The Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships were held at Prestwold Hall, Loughborough this weekend. A staggering 10 Buxton AC Juniors earnt the right to represent their county having been selected at the County Cross County Championship earlier this year.
Youngsters from over 40 Counties from all over the Country took part with more than 2000 junior runners racing – representing the best cross country runners nationally.
First up were the under 17 women. Buxton had 2 athletes selected out of the 8 who qualified to represent Derbyshire. Ellie Wilson ran well to finish 129th overall and the 4th Derbyshire finisher while team mate Heather Wilshaw was 5th Derbyshire team member to finish coming in 233rd overall. The Derbyshire under 17 girls team finished a fantastic 13th overall.
Next up were the Under 15 boys teams where 2 Buxton AC boys qualified – Will Longden representing Derbyshire and Harry Bond representing Staffordshire. Will had an outstanding race to come in 88th overall and 3rd Derbyshire team member – the team came in 16th overall. Harry came in 247th and was the 5th Staffordshire finisher – the team coming in 38th overall.
The under 13 girls race saw Buxton’s Sienna Phillips running for Staffordshire come in as the 7th team counter in 212th overall – the Staffordshire team were 19th. Grace Longden represented the Derbyshire team that finished 28th, she was 291st overall.
The Under 17 men’s race saw Sam Soles having a great run to finish 4th Derbyshire counter and 157th overall. Team mate Stu Diamond was 5th Derbyshire finisher (195th overall), the Derbyshire team coming in 23rd overall. Last up for the juniors in the under 15 girls, were Buxton’s Lucy Bednall and Amy Whelan represented the Derbyshire team who finished in 29th team position. The girls put in strong performances to come 156th and 279th respectively.
A spokesperson for Buxton juniors said, “To qualify to represent one’s county is a considerable privilege and one that all athletes strive to achieve – that County vest is a highly sought after prize, well worth achieving! For a relatively small club, with limited resources Buxton AC is so proud to have 10 youngsters achieve this aim so far this season – that is truly phenomenal! As Caches, parents and Club members we are all supremely proud of these youngsters, who have stayed calm under pressure and represented their Counties to the absolute best of their abilities. This has been a great experience for them all and every one of them has put in 100% – we could not ask for more!”
Photo: Some of the Buxton AC Juniors who represented Derbyshire this weekend