CLOSE to 1,800 young runners converged on the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, for the annual Suffolk Area Schools Cross Country Championships.

There were 14 races throughout the day, with competition split between the mid-south area and the north-west area.

Hadleigh’s Alex Baxter and Brandeston Hall’s Lottie Summers won the mid-south minor boys’ and girls’ races, while the respective junior titles went to Farlingaye’s Theo Passmore and Kesgrave’s Charlotte Wickens.

Framlingham College’s Suzie Reid, a regular winner at county level, triumphed in the intermediate girls’ division, with Ipswich School’s Ross Tennant winning the boys’ equivalent.

In the north-west area, Barnardiston’s Jack Krempel and Culford School’s Nella Walters won the minor age groups. Walters has been performing well for West Suffolk AC in this autumn’s relay races.

Matthew Le Poidevin, of County Upper in Bury St Edmunds, showed an impressive finishing kick during the last downhill section to win the junior boys’ title.

By contrast, Beyton’s Sophie Tooley burst clear of the field from the start to post an emphatic victory in the junior girls’ event.

Bungay High School’s Kieran McMorron and Megan Soanes, of Benjamin Britten, won the intermediate titles.

The combined senior races, incorporating both areas, featured wins for Kieran Clements, of Northgate, and Suffolk One’s Hannah Pettersson.

The top 50 runners in each race will now go forward to the Suffolk Schools Series ‘A’ Championships, to be staged at RHS on Saturday, December 3.

MID-SOUTH AREA

Minor boys: 1 A Baxter (Hadleigh); 2 D Stagg (Copleston); 3 M Snowden (Gorseland); 4 H Fricker (Farlingaye); 5 L Breyer (East Bergholt); 6 A Tripp (Farl); 7 A Winter (Brandeston); 8 J Greenleaf (Cop); 9 B Bounit (Thomas Mills); 10 P Bacon (Holbrook). Teams: 1 Copleston 47pts; 2 Farlingaye 62; 3 East Bergholt 71.

Minior girls: 1 L Summers (Brand); 2 G Erhardt (Orwell); 3 L Salsby (Brand); 4 A Whitehead (Farl); 5 P Taylor (Ipswich); 6 M Newton (Stour V); 7 E Hughes (Cop); 8 G Fulcher (Kesgrave); 9 I Lawson (Brand); 10 M King (Wood). Teams: 1 Brandeston 35pts; 2 Ipswich 68; 3 Woodbridge 70.

Junior boys: 1 T Passmore (Farl); 2 S Allen (Kesgrave); 3 M Welch (Chantry); 4 A Foster (E Berg); 5 D Hanson (Farl); 6 H Milldown (Farl); 7 O Sharman (Farl); 8 J Allen (Farl); 9 R Ling (Cop); 10 G Williams (Woodbridge). Teams: 1 Farlingaye 19pts; 2 Hadleigh 84; 3 Dehenham 125.

Junior girls: 1 C Wickens (Kesgrave); 2 E Moyes (Stow); 3 E Tennant (Ips); 4 T Thomas (Ips); 5 C Godbold (Chantry); 6 E Morey (Ips); 7 I Holland-Howes (T Mills); 8 C Stopher (Cop); 9 R Mortimer (Farl); 10 A Rose (Farl). Teams: 1 Ipswich 33pts; 2 Framlingham 100; 3 Woodbridge 102.

Intermediate boys: 1 R Tennant (Ipswich); 2 C McKie (Hartismere); 3 C Whiting (East B); 4 T Rankin (Had); 5 A Bench (Debenham); 6 S Cuddihy (RHS); 7 T Carton (Claydon); 8 T Cowley (Had); 9 M Brown (RHS); 10 V O’Donnell (North). Teams: 1 Debenham 68pts; 2 RHS 69; 3 Claydon 82.

