William helped England Junior Boys to win in Dublin!
Following the English Schools’ Cross-Country Championships in Leeds on March 16th, teams were selected to represent England at Junior (u15) Boys/Girls and Intermediate (u17) Boys/Girls levels in the annual international, Home Countries Meeting. This year it was staged at Santry Demesne in Dublin on March 23rd on a bright, sunny day on a fairly dry, undulating grass course.
In this Schools International Athletic Board (SIAB) Meeting, each of the Home Countries – England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – enter teams at each age-group. Each team had eight runners to start and their first six to score. Having finished 5th in Leeds, William Rabjohns was one of the youngest to be selected in the England Junior Boys’ team. In his 4km race, Will finished 4th, just ahead of the first Irish runner, but behind three older team-mates, in 13-08. Thus England, with their first six finishers at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7, totalled 23 points and won comfortably. England also won the other three age-group races. The other teams finished in the order Scotland, Ireland and Wales in all four races. This year there was also a mixed relay, also won by England, just 5 seconds ahead of hosts, Ireland. Congratulations to all involved.
As a matter of interest, this venue is near the old Santry Stadium, now known as Morton Santry. In 1958, soon after it opened, Australian Herb Elliott set a new World Mile Record of 3-54.5 on that GRASS track! It was upgraded to Tartan in 1978 and is now rated as the premier Athletics venue in Ireland.
