St Kenneth’s savour golden memories in Grangemouth
PAUL THOMSON
The sun was shining on St Kenneth’s Primary School as their boys’ team claimed gold in glorious Grangemouth.
On a bright but autumnal day, the primary seven boys were on top form at the Scottish Primary Road Relay Championships and returned home champions after a dominant display in the three-mile race.
Ruairidh Neil set off first and ran a great leg to finish fifth as he handed over to Dylan Edwards, who helped move the team up to fourth before handing over the baton to Gerard Black.
There was a gap of about 70m between fourth and third place at this stage and within two minutes, Gerard had edged into third position.
With 250 metres to go, Gerard had the leaders in his sights. As he turned the corner and swept into the stadium, Gerard sprinted the last 50m to the finish line to over Hutcheson’s Grammar School and Culbokie Primary, from Dingwall in the Highlands, to claim gold with huge cheers from supporters ringing in his ears.
The time of 15 minutes and two seconds was the fastest run of the day.
After his sensational final leg run, Gerard said: “It was a great day and it was amazing to represent St. Kenneth’s.
“I want to thank Dylan and Ruairidh for running a great race and it was amazing to win gold.”
Before that success, the P7 girls were also in action with Orla Craig, Niamh Lawson and Darcey McGhee finishing a creditable 18th position out of 27 teams.
Lucy Coulter, Faryl Hough and Erin McGowan represented the P6 girls and their team also finished 18th, this time in a field of 23 teams.
The final race of the day was for P6 boys. Ross Thomson, Zac Graham and Scott Gracie just missed out on a medal, finishing in fourth position out of 27 teams.
Proud coach Richard Wyatt said: “What a wonderful, golden day for St Kenneth’s Athletics club. “It’s a day I will never forget. “The positive attitude, commitment and team spirit our pupils showed is amazing.
“Our primary seven boys showed real talent and absolute determination to lift this title in such dramatic fashion over the final leg, while the P6 boys were outstanding as well in fourth, and our girls’ teams ran very solid races also.
“A big thank you goes to our supportive parents and other staff members who help the children with their training.”
All the squad had been training hard and 10 of the 12 runners who took part had recently won medals in St. Kenneth’s own Cross Country Championships in September.
St Kenneth’s head teacher, Geraldine O’Hanlon, said: “To have our P7 boys as Scottish champions is a fantastic achievement for our school.
“All the children trained so well and performed to their best on the day.
“My thanks also to Mr Wyatt, whose dedication and coaching has brought such success to our school.”
“A big well done to all involved.”