At Beckenham Park on Saturday our senior women won a fantastic Bronze medal. From our 14 strong squad, the scoring team of four were 13 Hannah Viner, 20 Kaitlyn Johnson, 31 Karima Harris, 42 Ashley Scott-Wilson. On the rolling hills of Beckenham Park they beat Herne Hill by just 2 points. This is the first time Highgate's women have been on the podium at the Southerns since their epic win in 2020.
This was the first time Kaitlyn had represented Highgate at the Southerns having joined the club last year. She said, "We were all so pleasantly surprised to have made the podium. It’s a good reminder to fight for every place no matter where you are in the race!" Hannah said, "What a great day! Strong turnout and great packing from the girls. It's brilliant to see what's building again in the women's section of the club with new and old faces together." Meanwhile we understand Karima was so pleased with her medal that she kept it on all day and evening!
Our Senior Men achieved a 4th place finish today against a high quality field, and Flurry Grierson was our stand out runner with an individual 4th place. Captain Pete Chambers said: "We finished an agonising 6 points off of a team bronze but this should serve as motivation to turn out on 7th Feb at Trent Park. It offers a chance of redemption by winning the Met League and securing our 13th title in a row. Running well as a team is all about momentum. Let’s keep it rolling in 2 weeks time at Trent Park."
Meanwhile our Young Athletes were gaining great experience at the higher level. Team Manager Kate Jenrick writes: Perhaps the most outstanding result of the day was Leoni Delvendahl's 4th place in a hotly contested U20 competition and earning her first England vest. U17 Middlesex and London Youth Games Champion Sonny Allen was aiming for a hat-trick of titles but it was not to be this time. Nonetheless it was a shiny bronze medal.
The U13 girls team was experiencing regional level competition for the first time and closed a team in the top 20 which for a team consisting of ‘1st’ years is very encouraging. No nerves and great pacing by Anna Murray (37th) Holly O’Shea (112), Lila Hristou (122th) and Olivia Vanek (165th). Robert Mainwood was the only U13 boy running and he finished 94th. Olive O’Shea had a cracking run in the U15 girls—she said it was tough, but she was certainly giving it everything. Elsewhere, in the U15 boys Alex Pettican and Zain Broachi had a sprint finish to the line, Zain heading Alex this time round (93 and 94). Nathan Anderson and Bowie Pak gained valuable first experience of the Southerns to complete the team. Lizzie Wortsman had an excellent result 27th in the U20s. In the U17 Men Luke Tomlinson finished 63rd and Denis O’Shea 147.
