THE 2022-23 Essex Cross Country season concluded at Hainault Country Park, on Saturday. It ended with both team and individual success for Harlow AC, ending a thirty year wait for major honours in the discipline.

On the day itself, Harlow fielded full teams at Under 13 Boys, U15 Boys and Under 15 Girls. There was also individual representation in the Under 13 Girls for two athletes. Ruby Johnston was thirteenth, and Ciara Dobson was twenty-second in the Under 13 Girl’s race.

The Under 13 Boys team was third on the day and the most notable individual performance came from George Watkins, who was first. Watkins ended his Essex League season undefeated and individual champion for the age group.

He was assisted on the day by Ben Tucker, Sachin Yoshitake-Thatcher, Adam Cox, and Max Tucker. Ben was twentieth, with the trio of Yoshitake-Thatcher, Cox, and Max Tucker finishing in twenty-third to twenty-fifth positions respectively.

The Under 15 Boys team was fifth on the day. Highest placed finisher was Manny Richards, who was sixteenth. Next home for Harlow, in eighteenth place, was Conor McEwan. He was followed by Hayden Garrett, two places further back in twentieth. And in a mirror of the U13 Boys, Daniel Hundley, Sonnie Mowatt and Kamal Rickets were twenty-third to twenty-fifth.

The Under 15 Girls were second team home on the morning. Abigail Cowling was first home in sixteenth, followed by Isla Garrett and Faryl Wright in eighteenth and nineteenth. Natasha Timson completed the scoring quartet in twenty-first position. Amelia Berni and Lola Biddle came home in twenty-second and twenty-fourth places.

To reward consistency of participation, individual’s scores are only added to the Individual Table if an athlete had competed in all four races over the season. It is from this list that the team points were calculated also. Once all the calculations had been completed, Harlow’s U15 Girls were crowned Essex Champions.

George Watkins was clearly first at U13 level to end what has been an excellent season for him. Not only did he win this event, but in school competitions – where he has to compete in an older age group – he has still won through to national events and represented his county. Also at Under 13 Boys level, Ben Tucker finished in twentieth overall. This bodes well for next year as he will still be an Under 13. In the Girls section, Ciara Dobson ended in thirteenth.

In a strong Under 15 Boys field, four boys featured on the list: Manny Richards was eleventh, Conor McEwan seventeenth, Sonnie Mowatt nineteenth, and Daniel Hundley was twenty-first. The team ended fifth overall.

The Under 15 Girls list included the four girls who are now Essex Champions. Isla Garrett was top for Harlow in thirteenth place. Abigail Cowling was next in seventeenth, Faryl Wright twentieth, and Lola Biddle was twenty-third to complete the scoring quartet.

This has been an excellent season for Endurance athletes in the club who have benefited from the time and passion of three coaches in particular: Paul Schofield, Maria Kouri and Judith Moss. Many congratulations to coaches and athletes alike.

The club now turns its attention to indoor events at county, regional and national levels taking place over the next six weeks.