We are proud to announce that Pancho P (Year 13) and Anas B (Year 9) have been selected to represent the Surrey Schools’ Athletic Association team at the 63rd English Schools’ Athletic Association Cross Country Championships, taking place this Saturday (14 March) at Sefton Park in Liverpool.
It is difficult to describe the significance of qualifying for an English Schools’ athletics competition to someone outside the sport. However, many world-class coaches and athletes regard the English Schools’ Championships as the “Kids’ Olympics”, reflecting the exceptional standard and depth of talent on display.
During a demanding cross-country season, Anas has demonstrated impressive commitment in training and delivered outstanding parkrun performances and dominant results in several club competitions. Most notably, he placed 27th at the Nike English Cross-Country Nationals where he finished as the 8th Year 9 athlete. He represents Hercules Wimbledon AC and is coached by the formidable Anne Hegvold. Anas is recognised as one of Tiffin’s strongest distance athletes and was also selected for the school’s squad at the ‘1st Team’ at the National Cross Country Relay Championships, where he helped contribute to Tiffin’s record-breaking 8th place finish on 28 January in Coventry.
Also coached by Anne Hegvold, Pancho has enjoyed a breakthrough cross-country season in his international career. This year he qualified twice to represent the Bulgarian U20 national team, competing in Romania at the Balkan Cross-Country Championships and in Portugal at the European Cross-Country Championships, setting a powerful example for aspiring athletes at Tiffin. He recently achieved an impressive parkrun milestone of 15:08 for 5km.
Both athletes faced strong competition at the Surrey Schools’ Athletic Association Cross Country Championships on January 17th at Reigate Priory Park, where they each finished an excellent 4th place in their respective age groups, securing their places on the Surrey team.
The two athletes will travel together on the “Team Surrey” coach to Sefton Park in Liverpool, a venue long regarded as one of the most iconic cross-country venues in the country. Generations of runners have competed there, making it something of a rite of passage for young athletes. Many elite British runners raced there during their school years, and the course is famous for its challenging terrain and often demanding conditions. As many runners say: “If you can run well at Sefton Park, you can run well anywhere.”
The championships can be watched live via vincosport.com.
Anas B. will compete in the David Minter Junior Boys’ race over 3.2km, scheduled to start at 13:00.
Pancho P. will compete in the David Minter Senior Boys’ race over 6km, scheduled to begin at 15:05. This will be his final schools’ cross-country race.
We wish both athletes the very best of luck and hope they enjoy this remarkable opportunity to compete at the national level