Preview – 46th Welsh Schools National Cross-Country Championships

The eight race programme starts at 1 pm and includes events for pupils from year 7 up to upper sixth.  Many of the brightest endurance athletes emerging in Wales will be in action and a number of exciting contests are in prospect.

The senior girls start the programme and , after years of service to Dyfed Schools, Alaw Beynon-Thomas (Strade) has a final opportunity to claim a National Schools cross-country title.  The year 13 pupil, who won the u20 title at the recent Welsh Athletics championships in Swansea, will not have to contend with the 2006 middle champion, Leah Dixon (St John Baptist, Glamorgan Valleys), who is ill and misses the event, but she can still expect tough competition from the 2007 middle winner, Leanne Fitzgerald (Coleg Glan Hafren, Cardiff & the Vale) with Jenna Roberts (Caerleon, South East Wales) also a contender for a top three placing.

With Simon Lawson (Llanishen, Cardiff & Vale) not competing, the way is open for Dewi Griffiths (Tre-Gib, Dyfed) to extend his winning sequence to five at these championships in claiming his first senior title, while team-mate Adam Bitchell (Penweddig) looks the likely silver medallist.

The year 7 races are always difficult to predict.  Often, it is west Wales athletes who make their mark though Hywel Bennett (Caereinion, Powys) and Tom Earley (Eirias, Eryri) were winners in 2006 and 2007 respectively.  If Cardiff X Challenge, held on a very heavy course, is any sort of indicator, then Glamorgan Valleys athletes look set to make their figure prominently with Morgan Thomas (Porthcawl) as a potential winner of the boys' race and a fine squad of girls seeking team success.

Hywelis Thomas Howells (Bryn Tawe, Afan Nedd Tawe) was an outstanding year 7 champion at the 2007 Nationals but was beaten by Lauren Bell (Bro Gwaun, Dyfed) at the Inter-Schools championships in November.  Thomas-Howells looked back to her very best at Swansea recently and, with Lauren Harries (Penweddig, Dyfed) involved in a swimmimg event and missing the fixture, she will start as the clear favourite in a junior girls' race in which the talented Dyfed squad look set for team success.

South East Wales have a trio of talented athletes – Elliot Hardee (Bettws), Daniel Chesworth (Duffryn) and James Hanrahan (St Albans) – who will be seeking top placings in the junior boys race but there are other contenders including Hywel Bennett (Caereinion, Powys) and Tom Davis (Porthcawl, Glamorgan Valleys).

The middle girls race features a battle between two of last November's Inter-Schools champions – senior winner Angharad Davies (Llandovery College, Dyfed) from year 11 and Zoe Thomas (Porthcawl, Glamorgan Valleys), of year 10, who took the u16 title that day.  Given her string of wins this winter, including a very impressive victory in the u17 race at Cardiff X Challenge, Thomas will start as favourite.  Sadly, two of the top year 10 girls – Jade Williams (St Michael's, Dyfed) and Carys Deeley (The Cathedral, Cardiff & Vale) who were first and second ahead of Thomas in last year's junior race are ill and unable to compete.

Another year 10 versus year 11 battle can be expected in the final race of the day – for the middle boys.  Jonathan Hopkins (Brynteg, Glamorgan Valleys) has, arguably, been the top year 11 boy in Wales this winter while Josh Harries (Penweddig, Dyfed) was the junior champion in 2006 and will be looking for another title.  In the year below, you have the North East Wales and Mold Alun duo of Charlie Hulson, the 2007 junior winner, and James Wright, who recently won the Welsh Athletics u15 title at Swansea, plus Chris Carpanini (St Alban's, South East Wales) and the improving Owen Haswell (Stanwell, Cardiff & the Vale).  This could be a really finale.

At the end of the programme, a selection committee will be held to determine the athletes to compete at Dublin on March 19^th in the u20 international plus the teams of eight to compete in the junior and middle age groups at this year's SIAB International at Perth on Friday, March 28^th.