ss Country League Match 4

Team Kennet Juniors ended the Cross Country Season in magnificent  form as they secured 5 individual race wins out of eight races on the day at Aldershot in Wellington Park, not only that they also secured 3 team wins, to secure a bag of trophies/medals at the presentation later on that  day.

First race of the day was the under 9 girls, they were lying second team overall, Gracie Williams ran a well timed race to come home in 3^rd place over the 1600m course and to take 3^rd place overall, her team mate Annabelle Jones also ran well coming in 6^th place, Both girls were backed up by Isabelle Harte in 13^th and Maya Larkin in 17^th , the result meant that they kept their team overall placing, by finishing 2^nd on the day.

The Next race was the under 9 boys over the same course, League individual winner Rory Ridler won the last two races and he went out hard to keep his 100% record, he led all the way round but had to keep pushing as the gap wasn’t long enough to enjoy a glory run, but he came home as League under 9 winner, Edward Wyer ran a great race to come home in 7^th place having to keep his team mate behind him with a strong finish in 8^th place.

Race 3 was the under 11 Girls, the girls are dominating this age group, with 2 laps of running and 2400m of course Praiya Forman led from the start to take a superb win and win the individual under 11 girls title, Matilda Saunders had a great battle behind but in the end had to settle for 3^rd place on the day, next home was Olivia Kwit who gave all her go to stay with the top 3, she had to settle back with a strong finish took 5^th place and with  Cecily Wyer moving through the strong field from a slow start in 10^th place secured a unbeaten team win and take the Team League title. Isabella Chapman came home in 14^th and Flo Randall-Bird 23^rd the other TK girls.

The under 11 Boys race saw around 85 starters the biggest field of the day, again with the under 11 girls they were top of the League and unbeaten, Chester Bailey after seeing two of his club friends win their last two races went out fast to split the field, his solid run all the way round the two lap course kept him 20 seconds clear to take the clubs third win on the day, Lenny Wyvill had to battle hard to finish in 4^th place, with Matthew Jones not far behind came home in 6^th place, it was then down to their next scorer Idris Gaye who came in 15^th to secure yet another Team League win. Jacob William was next home in 41^st but James Rehill had to pull out halfway round.

TK big guns were out in the under 13 Girls, having to win on the day to take the league title, they did in a great team effort all round, Ella Larkin secured her second win in the league by gradually moving clear of the field and TK fourth win in a row, and a great run by Quinn Joyce who kept this position working hard all the way round came home in 3^rd place, and another great run came from Tilly Clare securing 5^th place and a fast finishing Darcy Claridge in 7^th secured their win on the day and Team Winners. Affra Bailey in 12th and Chloe Davidson 16th. Larkin won her individual title and Joyce took second place overall.

Only one boy turned up in the under 13 Boys race for the club and that was Isaac Coath finishing in 18^th place.

In the under 15/17 race, Olivia Bentley was the only clubs runner in this large field, she ran a superb race to come home as first under 15 girl and only 5 boys were in front of her, this meant that she won the under 15s girls age group and took TK 5^th win of the day.

This was a superb team effort by the club athletes on the day, making it one of the best Cross Country seasons the club has had

Here are all the Award Winners final Placings

Under 9 Girls

Gracie Williams 3^rd

Annabelle Jones 4^th

Bella Dearns 6^th

Team 2^nd

Under 9 Boys

Rory Ridler 1^st

Under 11 Girls

Praiya Foreman 1^st

Matilda Saunders 4^th

Olivia Kwit 5^th

Team 1st

Under 11 Boys

Chester Bailey 1^st

Lenny Wyvill 2^nd

Matthew Jones 5^th

Team 1^st

Under 13 Girls

Ella Larkin 1^st

Quinn Joyce 2^nd

Team 1^st

Under 15 Girls

Olivia Bentley 1^st

Team Kennet had a few athletes represent their counties at the inter counties match held at Wollaton Park,

Ella Larkin in the under 13 girls came home in 16th place representing Berkshire was only 3 seconds of a top 10 place out of over 300, this was her first major cross-country competition and sets her up for a good future ahead.

Olivia Bentley was in the under 15 girls representing Hampshire, she ran a good race and was solid all the way round to finish in 100th place out of 310 girls.

Bart Kuijten was called up to run in the senior men’s race for Berkshire where he ran a good race coming back from an injury for several weeks to finish 256^th.

Team Kennet Concludes the 2025/26 Season at Finmere

The final round of this season’s Oxford Cross Country League took place on Sunday, bringing the 2025/26 campaign to a close.

Round 5 was held at Finmere, a new venue for the league this year. The course presented a different challenge to previous rounds, featuring large open areas of farmland, a couple of testing hills, and a characteristically muddy start that made for classic cross-country conditions.

Under 9 Girls

The Under 9 Girls race opened the day.

Gracie Williams, competing in her first run of the season, produced an excellent performance to finish 5th, closely followed by Bella Dearns in 6th place.

Bella showed impressive consistency throughout the league, competing in all five rounds and finishing 4th overall for the season.

