Tyla Jade Thomas set the pace for the second year running at the Kent Schools Cross-Country Championships.
Winner of the Year 7 category at Central Park 12 months ago, this time she made strides in the junior girls’ race for the Medway district in 12min03sec. It is her second title this month after triumphing in the under-13 girls’ race in the Kent County Championships at Brands Hatch two weeks ago.
Alex Dack maintained his good January form, too. Running for South East Kent, Dack, who took the under-20 title at Brands a fortnight earlier, beat Bromley’s Jed Starvis to the senior boys’ title by four seconds in 19.21.
Ashford & Weald’s Sophie Richmond also followed up a Brands title with more success – taking the intermediate girls’ win in 14.07 with Dartford & Gravesham’s Hannah Olivia Painter 47 seconds behind – as did Tonbridge’s Holly Diprose, who was the senior girls’ winner by nine seconds ahead of Medway’s Lauren Mitchell.
Noah Collins (9.13) made sure Bexley were in the winners’ circle with victory in the Year 7 boys’ race, with Dartford & Gravesham’s Oscar Moore just three seconds behind, and Sevenoaks’ Eva Vitorino Hiietamm won the Year 7 girls’ class by eight seconds from Bromley’s Lucy Junginger (10.13).
Tunbridge Wells’ Oliver Goodman (11.07) beat Tonbridge’s Guy Bowers to the junior boys’ crown, and Bromley’s Joseph Scanes (16.11) got the better of his fellow Bromley district runner Joseph Hill with six seconds separating the pair.
Bromley, Tonbridge and Canterbury & St Augustines shared the team prizes. Bromley won at intermediate boys, junior girls, intermediate girls and Year 7 girls’ level, Tonbridge took the junior boys and senior boys’ accolades and Canterbury & St Augustines won senior girls and Year 7 boys’ awards.
