The first round of the ESAA Cross Country Cup took place at Downside School in early October with both the Junior Boys and Junior Girls teams aiming to qualify for the regional round.

The Junior Girls team included Evie L, Poppy H, Katie W, Nicole S, Aerin D, and Elle T. They started strong, keeping pace with some of the best runners in the cup, and finished with a combined score of 70, led by Evie in 10th place with Katie coming up next finishing 14th. Unfortunately, they just missed qualifying for the regional race, but gained valuable race experience. Well done girls for your tremendous efforts.

The Junior Boys team, featuring George K, James F, JJ W, Lewis W, William S, and Maxime P. The race began well, with JJ and George setting the pace which continued throughout. JJ finished 2nd, Kershaw finishing 4th, Will worked incredibly hard to finish 10th overall, securing 3rd place for Taunton, and James finishing 12th. The boys finished with 28 points, qualifying first for the regional round. This bodes well for their chances to reach the National Finals and improve upon last year’s 15th place finish at Woodbridge. Good luck boys!