Tamworth Athletic Club

The youngsters of Tamworth AC took part in the second fixture. This was part of the West Midland Young Athletes Cross Country League 2024/25 season. This event took place in the grounds of Newbold Revel Prison Training College near Rugby.

For the Under-17 Women, Jessica Salt improved on her last result, taking 14th place. Evie Caffrey finished with a better result this time, taking 28th place. Holly Preston also improved, securing 34th place. These performances pushed the team up to 6th place in the category standings for the season.

The Under-11 Boys were next. Malachi Smith had another strong run and crossed the line in 9th place. He is making an early push for the end of season medals. Keion Stevens made his first appearance of the season to finish in 96th place.

For the Under-17 Men, Zac Edwards battled around the course, finishing in 43rd place. Joshua Iddon followed him, finishing 70th.

The Under-11 Girls race saw debutante Darcey Wileman impress with a remarkable 7th place finish. Phoebe Beatrix Dyson did even better than last time out, breaking into the top 20 for 19th place. Summer Bisel was all smiles as she finished in 76th. Peppi-Rose Sweet put in a brave performance to finish in 98th place.

Another athlete to score a first top 20 finish was Anthony Tolley, finishing 18th in the Under-15 Boys event. He was followed by teammate William Upton in 35th place.

Next in the Under-13 Girls race, another Tamworth debutante impressed. Charlotte Brian led the charge to take 22nd place. Freya Armitage had another good run, finishing in 30th place, followed by Robyn Edwards in 40th place. Lacey Eaton completed the scoring for Tamworth in 58th place. Annabelle Hill finished in 61st, and Frankie Smith followed closely in 63rd. In the category standings, the girls sit firmly in the top half in 7th place.

Henry Rogers ran solo for Tamworth in the Under-13 Boys race and finished in 79th place.

A full team of five for Tamworth in the Under-15 Girls event was led home by Lucy Hornby in 52nd place. Next was Evie Edmead in 59th followed by Jessica Baines in 69th place. Annie Mulvey and Savannah Short ended the day, coming in with 75th and 76th place respectively. In the category standing, the girls sit in 10th place after two fixtures. They helped Tamworth gain a place in the overall standings to 9th. The last fixture before the New Year is at Pingles Stadium, Nuneaton, on Sunday 8th December.

Team Manager, Ben Evans said “We saw some brilliant debut performances today and a lot of our athletes make impressive improvements on last time. But every one of them had their own personal battle and they all did themselves and the club incredibly proud.

It’s still early days, but standing 9th in a league as strong as this is amazing, and we haven’t been in this position for a while.”