Harry Lonergan (O LVI), Tom Marshall (SH UVI) and Fred Day (R UVI) made the trek to Boston Lincs for the annual and final, 5k time trial of the season.

Hopes were high for a good set of results from our top pairing of Harry and Tom, both experienced oarsman on this piece of the river Witham.

Saturday saw them starting 2nd out of the 42 starting pairs; a finish position of 5th place was a good result, especially after the amount of time spent training in this boat. Sunday’s results were very pleasing, after some tinkering with the crew set up and a move up to third. Remembering these are the best junior oarsmen in the country this year, this result puts them in the frame for selection to compete at world level later in the year.

Fred Day had a busy week! Having just returned from an invitation from Dartmouth University in the other Boston in Massachusetts over ½ term  (where he has been offered a place to study and row next year), Fred paddled with an athlete from Abingdon School. His results of 17th on Saturday and 23rd on Sunday also stand him in good stead for a GB vest this season.

P Manser

In a game of contrasting styles, the result was decided by some poor decision making rather than quality of overall play in the last few minutes of the match. King Henry’s led until the beginning of the 2nd half, when Shrewsbury went up a gear and finished off two smooth passages of play involving many pairs of hands. This was in contrast to King Henry’s typically limited forwards based game which only cam into it’s own inside Shrewsbury’s 22. Shrewsbury led 15-10 entering the last ten minutes, and when losing possession of the ball when playing inside their own 22 twice, King Henry’s capitalized upon basic handling errors. The result did not reflect Shrewsbury’s superiority and flair.

Mr P Greetham

U14's  v Rhydal    
The U14’s travelled to Rhydal on Wednesday and faced stiff opposition. The pair Breese and Fox came away victorious, winning 2-1; however there were no more victories. The pair of Mason and White lost 0-3, while Cooke and Lechmere were defeated 1-3. Despite the results, improvements are being made.

vs St Olaves
On the eve of the Northern Championships the Seniors had a good 2-1 win over St Olaves in a tough and well contested fixture. Henry Lewis and Sam Welti recorded a pleasing 2-1 victory, as did Henry Blofield and Harry Flowers, winning 2-0. The only defeat was involving Guy Williams and Elliott Christie, who were unfortunate to lose 0-2.

4/5th Feb Northern Open Championships
The majority of our Senior, U16 and U15 squads gained excellent experience playing against the best adult players in the country. A notable achievement was Sansom Yick and Jamie Humes getting to the final of the Northern Festival. They lost 1-2 in the final to players with at least 10 years more experience. James Dusdon and Win Chirayusalso put in fantastic performances in reaching the festival semi final losing 1-2 to Yick and Humes.

Jack Hudson-Williams and Henry Lewis were the only pair to qualify out of the main tournament, however they came up against the second seeds in the quarter finals and were defeated 0-2. Edward Holroyd and Max Hulse who played until nearly 6pm on Sunday won the Festival Plate.

Seb Cooley (Maths and Physics Master) took the title for the second year running, with his partner Tom Dunbar.  Please see Shrewsbury Master wins Northern Championship for more information.

Well done to all involved in a very good weekend of Fives here at Shrewsbury School.

Mr A. Barnard

Following their best performance at the Coventry national relays since 1998 with a second place on Wednesday, the Hunt went into Saturday's County Championships brimming with confidence, and looking to defend their Senior and Intermediate Boys titles, and hopefully challenge for the Junior Boys and Senior Girls trophies as well.  Despite the cold weather, over 20 Hunt athletes took to the start-line of the various races at Oswestry, with a number of other Hunt athletes due to compete in a Midlands League fixture in Worksop.

In the first race of the day, our Intermediate boys packed in well in the opening stages, with Rory Fraser, Otto Clarke and Toby Lansdell all tucking in to the lead pack.  The pace was relatively conservative, with none of the runners prepared to push on the pace in the opening lap of the race.  Indeed, these were the tactics for our lead runners, who were instructed to take things easy in the first lap then push hard in the final lap.  An earlier than expected challenge was mounted, however, by the 2010 Junior Boys' Champion Ben Ashcroft from The Grange, though Rory Fraser sensed the danger and kept on Ashcroft's heels.  Going into the final lap, Rory pushed hard and secured a lead, eventually finishing the race in some style with a win by a comfortable margin, winning the championship individual title and following in the footsteps of last year's winner Ed Mallett (and becoming only the third ever Hunt runner to have won the county champs in this age-group since the competition was begun in 1978).  With Otto Clarke coming home in 3rd, Toby Lansdell just outside the medals in 4th, and final 'counter' Angus Hayward in 13th, the team total of 21 points was more than enough to win the trophy for the third year running, the 16th time in 34 years the Hunt have brought the title home.  Fraser, Clarke and Lansdell have all earned county selection for the Nationals on the back of their performance.

