CROSS COUNTRY: THE St Albans Girls School’s Year Seven clinched a place in the National Final of the English Schools Cross Country Cup after a third place finish at the regional event last Saturday.

The event, held at Woollams Playing Fields, saw 13 teams battling it out for three qualifying places.

The STAGS girls got away well and were strong in the usual jostling for positions that happens at the start. The girls were to try and stay in sight of each other around the course and work off their team mates and they did this exceptionally well with little clusters of STAGS girls scattered throughout the pack.

The team remained strong throughout the race and finished well. After a nail biting wait the organisers announced that they had clinched the third qualifying place and had earned a place in the final in Northumberland on Saturday, December 4.

This is a truly fantastic achievement for such a young team, who are growing in confidence with every race. The girls are excited at the prospect of a ‘road trip’ to the North East for what will be a valuable experience.

Thanks must go to Debbie Steer and her team who have worked hard with the girls since September in preparing them for races such as these, and to the parents of the girls for supporting them in all of their races.