Tamworth Athletic Club

Storm Darragh gave way to good running conditions for the junior athletes of Tamworth AC at Nuneaton for their third fixture in this season’s West Midland Young Athletes Cross Country League.

Although fielding a rather depleted team this month, there was no shortage of enthusiasm and some great individual performances from the Tamworth youngsters.

In the opening Under-17 Women’s race, Jessica Salt put in her best performance of the season so far, finishing in 10th place. Evie Caffrey also delivered a season’s best to take 22nd place. In the category standings, they hold an excellent 7th place going into the New Year.

Felix Farmer returned to lead the Tamworth line for the Under-11 Boys, finishing in 44th place, followed by Thomas Flanagan in 52nd.
Regular, Zac Edwards was up next as the only Tamworth runner in the Under-17 Mens race and he competed well to take 35th place.
Darcey Wileman ran an exceptional solo race for the Under-11 Girls, building on her debut run last month and charging through the finish line in 3rd place.

On to the Under-15 Boys and Alex Harwood recovered well from losing his footing on a particularly tricky part of the course to come home in 16th place. William Upton made his way round the course to finish in 53rd.

For the Under-13 Girls, Freya Armitage and Robyn Edwards both put in season best runs, with very little between them as they claimed 12th and 13th place respectively. Frankie Smith was next in 45th place, followed closely by Lacey Eaton in 48th. The girls sit comfortably in 8th place in the category standings for the season.
Henry Rogers again ran alone again for Tamworth in the Under-13 Boys event and finished in 69th place.

Finally for the Under-15 Girls, Florence Mayne delivered a strong debut performance to take 33rd place. Lucy Hornby and Evie Edmead came next in 51st and 52nd places, closely followed by Annie Mulvey in 58th. The girls are currently in 11th place in the overall category standings.

Despite the valiant efforts of the team, the reduced numbers inevitably pulled Tamworth AC down a place to 10th in the overall club table with two fixtures to go in January and February.
Team Manager, Ben Evans said “It’s a shame to have lost a few athletes this time out, but everybody who ran gave it their all and to still be in 10th place is a credit to them in a club of our size. The New Year always brings an intense schedule of cross country racing, with the league and championships so hopefully we’ll see more of our athletes back in action after the Christmas break.”

Photos clockwise: Darcey Wileman (U11 Girls); Florence Mayne (Under-15 Girls), Under-11 Boys (l-r): Thomas Flanagan, Felix Farmer; Under-17 Women (l-r): Jessica Salt, Evie Caffrey; Under-13 Girls (l-r): Lacey Eaton, Robyn Edwards, Freya Armitage, Frankie Smith

Ben Evans