The Under 9 Girls team also performed strongly across the league, finishing a very respectable 4th place overall.

Under 11 Girls

In the Under 11 Girls race, Isabella Chapman delivered a strong run to finish 12th, contributing valuable points to help the girls’ team secure 4th place overall in the team standings.

A special mention also goes to Matilda Saunders, who achieved an outstanding 2nd place overall for the season, despite not competing in the final round.

Under 11 Boys

The Under 11 Boys race saw a determined performance from Matthew Jones, who finished 8th on the day. Matthew narrowly missed out on a podium finish for the season, finishing 4th overall after a very competitive series.

Under 15 Boys

Team Kennet was also represented in the Under 15 Boys race, where:

• Harry Smith finished 10th
• Rueben Kuijten finished 26th

Well done to both runners for their efforts.

Senior Men

Three Team Kennet senior men competed in the final round:

• Mitch Poustie – 167th
• Simon Hockaday – 189th
• Simon Gale – 202nd

Senior Ladies

The Senior Ladies team also had three runners competing.

A standout performance came from Gemma Jones, who finished an excellent 6th place in her first race. This marks the highest placing for a Team Kennet female runner in several years.

Also competing were:

• Georgie McCabe – 53rd, finishing 45th overall for the season
• Katie Reynolds – 61st, finishing 7th in her age group

Thank You to Everyone Involved

A big thank you goes to everyone who took part or supported the team this season. Whether you ran, marshalled, supported on the sidelines, or contributed to the refreshment table, your help has been hugely appreciated.

Special thanks to:

• Simon Hockaday for sharing the driving
• Andy Colling for marshal duties
• Mitch Poustie for helping carry equipment

Your support helps make days like this possible.

Looking Ahead to Next Season

If you would like to challenge yourself against some of the best runners in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and the surrounding areas, keep an eye out for details of next season’s Oxford Cross Country League.

The league typically runs on the first Sunday of each month from November to March, visiting a range of fantastic cross-country venues.

We would love to see even more Team Kennet runners involved next season — particularly senior athletes.

This year’s results show that Team Kennet is making strong progress, and with continued support and participation we can help bring the club back to where it belongs in the Oxford Cross Country League.

Many thanks again to everyone involved.

Simon

Nine Team Kennet athletes took part in the Berkshire Cross Country Championships at Dinton Pastures, near Reading. It was a lovely day for XC racing with clear skies, sunshine and perfect temperature.

The course was very interesting, with an inner loop that was very twisty and turney with a few up and down sections over a mound in the middle of the field. The outer loop was much straighter and flatter, allowing a faster pace, with a straight and downhill finish. Conditions were perfect with the course mostly being soft grass, without too much mud or boggy conditions.

The Under-13 Girls (3.2k) had a great day with Ella Larkin finishing in 3rd place (just loosing out on 2nd in the last few meters). This secures Ella a place in the Berkshire team for the Inter-Counties Championship in March.

Tilly Clare finished in 9th place, improving on her performance from last year and securing 1st reserve slot for the Berkshire team. Next, in 11th was Quinn Joyce, also putting in a great performance and securing a reserve slot. Darcy Claridge finished in an excellent 13th place, only a couple of seconds behind Quinn and the 12th place runner.

With the first three athletes home counting as a team, Team Kennet secured a silver medal in the Under-13 Girls competition. Bracknell AC were the winners and Maidenhead AC were in third.

In the Under-13 Boys (3.2km) race, Team Kennet had two athletes competing. In a very strong field, Josh Bailey secured 25th place and Josh Kuijten finished in 28th.

Reuben Kuijten competed in the Under-15 Boys (4.7km) race, which was another strong field, securing a finish in 23rd place.

Finally, in the Masters (9.6km) race, Bart Kuijten finished in an excellent 9th position, with Chris Turner securing a 27th place finish.

Round 2 of the Oxford XC league took place yesterday at a cold and sunny Horspath. The course was much drier than previous years and the weather, sunny and dry.

Our first runners were in the Under 9 girls race and they both did excellently. Annabelle Jones was 4th in her first Oxon XC race and Isabella Dearns was 5th.

Under 11 Girls also had excellent finishes, Matilda Saunders just beaten in to 2nd place and Olivia Kwit 7th

Matthew Jones ran his first race in the league and was 2nd, just behind the winner.

Senior men and ladies were a bit depleted by injuries and illness and a clash with the Berks Champs. Mitch Poustie was 191st, Simon Hockaday 210 and Simon Gale 213rd.

Katie Reynolds was an excellent 67th in the ladies race.

On Saturday 1st February Harriet Saunders, Olivia Bentley and Harry Smith represented Berkshire Schools at the South East Inter County Schools Cross Country Championships. With many of the region’s best athletes in attendance the competition was very tough but all three acquitted themselves well.

In the Junior Girls race (school years 8 & 9) Harriet produced an excellent run to finish as the 3rd Berkshire athlete and 25th overall. She was followed by Olivia in a very creditable 66th place and 9th Berkshire runner. Harry then raced in the Junior Boys event battling to a hard fought 79th place and 8th Berkshire runner.