In the Senior Girls' race, we brought a quartet whom we believed could really challenge this year in a championship race that we have never won since entering it in 2010.  However, following a strong performance at the national relays mid-week, the squad spirit amongst the girls was running high, and there was real confidence in them all.  The race proved an exciting affair, with our girls starting the race modestly, but over the course of the distance, their training kicked in and their superior stamina told.  Imola Atkins pushed through the field, and despite being off the pace in the first lap, she eventually ran through the positions to take home the individual bronze medal, adding to the silver she won last year.  However, this year, Imola was backed up by a talented group of L6th formers, and with Anna Thompson coming home in 4th, Becky Home in 5th, and Libby Naylor in 6th, our team total was convincing and meant that for the very first time, the girls lifted the Senior Girls' County Championship trophy, a proud day for all concerned, and a significant and historic one, for this was the very first trophy won by the Girls' Hunt - the first of many we hope!  All four girls will travel to the Nationals in March at Taunton as part of the Shropshire team.

With two trophies already won, our talented Seniors took to the field knowing that the squad was a strong one, despite being without Huntsman George Mallett (the 2011 individual County Champion), who was left at home struggling with an injury.   Tactically, we were hoping for a similar race to the Intermediate boys, but Ed Mallett found himself breaking free in the opening stages and pushed clear of the lead pack, isolating himself as a front-runner.  It was a move that would later cause problems, for in the second lap, Ed was chased down by last year's silver medalist Ryan Heath from Telford AC, who strode past him and took a lead of around 15m.  Yet Ed did not give up, and in a spirited fight back, by the time the runners moved into the final lap, Ed was within 5m of Heath, eventually pulling past him and restoring his early lead.  By the close of the race, the distance between the two was significant, possibly as much as 200m, and Ed was able to come home as Senior County Champion, a title he will be able to defend next year.   He follows in the footsteps of not only his elder brother George, but five other Hunt individual champions at this level, including Tim Bedell in the very first championships in 1978.  In the team event, Ed's performance was matched by a very impressive bronze-medal from the rapidly-improving Seb Blake, 5th place for Tom Cousins, and 6th place for Ed Lloyd.  A score of 15 (10 points is the 'perfect score') meant that the Hunt easily retained the team trophy for the third year running, and all four 'counters' have earned county-selection for the Nationals.

In the final race of the day, the Junior Boys took as strong a squad as we have had in a number of years, and it was our hope that they would return the trophy that we last won in 2009, and come home with the fourth trophy of the day.  We weren't to be disappointed, with New Boys' Race winner Oscar Dickins in fine form, coming over the finish line in 4th place in what was a very talented field (including winner of Shrewsbury Schools' recent Prep Schools' XC Champs, Packwood's Freddie Fielding- very much a star of the future!).  Our four counters came home with an impressive score of 29, with Oscar's performance added to by Tom Sykes in 6th, 9th place for Gene Ratanadaros, and Barnaby Seager in 10th place.  The fourth trophy of the day was won by our Junior Boys, making this an historic clean-sweep of trophies!  Both Oscar and Tom will join the twelve other Hunt runners who have been selected for the Nationals, and we look forward to seeing some strong performances from them all.

PJM, February, 2012

The 1st VII started soundly from the first quarter, but not playing to their full potential. Shrewsbury were dead level with Kings Chester until the third quarter where the girls in blue took the lead 14-13 in this very tight contest. The game was evenly matched with concise passing skills and communication evident from both sides, however in the fourth quarter Shrewsbury raised their levels and eventually pulled away winning 24-14, with some unstoppable shooting and passing skills on show. Player of the match was awarded to Lucy Emms (GS).

