Cluster cheer after Olivia bags a treble (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Cluster cheer after Olivia bags a treble

9:28am Wednesday 28th November 2012 in Sport

OLIVIA Willmore has become the first athlete to win three individual races at the Cluster Schools cross-country event.

Willmore had won the race as a Year Four and Year Five pupil and only three athletes had won two races previously.

The youngster attacked from the start and ran away from the rest of the field to finish in a time of seven minutes and four seconds, to knock six seconds off the course record, which has stood since 2005.

In second place was Anna Cleden from Powerstock, while third was Maddy Herbert from Loders.

The Symondsbury course was very wet after a lot of rain overnight but the sun came out in the morning for the start of the races.

Teams from Burton Brad-stock, Loders, Powerstock, Symondsbury, St Catherine’s, St Mary’s and Thorners Primary Schools competed for the coveted titles in the 12th year of the competition.

The one-mile course takes the competitors around the base of Colmers Hill, and included a couple of steady climbs and a muddy section.

The girls were first to go, with 40 entrants making up a large field of runners.

Loders, the defending champions, had a very strong team, which included the individual winner from the previous two years.

Loders won the team event, with St Catherine’s second and Symondsbury third.

In the boys’ race there were 45 runners.

Loders were also the defending champions and looked strong.

Marcus Burt, from Loders, took an early lead but was caught by Frankie Chant, also from Loders, who went on to win in a time of six minutes 44 seconds, six seconds outside the course record.

Burt was second and third was Sam Matterface from Symondsbury.

Symondsbury pipped Loders to win the team event, with only two points separating them. Joint third were Thorners and St Catherine’s.