after a tough run in 48th. This fantastic effort, against the odds, gave the team third place by a handful of points, and a place in the National Finals.

The National Finals take place on Saturday 7^th December in Derbyshire and, with full squads from both teams, we should challenge for medals in the girls’ race and potentially top five for the boys.

This is a historic moment for the school and another example of Woodhouse Grove School competing on the National Stage in yet another sport.