County duty for ten Buxton AC juniors in Loughborough

Youngsters from over 40 counties from all over the country took part with more than 2,000 junior runners racing - representing the best cross country runners nationally.

First up were the U17s girls, with two Buxton athletes selected out of the eight who qualified to represent Derbyshire.

Ellie Wilson ran well to finish 129th overall and the fourth Derbyshire finisher while team-mate Heather Wilshaw was fifth Derbyshire team member to finish, coming in 233rd overall. The Derbyshire U17s girls team finished a fantastic 13th overall.

Next up were the U15s boys teams where two Buxton AC boys qualified. Will Longden, representing Derbyshire, came 88th overall and third in his county team and Harry Bond, representing Staffordshire, finished 247th and fifth in his county. Derbyshire came 16th overall and Staffordshire 38th.

The U13s girls race saw Buxton’s Sienna Phillips, running for Staffordshire, come in as the seventh team counter in 212th overall - the Staffordshire team were 19th. Grace Longden, representing Derbyshire, finished 28th, she was 291st overall.

The U17s men’s race saw Sam Soles having a great run to finish fourth Derbyshire counter and 157th overall. Team-mate Stu Diamond was fifth Derbyshire finisher (195th overall), with the team coming 23rd overall.

Last up for the juniors in the U15s girls were Buxton’s Lucy Bednall and Amy Whelan, representing the Derbyshire team who finished 29th overall, as the girls put in strong performances to come 156th and 279th respectively. A spokesperson for Buxton juniors said: “To qualify to represent one’s county is a considerable privilege and one that all athletes strive to achieve - that county vest is a highly sought after prize, well worth achieving!

“For a relatively small club, with limited resources, Buxton AC is so proud to have 10 youngsters achieve this aim so far this season - that is truly phenomenal! As caches, parents and club members we are all supremely proud of these youngsters, who have stayed calm under pressure, and represented their counties to the absolute best of their abilities. This has been a great experience and every one of them has put in 100% - we could not ask for more!”