Meltham, South Yorkshire was the idyllic setting for the forth round of the English Junior Fell Championships – West Nab Fell Race.  Buxton’s Will Longden taking part in his first season on the Fells is having an outstanding Championships adding to his trophy haul of a 3rd and a 2nd with his first win in the under 15 boys category!  This brings him closer to winning the overall series where he is currently in Silver medal position!

A fantastic turn out for Buxton meant another high scoring round with the team sitting just outside the team medals at 4th with their eye on the podium with only 2 races to go.  The Under 9 team of Jimmy Golden (15th boy), Hannah Cudahy (13th girl) and Lexi Tomlinson (14th girl) all had a great runs as did Rachel Cudahy and Molly Golden in the under 11 race coming 11th and 29th.  The under 13 race saw Sienna Miller and Grace Bond  making their championship debuts coming in a creditable 12th and 22nd positions, their seasoned team mates Grace Longden and Rebecca Cudahy came in 7th and 23rd.

Will was joined in the under 15 age category by newcomer Harry Bond who did the team proud in 17th position and Matt Schofield 18th – Matt turned out for the team despite being injured!  The girls team of Lucy Bednall and Lauren Wilshall both had great runs to come in 5th and 8th U15 girls.  Lucy currently sits in Bronze medal position and another strong performance should solidify her position on the podium.

In the under 17 race Sam Soles continues to improve his overall position with a second 4th position, he was chased in by team mates Stu and Ed Diamond who came in 8th and 17th – the boys all working together to put in an outstanding team performance.  Heather Wilshaw completed the team in the under 17 girls race where she put in another solid run to finish 18th.

The Buxton team have improved their position in each round with this one being their strongest performance yet narrowing the gap between them and the Bronze medal with only 6 points between them with 2 races to go! Buxton are competing with the best fell running clubs in the country many from areas in the Cumbria and Yorkshire where there is a strong tradition of fell and mountain running. 44 clubs have entered teams in the competition so a 4th position for Buxton is extraordinary in such a competitive field.

Photos: Will Longden (with permission from Frank Golden – photo 2)