CROSS COUNTRY: County gold rush
3:50pm Thursday 9th February 2012 in Sport
MARSHFIELD’S Loren Bleaken stormed tovictory in the intermediate girls race in the South West Schools’ Cross Country Championships at Exeter, on a superb day for Wiltshire’s athletes, writes KEVIN FAHEY.
Hardenhuish School student Bleaken was a class apart, the 16-year-old avenging her defeat at the hands of Cornwall’s Issy Steele last year.
“I was really happy with that,” said Bleaken. “Issy beat me last year so I was really looking to win it this time and I went off hard from the start and just kept on going.”
She finished 14 seconds clear of Steele for her fourth South West Schools’ title having lifted the junior girls’ crown in 2010 and 2009and the minor girls’ prize in 2008.
Superb victories for Winsley’s Alex Carter (intermediate boys) and Rob Howorth (junior boys), also coached at Team Bath AC by Adrian Clover, made it a fine day for the county.
In addition to the three golds Wiltshire athletes also picked up a silver and three bronze medals to put the county top of the medal chart overall with seven, two clear of Devon and three in front of Somerset with Avon, Cornwall, Dorset and Gloucestershire trailing well behind.
The sole silver was won by Sheldon School’s Alex Stainthorpe, easily the 18-year-old’s best result in the event.
She can now look forward to leading the Wiltshire team at the English Schools’ Championships next month.
Howorth’s twin brother John was third in the minor boys while Sheldon School’s Gemma Shephard was third in the junior girls’ race and Ridgeway School’s Callum Bampton third in the junior boys’ age group.
The county also won a team gold in the inter girls’ age group with Bleaken well supported by Lilly Bellamy, John Bentley’s Madeleine Perrins, Corsham School’s Kirsty Stanley, Ridgeway’s Carla Huynh and Godolphin’s Phoebe Rochford.
