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Match Report · Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Posts: 127

Portadown Battalion Cross Country
14/02/2009

The annual Portadown Battalion Cross Country took place on Saturday morning. This is a competition which is close to the heart of Knocknamuckley, with the competition having been dominated over the years by Knocknamuckley BB. The course was wet, mucky, and hard to run on, but this didn't deter a good turnout of boys.

The competition is split into three races; the Junior Race for boys aged 13 and under, the Intermediate Race for boys aged 15 and under, and the Senior Race for boys aged 18 and under. The first two boys who finish for each company in each race score for their company, and the company with the lowest score, with a minimum of two boys finishing in every race, win the competition.

Having lost out on the title last year because no boys entered the Intermediate Race, there was a hunger to win the trophy this year, especially as the company celebrate their 50th Anniversary.

Junior Race

The Junior race took place first, which is contested over one lap of the course. Knocknamuckley entered four boys in this race, with a field of around 20 to 25 boys competing. Knocknamuckley got off to the best possible start, taking both 1st and 2nd place. John Uprichard led throughout the race, with great run, and came in to claim the gold medal. Ian Irwin was next through the finishing gate, to finish 2nd for the second year in a row. Thomas Adamson finished high up as well, with a 6th placed finish, and Jamie Davison ran an impressive race, for his first Company Section Cross Country, finishing 8th.

Intermediate Race

In the Intermediate Race, which consists of two laps around the course, there were again four boys from Muckley competing. There was a tight finish to this race as the leader began to tire on his way up the hill towards the finish. Nathan McConnell put in a good effort as he showed no signs of tiring towards the finish, but the leader dug in to find enough to claim the win, Nathan finishing second. Andrew Poole also had an interesting finish to his race, as he closed in on third place on the finishing straight, but was unable to keep his late burst going, finishing 4th. Thomas Chambers came in in 6th place. Neill Adamson trailed for most of the first lap, but put in a big effort in the second lap, over-taking the man in front, and maintaining a gap to finish in 11th place.

Senior Race

The Senior Race saw eight boys from Knocknamuckley line up in a field of 14, for the three lap race. Stephen Russell was the high placed finisher for Muckley, coming in in 2nd place, beaten only by a fine run. Next in for Knocknamuckley was Andrew Calvert, who had led the race for a stage in the final lap, but was just unable to open up a sufficient gap to close it out, finishing in 4th position. Next in for Muckley was Kris Duprey, who had also led for a period, finishing 5th. Seth Mathers finished in 6th, David Morrow in 7th, James Moneypenny in 8yh and Colin Irwin in 9th. Stephen Bell finished the race in 14th, after a determined display.

After the individual medals were handed out it was time for the presentation of the trophy. Knocknamuckley were announced as the winners after having not won it in 5 years. 1st Knocknamuckley 2008-09 can now be added to the list of other plaques bearing the company's name.

A big well done to all of the boys, who not only showed up, but all ran extremely well, giving it everything they had. They brought the Cross Country Shield back to Knocknamuckley for the first time in six years, and hopefully have started another spell of dominance, in a special competition for 1st Knocknamuckley BB.

Team: N.Adamson, Bell, Calvert, Chambers, Davison, Duprey, C.Irwin, I.Irwin, Mathers, McConnell, Moneypenny, Morrow, Poole, Russell, Uprichard.

Winner: 1st Knocknamuckley