The Salford Cross Country League was launched this weekend with the first in a series of three races taking place at Buile Hill Park. The first race was the U9 boys and things did not look good for Bridgewater, as no participants had ventured out to run. Fortunately, Jensen from Prep II, who was there to support his brother Harrison, stepped forward to run for the team. It was a fantastic achievement for Jensen to run and he came home in 90th place out of 130 older boys. Well done Jensen and thank you for your commitment and enthusiasm.
In the second race, the U9 girls had more entries, with Maya, Lottie and Lucy turning out for Bridgewater. Maya ran very well to finish in 35th with Lucy (52) and Lottie (99) less than thirty seconds behind. The girls should take encouragement from their run and hopefully take this into the next race in a fortnight.
With the U11 races approaching the start, it was a relief to see 14 Prep V and VI runners on the starting line. The U11 boys had an impressive eight runners, including Sebastion, Luca and Thomas running for the third year in a row, with Tobias, Harrison and Chun-Ka for the second year. It was also a delight to see debutants Moaed and Kian present to compete for Bridgewater. It will be interesting to find out where the U11 boys team finished overall as our first three runners almost crossed the line together. Luca received a certificate for finishing in 20th, with Thomas (21), Tobias (24), Moaed (31) and Sebastian (38) all in close proximity. Chun-Ka showed much improvement from last year to finish in 72nd, whilst Harrison (57) and Kian (67) added to what was a terrific team performance from the boys.
In the final race of the day, we achieved our best individual performance of the day from seasoned Salford Cross Country runner and Prep Deputy Head Girl, Yasmeen. A fabulous run saw Yasmeen finish in an impressive 14th place, followed moments later by Anya and Evie. All three girls are in their third year of running in the event for school and their progress is clear to see. Sisters Chloe (57) and Mia (53) also ran extremely well…. not quite identical, but not far off! A special mention should go to Alia who found it tough going but did not quit and showed outstanding determination and commitment to complete the course.
The event is a unique and wonderful experience for runners and families alike. It is a very enjoyable and rewarding experience and it would be amazing to see even more Bridgewater students and runners at the next event at Bolton Road on Saturday 30th November. I for one am already looking forward to seeing our youngsters back in action. Well done to everyone today!