Woodbridge School runner breaks 44-year-old course record as The Judd School and New Hall School take team titles

Two months after finishing sixth in the under-20 mens race at the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels, Henry Dover ran the outstanding leg at the prestigious King Henry VIII Relays in Coventry on Wednesday (Jan 31) to take down a course record which had stood for 44 years, James Taylor reports.

Dovers inclusion for Woodbridge School, having agonisingly missed out on his home Cup Final earlier this winter, ensured an intriguing contest for this prestigious event around War Memorial Park, and there was the added interest of St Michaels College, who made the trip from Enniskillen with a team of young Irish internationals.

But none could match the strength in depth of favourites The Judd School, who made it four boys wins in a row, while the New Hall girls made it a golden debut for the Essex squad. Neither team had it all their own way though, as both had to fight through after having been behind in the early stages.

There were fireworks from the outset of the six-stage boys race, with national champion Dover against the in-form Quinn Miell-Ingram. The course seemed fast, though not perfect, with a few steps of mud in the early woodland section and quite a stiff breeze, albeit behind the athletes for much of the perimeter. Course record conditions? Many seasoned spectators were doubtful. 

So it was a magnificent run for Dover (10:45), who stormed round to lop five seconds off Neil Applebys historic mark. This was in spite of a moment in the woods where the Woodbridge mans sense of navigation and balance almost deserted him!

Dover should go into the Armagh 5km on February 8 for a UK under-20 record attempt with confidence. Abingdons Miell-Ingram just about kept in touch to record a fast 10:54, pushing spectating brother Rowan down to 10th on the all-time list. Jack Sandersen (Giggleswick) had a lonely run in 11:14, which would remain the third-fastest of the day. Seb Beedell (11:30) then came through for Bourne followed by a train of other likely contenders including Calday Grange, Harrow and the Irish St Michaels.

Eventual winners Judd were further back than hoped, even behind their own B-team! Fortunately, Mark Bridger ran a pleasing 12:03 to gain ground on the main contenders on leg two. At the front, Ralph Allen took Abingdon into the lead, but only for a matter of moments, before Thomas Preston swept by for Bourne, the Lincolnshire man returning an impressive 11:25.

Woodbridge returned to the front on stage three through Iwan Fothergill (12:04), as Bournes challenge faded. Tom Claridge (11:34) ran a captains leg to move Judd ominously into second, while deep in the field, his Tiffin rival Connor Foley (11:40) was the only other sub-12.

It was business as usual for Judd on leg four, as Josh Prendergast expectedly ran his fourth sub-12 clocking on this course to move into a commanding lead, and the race now settled. Abingdon appeared safe in second, Woodbridge fell back, and the Judd B-team were remarkably holding their own in the battle for bronze.

The experienced George Hopkins (12:10) extended the Judd lead beyond a minute on stage five, while back-loading Harrow were moving into medal contention with the stage-fastest Otis Ferrer-Brown (11:52).

Jack Sharpe had the honour of bringing it home for Judd, and he did so in serene style with the stage-fastest 11:38. In a high-quality finale, Monty Salmon (11:56) secured Abingdons silver and Michael Cattini (11:52) moved Harrow up to their best ever finish in third; the north-west London school seems to be a growing force in this event. Ermysteds, the last team to defeat Judd on this course, quietly moved up to fourth with a strong clocking by Sam Bentham (11:53), while in the final mix-up of positions, the Judd B-team faded to a still-creditable 10th.

The concurrent girls event suffered the late withdrawals of the previous two winners St Aidans and Bradford Grammar. So perennial podium placers Upton Hall must have fancied their chances and the Merseysiders were delighted when English Schools steeplechase champion Gabrielle Phelan came round to win the opening leg in 13:13. Yvette Anniss was the only other girl to remain in touch, mirroring her male team-mates in promoting the Bourne vest early on for a 13:23 clocking. Essex challengers New Hall closed in third albeit nearly half a minute in arrears. 

Hannah Brearton (14:44) extended the Upton Hall lead on a weaker stage two. Last years silver medallists Ratcliffe moved up expectedly with Shaikira King, but the Midland champion did not seem interested in pushing herself too strongly, as her 14:29 stage-fastest split was well down on last year, and her team did not contend further.

New Hall began to cut the deficit to Upton Hall on leg three through Gaby Bilbie (14:37), but Jess Poland (14:20) was gaining on both, and more importantly, building a safe buffer back to fourth.

The last leg saw a clash of two young area champions: For the North, Holly Cross took over a 100m lead for Upton Hall, returning a 13:07 faster than any previous leg, but it was not enough, as Southern champion Olivia Forrest ripped round in an excellent 12:24 to take the lead with 1km to spare. This split, which would have got her into any of the boys teams, ranks her third all-time.

So Upton Hall were denied again their maiden win, but made it four podiums in a row, while the Judd girls were delighted with another fine result in third, Polly Moses defying illness to make it a consistent sub-15 quartet for the event specialists. 

Full results