MORE than 2,000 schoolchildren took part in the Suffolk Schools County Trials Cross Country Championships, held at Royal Hospital School in Holbrook.For the first time, the two area trials were staged at the same venue on the same day.

Carl Marston

MORE than 2,000 schoolchildren took part in the Suffolk Schools County Trials Cross Country Championships, held at Royal Hospital School in Holbrook.

For the first time, the two area trials were staged at the same venue on the same day.

The western/northern area trials were held during the morning, kicking off with a victory for Alice Cheverton in the minor girls' race.

Seb Anthony, of Horringer Court Middle School, took the lead after half-way in the minor boys' event. He increased his gap to record an impressive victory ahead of Ryan Jolland and Matthew Le Poidevin, of Westley Middle.

Tom Eames, of Castle Manor, won the junior boys' title ahead of Thurston's Adam Cripps, while Elin Grose won the girls' equivalent race.

Sudbury Upper School's Dominic Thackeray and Samuel Ward's Holly Archer won their respective intermediate age groups. Alex Groise and Charlotte Christensen were the runners-up in these two races.

The afternoon hosted the mid/southern-area trials. Cameron McKie and Vickers won the minor age group races, as did Royal Hospital School's Ben Moore and Framlingham's Suzannah Reid in the junior sections.

Ipswich School's Mary Galbraith led home the field in the intermediate girls' class, followed by Woodbridge's Sophie Nicklin, and there was no stopping hot favourite Shaun Webb in the boys' race.

The two area senior races were combined, leading to victories for Northgate's Elliot Palmer and Leiston's Kirsty Addy.

Steve Benson, who is the chairman of the Suffolk Schools Athletics Association, declared the change of venue to be a huge success.

Benson said: “The new venue at RHS has proved a great success, as we had been reluctantly forced out of our normal venue (Chantry Park) due to an increase in costs.

“We had both area trials on the same day, and although there were a few teething problems, we had well over 2,000 Suffolk schoolchildren, all enjoying a fantastic experience of cross country.”

The second round will again be staged at RHS on Saturday December 6.

Results from RHS

Western/Northern Area:

Minor boys: 1 S Anthony (Horringer Court), 2 R Jolland (Clare), 3 M Le Poidevin (Westley), 4 L Doe (St James), 5 B Cracker (St Louis).

Minor girls: 1 A Cheverton (Harris), 2 M Soanes, 3 L Wardrop (Clare), 4 L Parnell (Westley), 5 H O'Donnell (St Louis).

Junior boys: 1 T Eames (Castle Manor), 2 A Cripps (Thurston), 3 M Delo (County Upper), 4 J Higgins (St Beneddicts), 5 K McMorran (Halesworth).

Junior girls: 1 E Grose (Hardwick), 2 H Nolan (Mildenhall), 3 E Stevens (Culford), 4 C Hicks (St Felix), 5 B Laidlaw (Thurston).

Intermediate boys: 1 D Thackeray (Sudbury), 2 A Groise (King Edward VI), 3 J Norris (St Benedicts), 4 S Dawson (County Upper), 5 S Coffe (St Felix).

Intermediate girls: 1 H Archer (Samuel Ward), 2 C Christensen (Finborough), 3 E Barker (Samuel Ward), 4 S Tupman (King Edward VI), 5 J Anthony (King Edward VI).

Mid/Southern Area:

Minor boys: 1 C McKie (Hartismere), 2 J Tierney (Copleston), 3 A Seymour (Beyton), 4 S Barber (Farlingaye), 5 E Evans (Beyton).

Minor girls: 1 Vickers (Ipswich High), 2 J Gooderham (Beyton), 3 G Tindale (RHS), 4 G Scott (Brandeston), 5 F Long (Orwell Park).

Junior boys: 1 B Moore (RHS), 2 B Berry (Hadleigh), 3 O Jones (Farlingaye), 4 B Payne (Hartismere), 5 K Bliss (Copleston).

Junior girls: S Reid (Framlingham), 2 C Caiger (Thomas Mills), 3 J Seller (Farlingaye), 4 C Sears (Orwell Park), 5 B Catchpole (Holbrook).

Intermediate boys: 1 S Webb (East Bergholt), 2 J Ali (Claydon), 3 A Burnett (Stowmarket), 4 R Hinton-Smith (Deben), 5 D Jackson (Farlingaye).

Intermediate girls: 1 M Galbraith (Ipswich), 2 S Nicklin (Woodbridge), 3 H Petterson (Hol), 4 H Turner (Framlingham), 5 E Burroughs.

Combined areas:

Senior boys: 1 E Palmer (Northgate), 2 S Cheverton (Denes), 3 J Bird (Ipswich), 4 A Constable (Northgate), 5 C Fry (Thurston).

Senior girls: 1 K Addy (Leiston), 2 A Marriott (Mildenhall), 3 S Findlay (Framlingham College), 4 H Brega (County Upper), 5 A Simpson (Ipswich).