The Salopian no. 160 - Summer 2017

52 SCHOOL NEWS
Knole 2017 start
with Tom Jackson running very strongly
to take 13th place, while Louis Nares
(Rb) and Paddy Barlow (R) both placed
in the forties. This was the first time
we’d managed to qualify for the final
since 2013, and to place 10th was a
tremendous achievement for them,
and is testament to the potential that
this young crop of runners has over
the next two or three years. It’s also a
mark of their ambition that as a team
they were a little disappointed with
this, having hoped to sneak into the
top five.
Before the beginning of the Lent Term,
we took a handful of runners to mid-
Wales in the beginning of January for a
pre-season camp, based near Rhayader.
This was suggested by our senior whip,
Wil Hayward (who just happens to live
up the road), and it proved to be an
excellent choice. In some pretty chilly
conditions, we managed to get some
fantastic training in, making the best
of the area’s stunning landscape. As
well as being a great opportunity to
sharpen up the training done over
the Christmas break, this was also a
chance for the team to come together
and foster a real cohesion. The
closeness of this group, and the way
they helped each other get through the
difficult morning sessions, reminded
me of what this club is all about.
Our key focus in the early part of the
Lent Term was of course our attempt
to retain the Knole Cup that we won
for the first time in 2016. We felt
quietly confident as we arrived at the
snow-covered course, but we had no
way of knowing how well prepared
our rivals would be, and the course
itself is so tough that it’s impossible
to predict how each individual will
respond to the challenge. In the event,
the performance by the Hunt was
tremendous. While last year we won by
a solitary point, this year our winning
margin was significantly larger, aided
considerably by the performances of
both Freddie Huxley-Fielding, who
managed to win the individual title (the
first time since 1998 that Shrewsbury
School has managed to achieve this),
and Will Hayward in third. With
support from Harry Remnant (Ch) in
16th, Charlie Tait-Harris (S) in 20th, Sam
Western in 35th, Cameron Anwyl in
42nd and Owen Mock (R) in 44th, our
strength in depth enabled us to take a
convincing victory.
Hash run on the Long Mynd
In the girls’ race, Francesca stunned
everyone by finishing third – this from
a third former, against very dedicated,
experienced sixth-form runners. If
anyone had any doubts about the
extent of her potential, they were put
to rest after this performance. Further
back the field, there were strong runs
from Lillian Wilcox in 38th (herself only
a fourth former), Immie Evans in 47th,
and Lucy Lees in 50th.
Soon after the success of the Knole,
we were focussing our attention on
our next big challenge, the King Henry
VIII relays at Coventry. The school
last won this event back in the 1990s,
and it’s been a goal of ours for many
years to get our name back on the
winners’ board. We had hoped that
this might be our year, but sadly we