Intermediate girls: 1 S Reid (Framlingham); 2 E Studd (Farl); 3 K Peake (Thurleston); 4 E Possit (Stowmarket); 5 H Vine (St Joseph’s); 6 A Goodwin (Cop); 7 E Robinson (Ipswich); 8 L Ramsey (Farl); 9 A Bryan (East B); 10 F Baldwin (Fram). Teams: 1 Framlingham 67pts; 2 Farlingaye 74; 3 Northgate 100.

NORTH-WEST AREA

Minor boys: 1 J Krempel (Barnardiston); 2 T McCarthy (St Louis); 3 J Snudden (St Louis); 4 C Cogan (Westley); 5 E Woodham (Benjamin Britten); 6 D Olley (Gt Cornard); 7 F Taylor (Culford); 8 J Walters (Culford); 9 G Chance (Beyton); 10 F Cunningham (Westley). Teams: 1 St Louis 31pts; 2 Culford 59; 3 Westley 64.

Minor girls: 1 N Walters (Culford); 2 C S-Hall (Culford); 3 S Davies (Westley); 4 P Peate (Barnard); 5 S Callaghan (Pakefield); 6 O Allum (Culford); 7 M Sealby (Westley); 8 K Kemp (Westley); 9 H Whyte (St Felix); 10 G McEntee (St Louis). Teams: 1 Culford 20pts; 2 Westley 30; 3 St Louis 67.

Junior boys: 1 M Le Poidevin (County Upper); 2 S Collins (St Felix); 3 B Eames (Castle Manor); 4 J Finch (Sir John Leman); 5 H Pollock (Ben Brit); 6 T Robinson (Thurston); 7 E Elers (Thurston); 8 M Haskell (Felix Acad); 9 J Freeborough (Scaltback); 10 L Parnell (St Benedicts). Teams: 1 Benjamin Britten 61pts; 2 County Upper 91; 3 Thurston 94.

Junior girls: 1 S Tooley (Beyton); 2 H Davies (Needham Market); 3 J Brown (County Upper); 4 O Long (Finborough); 5 H Barnes (Bungay); 6 L Howe (Bungay); 7 A Pettit (Newmarket); 8 R Walton (Culford); 9 R Cox (Felix Acad); 10 B Bradshaw (Westley). Teams: 1 Beyton 70pts; 2 Culford 102; 3 Sudbury 113.

Intemediate boys: 1 K McMorran (Bungay); 2 T Oldman (Ben Brit); 3 D Oliver (SJL); 4 M Bartrum (County Upper); 5 A Seymour (Thurston); 6 M Nicholls (St Benedicts); 7 C Clipstone (Thurston); 8 A Jones (King Edward VI); 9 H Wilson (SJL); 10 L Cox (Thurston). Teams: 1 Thurston 33pts; 2 King Edward VI 70; 3 Culford 121.

Intermediate girls: 1 M Soanes (Ben Brit); 2 A Cheverton (Denes); 3 E Watts (Thurston); 4 B Tooley (St Benedicts); 5 E Strickland (Thurston); 6 A Maguire (County Upper); 7 E Gooderham (Thurston); 8 J Gooderham (Thurston); 9 I George (King Edward VI); 10 C Riggall (Denes). Teams: 1 Thurston 23pts; 2 St Benedicts 60; 3 King Edward VI 73.

COMBINED

Senior boys: 1 K Clements (North); 2 M Delo (West Suffolk); 3 J Powley (Suffolk One); 4 H Steele (Hart); 5 P Gravett-Curl (Suffolk One); 6 A Revell (T Mills); 7 A Cripps (Thurston); 8 O Jones (Farl); 9 J Lawrence (Wood); 10 K Bliss (Cop). Teams: 1 Suffolk One 53pts; 2 Farlingaye 61; 3 RHS 85.

Senior girls: 1 H Pettersson (Suffolk One); 2 C Caiger (Fram); 3 D Lee (North); 4 P Davies (St Felix); 5 K Duncan (King Edward VI); 6 C Cuddihy (RHS); 7 J Anthony (King Edward VI); 8 F Devoy (Culford); 9 J Seller (Farl); 10 I Emerson (Ips) Teams: 1 RHS 51pts; 2 Farlingaye 83.