The 2nd VII played extremely well from the first whistle against their Kings opponents, demonstrating their strength in all elements of the game. This was illustrated in the score line at the first quarter, with Shrewsbury going in with an 8-2 lead. The girls built upon this to finish with a resounding 28-8 win. Shrewsbury 2nd VII have demonstrated confidence across all elements of netball from concise passing, accurate shooting, tight marking and fluency of ball up and down the court. The player of the match was awarded to both Holly Free (WD) and Izzy Barber (WA).

Miss A. Hartshorne

Please also see http://www.fivesonline.net/etonfives/433-under-21s-shrewsbury-show-the-way.html for a gripping report on the tournament.

Seven Salopians (five present two past), played in the U21s tournament at Eton On Sunday 29th January 2012. Five reached their respective finals.

GROUP STAGES
Henry Lewis (I) & Jack Hudson-Williams (PH) came an untroubled top of their group. Sam Welti (I) & Tom Welti (OS) did the same.  Guy Williams (Rb) & Jack Flowers (I) came top after a good 12-5 victory over Highgate's top senior pair.

QUARTER FINALS
In the quarter finals, Guy Williams and Jack Flowers drew Highgate's top U16 pair and lost very narrowly: 13-11 in the deciding game.

SEMI FINALS & FINAL
Both the other pairs made it through to the final, Sam Welti and Tom Welti having been in a very close-fought semi 13-12, 13-15, 12-6. This left them without the reserves they would have needed to challenge Lewis & Hudson-Williams in the final, so the latter triumphed 12-5 , 12-6 to take the U21’s title.

Jack Hudson-Williams & Henry Lewis therefore become the first school boy pair to win the National U21 title.

Old Salopian Girl into Final
Congratulations also Hannah Blofield (OS) reached the final of the Ladies' competition with her Bath University partner Emily Scoones.

SKPC

Shrewsbury Town FC were far too strong, fit and well organised and we ended up on the end of a 0-6 defeat. It was an excellent workout for our players who did a lot of hard work out of possession.

Playing against boys of the same age who train every day in an attempt to make a career from the game, was an invaluable experience for our boys. The increased tempo of play and extra pace that was evident throughout the Shrewsbury Town players gives our boys a target to aim for. Only positive lessons can be extracted from this game, despite the heavy scoreline. 

SJB

Wednesday 18th January saw a terrific performance by some of the Hunt's less regular runners, as they stormed to victory in the Adams Dash, defeating Adams' Grammar and Wrekin College while our top squad were training separately for the upcoming Coventry Relays.

This 4-mile cross country route was a chance for some new talent to emerge, and they took that opportunity brilliantly. Angus Hayward finished 4th in an excellent return to Hunt racing, followed by Henry Dashwood in 5th. Tim Atkins, Theo Clarke and Jake Samuel also had strong races, making our team points total up to a very impressive 30.

The best run of the day belonged to Will Spencer Jones, however, who finished 2nd in his best performance of the season to date.

Well done to all who competed.

IPH

The 1st pair of Jack Hudson-Williams (PH) and Henry Lewis (I) got their season of to a good start on Saturday with a confidence-boosting victory against a strong Monday Club pairing.

In the first full fixture of the season, the Seniors took on 7 pairs of adults from the Monday Club on Saturday and despite playing well lost the match 7-2. Two matches were very close and went to the 5th set.

H-Williams & Lewis   Won 3-1
Welti & Williams Lost 0-3
B-Davenport & Christie Lost 0-3
Jones & Mucklow Won 3-2
Blofield & White Lost 1-3
Chirayus & Richards Lost 2-3
Ho & Iba Lost 0-3

In addition the remaining senior pairs played a further 6 play off/seeding matches.

The annual Knole Run in Sevenoaks always provides a suitably rigorous and challenging season opener for the cross-country campaign, and the event- now in its 38th year- is one of the toughest and longest races the Hunt competes in.  Following our strong performance last year in which we moved inside the top five schools in the country, we were determined to make further strides forward this year, our primary goal in 2012 being to cement our position in the top three schools in the UK.  To that end, aside from the hard training of the Michaelmas term, ten boys returned early from the Christmas break for three days pre-season training at Hunt HQ for the weekend- Rigg's Hall.

