Moorfoot juniors played a significant part in helping Team Borders to three East League titles at a grey and damp Broxburn on Saturday.
The Under-11 Boys, racing over 1.6k and leading by 32
points after the first two rounds, were the first to clinch the season silverware. Corran Carrick-Anderson put in another excellent performance for a
close 3rd place with Ethan Elder the second counter in 10th.
The U-13 Girls also led going into the third and final
leg but by a less secure margin of 13 points. Solid runs were called for to
stave off the expected challenge from Central and the girls duly delivered with Mairi Wallace and Beth Hobbs having a private battle of
their own for 4th and 5th over the 3k course, Mairi
getting up in the final few strides to just pip Beth on the line. Anna McGorum
was close behind in
9th.
Next up it was the turn of the U13 Boys who only held a
vulnerable 4-point lead over Corstorphine prior to the gun. Euan Hood outsprinted two rivals in the home straight for 7th, thus contributing to an extended winning margin for the
Borders boys.
Whilst that was an end to the trophy bagging, there were
some other notable performances, none more so than the eye-catching 3rd
place by Elena McGorum in the U11 Girls’ race. Support from
clubmates Eilidh Mooney in 8th and Megan Hobbs in 16th
saw the girls finish only 2 points away from a team win on the day and in a
creditable 3rd place overall, a mere 5 points adrift of Edinburgh in
2nd.
The U17 Boys also ended the season in a podium position,
2nd on the day over 5.8k to Edinburgh and 2nd overall
behind clear winners Aberdeen. Kobe Stevens was 12th on the day and a significant points contributor over the season.
Ailsa Innes was the sole runner from the Borders in the combined U15/U17 girls race, so no team points, but a solid run for 23rd.
Also running in the senior races at Broxburn were 17
year-olds Jacob Adkin and Sophie Collins both first-year juniors. Running
in a massive field of 255 runners, Jacob produced another strong performance to
finish 14th overall and 2nd U-20 while Sophie kept on
well to finish 4th U-20 and 48th overall in a field of 105
women.