Somersfield Runners Shine at BSSF Middle School Cross Country Championship
Thursday, February 6—It was another glorious day of sunshine at the arboretum for the BSSF middle school cross country championship. To begin the afternoon the students walked a lap of the course and discussed strategies of how to best tackle the very hilly three lap race.
The U13 girls started off proceedings. Reid Kempe memorial champion Evelyn Fahy and team captain Elena Bortoli led the team with 3rd and 4th place finishes respectively. The rest of the team of Kate Pursell, Aniah Tucker, Della Masters, Sophie Farrer, Anna Green and Freida Valli all ran well.
The U13 boys put on the best team performance of the day, picking up the bronze medal as a team. Cairo Burgess and Shiloh Stevens led the charge with captain Riley Maybury, Syah Pedro, Hayes Ingham, Gus Davis, Mason Smith and James Wallace all having strong runs.
The O13 girls showed a lot of grit as none of them train specifically for running. All-star footballer Mia DaPonte led the team, followed by Zarah Fahy, Zoei Burgess, McKenna Redcliffe and Yhari Goater-Jones. We are proud of them for representing Somersfield in a sport that is out of their comfort zone.
The team with the most determination and team spirit on the day was the O13 boys who were determined to get a medal again after their bronze in U13 last year. Captain Caelan Cabral had an excellent run placing 6th overall, a two place improvement on last year. Jarred Jones was also in the top 10, with Rayyan Haffar in the top 20. Justin Francis, John Fontanetta and Djibril Aw all gave it everything they had. Unfortunately, they missed out on a medal by just 4 points and a silver by just 7 points. I am sure they will be back with a vengeance on the U16 team next year.
Thank you to all of the parents who came to support, especially running club coach Vivienne Lochhead.