Two boys teams travelled down to Kent feeling better prepared than ever before, and we were delighted this year to take for the first time a girls squad of some promise, and indeed the girls did not disappoint.  Despite having never competed on the 3.6km course, the girls looked impressive and reaped the rewards of their hard training with ARH over the winter term.  Amy Stockdale (EDH) was the standout performer coming home in 19th/115, and she was backed up by Imola Atkins (MSH) in 33rd, Anna Thompson (MSH) in 34th, Becky Home (MSH) in 51st, and Libby Naylor (EDH) in 91st.  With four runners 'counting', this meant that the girls were placed 6th overall out of 19 teams, a terrific result in their first outing at Knole.

In the boys event, a record field took to the starting line with 41 teams competing and over 320 runners competing.  Our strength in depth was palpable, with 'B' team runner Toby Lansdell (PH) coming home in 58th in a time of 39.16.   With further strong performances from Will Spencer Jones (PH) in 77th and Tom Fitzpatrick (R) in 144th, the 'B' squad placed 23rd overall out of the 41 teams, particularly impressive when one looks at the 'A' teams they beat from such notable schools as Brighton College, Oundle, Lancing, and Christ's Hospital.

We have high hopes for our top runners this year, and if the Knole is anything to go by, this will prove a vintage season.  Indeed, Huntsman George Mallett (S) was on typically fine form as he led our attack slotting in amongst the lead pack.  Having placed just outside the top 10 last year, he was determined to push higher this year, and we were delighted when he came home in 5th position overall.  His time of 34.11 would have been good enough for 2nd overall last year, a measure of just how competitive it is this season.  Younger brother Ed Mallett did well to ensure he came home in the top 10, and our final four counters came home in a flurry with 33rd for Churchill's Rory Fraser, 35th for Severn Hill's Seb Blake, 27th for Port Hill's Tom Cousins, and 44th for Ridgemount's Ed Lloyd.  There was a nervous wait at the presentation ceremony after the race as we knew last year's bronze medalists Abingdon would be close, but in the end, our score of 164 beat Abingdon's score by 23 points, and the team were able to go up and collect their medals for securing third spot.  There were only 24 points between ourselves and second-placed St Alban's, and though the gap between ourselves and winners The Judd School (who have now won the event three in a row) is still significant, we have closed the gap from 203 points last year, to 87 this year.  It will be all to play for at the National Relays in Coventry in just over two weeks time, and the Hunt will look to match their performance at the Knole with a top-three spot there as well, and indeed we will look to challenge for top spot.  Judd will be very difficult to beat, but we will certainly push them hard!

Shrewsbury's success has also been written up by Kukri Sports: Shrewsbury's Hunt for Success.

BOYS INDIVIDUAL POSITIONS (/323 finishers), 9km

RSSH 'A'
George Mallett        5th     34.11
Ed Mallett                10th    34.42
Rory Fraser             33rd    36.34
Seb Blake               35th    36.43
Tom Cousins          37th     36.56
Ed Lloyd                  44th     37.06
George Nugee        53rd    37.39
Otto Clarke              57th    37.48

RSSH 'B'
Toby Lansdell           58th     37.49
Will Spencer Jones  77th    38.43
Tom Fitzpatrick         144th  41.33
Henry Dashwood       164th 42.09
Joe Tusting                203rd  44.24
Ivan Livingstone         218th  45.11
Toby Harvey-Scholes 269th 47.42

GIRLS INDIVIDUAL POSITIONS (/115 finishers), 3.6km

Amy Stockdale            19th      14.18
Imola Atkins                  33rd     14.39
Anna Thompson           34th      14.41
Becky Home                 51st      15.20
Libby Naylor                 91st        16.38

House Finals took place on the last day of term, amidst much enthusiasm and support across all the pitches.

The Grove won the 1st House final in what could be their last appearance in the competition. In a close match where neither goalkeeper was put under any real pressure The Grove snatched the winning goal from a free kick just before half time. Radbrook stepped up the pressure in the second half but The Grove's tight defence held out.

Final Score: The Grove 1, Radbrook 0.

The 2nd House final was a much more open affair with School House beating The Grove 4-0 and the Under 15 House was a very good game with Ingrams beating Severn Hill by two goals to one.

SJB