Scrafton takes advantage to see off the gritty challenge of Kenny

VICTORIA Kenny can look forward to the rest of the winter season with no fear after learning a valuable lesson in the Avon Schools' Cross Country Championships.

Coach Dave Taylor believes the 16-year-old should have won the senior girls' race last Saturday, but instead showed too much respect to Floren Scrafton, who continued her comeback from injury with a morale-boosting victory.

"If Tor had gone off hard then I think she would have won that race," said Taylor. "But she sat back and ran with Floren and then the doubts began to creep in."

The longer the race went on the greater Scrafton's confidence grew and, in the final 300 metres, the St Mary Redcliffe student turned a negligible one-metre gap into a yawning victory by 15 seconds.

But if Kenny felt she had missed a golden opportunity to win her first country cross country title she didn't show it and was magnanimous to her victor.

Kenny, who is a student at Clifton College, said: "I played the race quite safe, but Floren ran a great race and deserved to win. She has come back really well from injury and I know she trains very hard."

But there was clearly some frustration as the next day she travelled to Cardiff for the McCain Cross Challenge and finished an excellent eighth in a strong field.

Taylor added: "I don't normally like my athletes to run back-to-back races, but she needed to get Saturday's race out of her system and it was good to see her respond in such a positive manner."

The most impressive winner of the event staged by Kingswood School was Miranda Sadler. The 16-year-old had her best race of the winter to win the inter girls' race with the Colston's Girls School runner dominating from the gun to finish 32 seconds ahead of Clevedon Schools' Katie Grinyer.

Redland Green's in-form Ellie Wallace kept up her tremendous record this winter with victory in the junior girls' race, while Rosie Allen, of the Castle School, Thornbury, won the minor girls' race. There was a second gold for the Sadler family with young brother Hugh lifting the minor boys' crown, while Gordano School's David Warnes is the new junior boys' champion.

Avon Schools' Cross Country Championships, Kingswood School, Bath: Senior girls: 1 Floren Scrafton (SMR) 17:11; 2 Victoria Kenny (CC) 17:26; 3 Lauren Ellis (BG) 17:57; 4 Zoe Barber (SMR) 18:18; 5 Annabelle Dewar (K) 18:25; 6 Kelly Leat (SBL) 19:14; 7 Billie Williams (Cl) 20:08; 8 Amber James (K) 20:31; 9 Lydia Thacker (K) 21:59; 10 Danielle Appleford (G) 23:20.

Inter girls: 1 Miranda Sadler (CLG) 15:18; 2 Katie Grinyer (CLV) 15:50; 3 Joanna Taylor (Bd) 16:32; 4 Abi Hall (Co) 16:39; 5 Jodie Kelley (R ) 16:46; 6 Rosie Evans Baker 16:55; 7 Paige Matthews (NH) 17:01; 8 Maria Jones (Cl) 17:07; 9 Beth Croome (M) 17:12; 10 Natalie Nash (SG) 17:22. Teams: 1 Bristol 27; 2 BANES 75; 3 North Somerset 130.

Junior girls: 1 Ellie Wallace (RG) 12:51; 2 Ellie Leather (M) 13:04; 3 Angharad Flower (Ba) 13:24; 4 Emma Jones (Co) 13:28; 5 Cecilie Anderson (G) 13:29; 6 Jasmine Emery (Ba) 13:35; 7 Jessica Monk (A) 13:38; 8 Emma Taylor (RG) 13:41; 9 Alex Withy (RH) 13:48; 10 Emma Narbell (K) 13:56. Teams: 1 Bristol 67; 2 South Gloucestershire 75; 3 North Somerset 82; 4 BANES 83.

Minor girls: 1 Rosie Allen (Ca) 12:04; 2 Sara Flower (Ba) 12:04; 3 Izzy McNab (RH) 12;46; 4 Stephanie Cummings (RG) 12:52; 5 Hannah Hobbs (Ca) 13:02; 6 Emma Mantzos (BGS) 13:12; 7 Sophie Reed (Cl) 13:13; 8 Eloise Brown (Cl) 13:13; 9 Kara Hughes (KES) 13:28; 10 Shelby Kendall (MF) 13:32. Teams: 1 Bristol 51; 2 South Gloucestershire 69; 3 BANES 89; 4 North Somerset 108.

Senior boys: 1 Alex Hill (KES) 22:33; 2 Cameron Coetzee (G) 22:55; 3 Luke Grenfell-Shaw (BGS) 23:04; 4 Kieran Young (NH) 24:13; 5 Felix McGrath (SB) 24:46; 6 Kieran Hawkins (Ca ) 25:08; 7 Harri Elmer (W) 25:31; 8 James Humphrey (K): 25:41; 9 Dan Bagnall (N) 26:15; 10 Steven Cripps (BG) 26:40. Teams: 1 BANES.

Inter boys: 1 Ben Millar (SG) 21:31; 2 Lewis Nightingale (CV) 21:55; 3 Jack Bendon (WIA) 22:20; 4 George Robb (Ba) 22:21; 5 Hani Salih (KO) 22:33; 6 Steve Beardwell (CS) 22:42; 7 Omar Yama (Co) 22:50; 8 Sam Glover (CS) 22:53; 9 Magnus Gordon (CC) 22:57; 10 Josh Kerry (RG) 22:58. Teams: 1 BANES 56; 2 South Gloucestershire 58; 3 Bristol 86.

Junior boys: 1 David Warnes (G) 14:50; 2 William Peppercorn (RA) 15:04; 3 Charlie McDonald (CV) 15:29; 4 Harry Leeming (CC) 15:32; 5 Finley Marsh (SG) 15:36; 6 Joe Connors (WIA) 15:37; 7 Corey Haines (BBA) 15:38; 8 Billy Cochrane (BBA) 15:40; 9 Herbie Kane (M) 15:48; 10 Stefan Barnet (RA) 15:49. Teams: 1 BANES 44; 2 South Gloucestershire 84.

Minor boys: 1 Hugh Sadler (BGS) 12:30; 2 Ben Cureton (G) 12:48; 3 Themis Bower (RA) 13:03; 4 Barney Shin (Cl) 13:15; 5 Henry Adams (CC) 13:16; 6 Luke Wheeler (HP) 13:20; 7 Olly Hill (CC) 13:23; 8 Theo Avis (NH) 13:24; 9 Leon Graham (BS) 13:33; 10 Harvey Woodruff (CS) 13:34. Teams: 1 Bristol 48; 2 BANES 79; 3 North Somerset 92; 4 South Gloucestershire 97.

Key: A=Abbotswood; Ba=Backwell; BBA=Bristol Brunel Academy; Bd=Badminton; BG=Brimsham Green; BGS=Bristol Grammar School; BS=Bradley Stoke; Ca=Castle, Thornbury; CC=Clifton College; Cl=Colstons; CLG=Colston's Girls; Co=Cotham; CS=Chipping Sodbury; CLV=Clevedon; CV=Chew Valley; G=Gordano; HP= Hans Price Academy; K=Kingswood; KES=King Edward School; KO=Kingsoak; M=Marlwood; MF=Mangotsfield; N=Nailsea; NH=Norton Hill; R=Redmaids; RA=Ralph Allen; RG=Redland Green; RH=Royal High; SB=St Brendan's; SBL=Sir Bernard Lovell; SG=St Gregory's; SMR=St Mary Redcliffe; W=Wellsway; WIA =Winterbourne International Academy.