Lund triumphs on golden day for Ermysted's (From Craven Herald)

Lund triumphs on golden day for Ermysted's

11:35am Thursday 20th October 2011 in Athletics

Ermysted’s enjoyed a great day on the Lakeland Fells above Cockermouth on Sunday when their runners won one individual and one team gold medal in the National Schools Fell Running Championships.

Year 7 pupil James Lund won the individual gold medal with a gutsy performance in a race which saw his team-mate Charlie Lowrie take the bronze.

The team success came in the Year 8/9 age group and put the seal on a golden day for the Skipton school.

Lund went into the championships having won all five of his school races.

He is a notable performer on the fells but he was up against the FRA National champion – Ermysted’s Lowrie.

The pair rapidly went to the front and pulled away from the rest before reaching the hill. Lund kept pushing and made a break on the steepest part of the course and was never to be headed. This gave Ermysted’s a tremendous start and the first title in the bag with Lowrie coming home third after a brave run. Will McCallum looked good early on but his lack of experience on the fells showed as he dropped back towards the top of the hill and especially on the descent. Fifteenth place is still excellent in a national final and 19 points for the team would normally have been good enough but Kirkby Lonsdale, who packed in fourth, sixth and eighth won by a solitary point. The rest of the team also ran really well, Dougie Smith, 20th, Harry Schofield, 24th, Alfie Spain 29th, Archie Paxton, 30th, and Charlie Smith, 41st, were all well up the 52-strong field.

The Y8&9 team were next and had high hopes after a fantastic start to the season at cross-country.

Despite late withdrawals they still expected to challenge but not necessarily win the title. George Maloney set the team up. After a steady start he moved up into and through the top 20 up the hill. From the top he must have flown down to the finish as he moved from 18th to finish tenth. Jack Paul, Rob Thompson and Eddie Muirhead were all following close behind. Not surprisingly though they couldn’t match his descent.

Thompson was 15th, Paul, 19th, and Muirhead, 23rd Their team total of 44 points was low but they had a nervous wait before it was announced that they had won.