THE Cornwall Schools Cross-Country Championships took place in murky weather on Saturday, January 11 at Truro School, with over 350 athletes, representing 28 Cornish Schools, competing.

The combined Inter and Senior Girls race was first up and provided the expected tight tussle between Truro and Penwith College’s Roisin Mooney and Callywith College’s Holly Reid.

Holly Reid and Roisin Mooney
Holly Reid leads Roisin Mooney before the latter took victory. (Cornwall Schools Cross-Country Championships)

Roisin took an early lead, was caught at halfway, but pushed on in the last half mile for the win by six seconds (15:02), with Holly a close second and dominant Inter Girls winner Ava Sutton (15:14), from Penair School, closing fast.

Truro and Penwith’s Florrie Mackenzie took third from team-mate Izzie Price to ensure their team victory over Truro School, as Bodmin College’s Serena Clarke (15:47) took second Inter Girl, from Richard Lander’s Janie Holloway (15:56). Truro and Penryn College took the team golds.

Lucas Sweeney
Lucas Sweeney eased to victory in the Year 7 Boys race. (Cornwall Schools Cross Country Championships)

Next up were the Year 7 Boys and Saltash Community College’s Lucas Sweeney emerged from the hectic start to take a dominant win in 10:26 from Penryn duo Sam Bradbury and Jimmy Vella, with Penryn taking team victory from Richard Lander and Newquay Tretherras.

The Year 7 Girls’ race was a cracker, with Falmouth School’s Emily Searle (8:16) mixing it with Saltash’s Daisy Elliott and Daisy prevailing by just two seconds, with Mounts Bay’s Omelia Swayer clear in third. Tretherras took the team win, from Penryn and Truro.

The run of the day came from Penrice Academy’s William Pearce in a time of 19:34 as he not only won the Inter Boys’ event, but caught the front-running Senior Boy, Dylan Stevens from Truro and Penwith to take the overall win by 17 seconds, with Dylan’s team-mate Joe Wylie in third (20:00).

Serena Clarke and Ava Sutton
Serena Clarke (Bodmin College) leading from eventual winner, Ava Sutton (Penair) in the Inter Girls race. (Cornwall Schools Cross-Country Championships)

Callywith’s Lachlan Maclennan was third Senior, in front of Bodmin’s Lewis Trubridge and Penryn’s Josh Peters who made up the rest of the top three in the Intermediate Boys.

Truro and Penwith narrowly beat Callywith to the senior team title, with Penryn prevailing by just one point from Bodmin in the Inters. Wadebridge were third.

The Junior Girls race provided a close three-way contest and a home win, with Truro’s Aria Griffiths winning by three seconds (13:52) and Rosie Selby, of Tretherras, just pipping Truro High School’s Lila Russell on the line for second. Penair were team victors, from Truro High and Tretherras.

The Junior Boys finished off the day and got the muddiest conditions. Tretherras had an impressive clean sweep, with Newquay Tretherras’ Will Henwood comfortably winning by 11 seconds from team mates Rowan McIntosh and Dillon Murphy. It was a tight team contest, though, with Tretherras prevailing by two points from Penryn, with St Joseph’s School taking third.