It has been another strong PECO cross country season for Vale of York Athletic Community, and at the forefront for the juniors has been Archie Hadfield.
Archie finished 1st U13 boy in the league, with a string of consistent podium performances that never saw him finish outside the top three across all five races in the series.
His commitment to completing all five races mattered. Our junior squad of forty athletes were all chasing the “merch that money can’t buy” for completing every race in the series. Not everyone can win their age category, but everyone can do their very best to take part and earn their own reward as a result.
These athletes did exactly that. U9 Girls Esmé Wadsworth, Harriet Mann, Carys Williams, Georgia Legg. U9 Boys Hugo Henderson. U11 Girls Daisy Hadfield, Isabella Leadbeater. U11 Boys Henry Henderson, Alistair Jackson. U13 Girls Charlotte Mann. U13 Boys Archie Hadfield, Zach Bennett, Ewan Leadbeater.
After PECO, Archie went on to place 23rd at the National Cross Country Championships in Sedgefield, finishing among 235 of the best young athletes in the country. Meanwhile, in the senior race, Thomas Fell finished 105th in a field of approximately 1,000 runners.
Alongside athletics and cross country running, Archie plays football, cricket and frisbee. He only does a small amount of specific run training, much of which is built through competition. His breadth of sporting exposure is key to his aerobic development and has also built athletic robustness and versatility, fully in line with long-term athletic development principles.
Strength in Depth: Vale of York Women Promoted to the Premier Division
While Archie’s individual performance headlined the season, the wider story of the winter was about collective achievement.
The Vale of York women’s team secured back-to-back promotions and will compete in the Premier Division next year.
This was not driven by one or two standout finishes. It was built on strength in depth across five races. The cumulative standings after Race 5 illustrated just how many Vale of York women contributed across the season-long campaign.
At the sharp end, Dawn Bennett (F45) and Sophie Bradford (FSEN) were neck and neck in delivering consistent scoring performances throughout the series. Their reliability in leading the women’s team home each time provided the perfect platform for team success in every fixture.
Everyone Played Their Part
What ultimately secured promotion was the volume of female athletes stepping up and contributing points across the season. The standings reflect contributions from a wide cross-section of the squad, including:
Ruth Usher, Charlotte Booth, Maia Crayford, Charlotte Hull, Iz Hall, Nicola Henderson, Katie Adams, Weronika Adamkiewicz, Jenni Hadfield, Lesley Stainthorpe, Serena Lowes, Beverley Horsfield, Colette Brear, Sarah Senior, Marrieanne Pal, Giorgia Beecher, Gabriella Stoughton-Freeman, Chloe Norton-Lamb and Charlotte Youngs.
In cross country, you are only as strong as your seventh-place runner. It is the fifth, sixth and seventh counters that often matter just as much as the first two home. The women’s collective commitment and determination, month after month, is what earned them promotion.
There is a new generation of women ready to come through too. In the U9 girls’ competition, Esmé was fifth and Harriet ninth. The Vale of York girls all competed with positive attitudes and determination.
Next season, the Premier Division will demand even more of the women, but this squad has already demonstrated the most important ingredient for success: team spirit.
Cross country is a tough sport. Individually we are strong, but collectively we are stronger.
