St Gabriel’s Celebrates Its Most Successful Cross-Country Season to Date

St Gabriel’s School is celebrating a record-breaking cross-country season, with its talented athletes excelling at local, regional, and national competitions.

Demonstrating outstanding commitment, resilience, and sportsmanship, the students have achieved unprecedented success, securing team and individual victories across multiple age groups.

A Strong Start: Local Dominance

The season began with an impressive performance at the St Gabriel’s Cross-Country Relays, an event that welcomes both seasoned competitors and newcomers. Athletes from Years 5 to 10 competed against schools from across Berkshire, with the U11 squad standing out as they triumphed over competitors two-year groups above them. Ella P and Elodie B delivered particularly impressive performances, setting the tone for the season ahead.

At the Berkshire Schools Cross-Country Championships held at Newbury Showground (18 January), St Gabriel’s fielded a strong team. Despite tough competition, Jonah Lynch placed 8th in the Year 7 boys’ race, while the girls Junior squad (Years 8 and 9) with Olivia Bentley and Annie Warner secured 2nd place overall. Notably, these athletes were all competing against older students in their category, making their achievement even more remarkable. As a result, Olivia was selected for the county team and went on to compete for Berkshire at the Southeast Championships.

Regional Success: ISA Championships and Beyond

At the ISA Regional Cross-Country Championships, held at Sherfield School, St Gabriel’s athletes once again rose to the occasion, battling cold and muddy conditions with determination. Notable performances in the Junior categories included:

U9 Girls (Years 3 &4): Grace B, Henrietta W, Elizabeth A, and Constança Gall ran with control and confidence, with Grace making an especially strong start.

U9 Boys (Years 3 &4): Barney C, Harvey M, and Austin M displayed fantastic teamwork, staying focused under pressure.

U11 Girls (Years 5 & 6): This team proved to be a dominant force. They hunted as a pack from the start. Elodie B ran a great tactical race, always in the pack and chasing down the lead to gain a fantastic 5th, which was closely followed by Ella P in 14^th, alongside a brilliant run from Jemima B who moved through the field well.

U11 Boys (Years 5 & 6): Luca B, Henry C, Reuben G and James R took part in the final event of the junior races. Led aggressively by Luca, they charged as a pack to the first turn and ran with freedom as they approached this challenging course. The ground was muddy by this point and the conditions challenging. All four had a race to be proud of.

In the senior event the squads of Holly R, Abigail G, Milly D and Martha C for the U12 (Year 7) girls and Jonah L, Alex C, Alexander H and Zachary A for the U13 (Year 7) boys ran superbly, staying in touch with each other throughout the race and working together to maintain good squad positions throughout. Jonah finishing with his second top 10 position of the season.

The most impressive display of the day though, came again from the U14 girls (Years 8 & 9). A standout performance from Olivia Bentley (2nd) and Annie Warner (6th) saw them completely dominate their race.

Following these outstanding results, four St Gabriel’s students— Olivia, Annie, Jonah, and Elodie—by finishing in the Top 10, earned selection to represent London West at the ISA National Cross-Country Finals.

In other regional races, the Junior Squads put on a dazzling display at the Thorngrove School Cross-Country Relays, where the same girls U9 team won convincingly, which was repeated 20 minutes later by the U11 girls, destroying the field and gliding into an easy victory by some margin. Strong performances from the boys U11 team, particularly Luca B, propelled them to finish in 3^rd place.

At the Area Cross-Country Championships held at Mary Hare School on 5 March, St Gabriel’s once again put on an outstanding performance and dominated the leader boards, with Jonah L winning the Year 7 Boys Race, Liam N finishing 3^rd in the U15 boys’ race, and Olivia B in 2^nd, and Annie W in 4^th in the U15 Girls Race.

National-Level Achievements

The ISA National Cross-Country Championships (9 March) saw St Gabriel’s athletes compete against the best young runners in the country. Once again, they demonstrated incredible strength on the national stage with some outstanding performances. Amongst the Seniors Olivia B placed 4^th, Annie W 15^th and Jonah L achieved an impressive 7th place. In the Juniors, Elodie B (7th) secured a great finish in a highly competitive U11 (Years 5 & 6) girls' event.

These incredible results meant that all St Gabriel’s athletes placed within the top 15 at a national level—a remarkable achievement for the school.

Junior Athletes Shine in Berkshire Championships

As the season drew to a close, St Gabriel’s junior athletes showed no signs of slowing down. At the West Berkshire & North Hampshire Primary Schools Cross Country (25 March) at Newbury Showground, a large-scale event featuring over 1,600 competitors the Year5/6 Girls Team placed 2^nd overall, with standout performances from Elodie B (2^nd place) and Ella P (6th). The Year 3/4 Girls Team placed a hugely respectable 7^th place overall. While the boys teams had a strong showing with the Year 5/6 team finishing 28th and the Year 3/4 team placing 40th.

A Season to Remember

This historic season would not have been possible without the dedicated training and commitment of St Gabriel’s athletes. Many of these students also train with Team Kennet and Newbury Athletic Club, where they are coached by passionate volunteers who support grassroots athletics.

“We are immensely proud of our cross-country runners,” said Verity Brazendale, Cross Country Coach at St Gabriel’s. “Their success is a testament to their hard work, perseverance, and the incredible support from their coaches. To have so many students competing—and excelling—at a national level is a fantastic achievement. We look forward to building on this success in the seasons to come.”