8:52am Thursday 11th February 2010
By Andy McAllister
Karl Billington will make his England debut on Sunday after a magnificent sequence of results over recent weeks.
The 17-year old Blackburn Harrier passed his latest test with flying colours on Saturday when he won the senior boy’s race at the Lancashire Schools’ Cross Country Championships at a cool Witton Park. Representing Blackburn Schools, the St Mary’s College student was more than 20 seconds clear of Preston’s Kristian Bibby with Chris Matthews taking third for Blackburn.
While his recent successes have been on the country, the first sign of his stunning winter season form was on the road as he reduced his personal best by almost two minutes at the Ribble Valley 10K over the Christmas break.
In the New Year he became the U20 Lancashire Cross Country Champion at Witton Park, and was selected for the North of England Team placing seventh in a regional cross country match in the grounds of Cardiff Castle.
As he is only in his first year as an U20, he is conceding two years to most of the front runners in his class, yet he was third in the Northern Cross Country Championships a fortnight ago to give the selectors an almighty nudge. Having represented the English Schools cross country team in the home countries’ schools international match two years ago, Karl will win in first full England vest in an U20s match at Hannut near Ostend in Belgium on Valentine’s Day. Just to reach Witton Park, all the athletes had qualified for their town or district teams, and another good performance would earn selection for the Lancashire Schools’ Team at the English Schools Championships.
There was also a final chance for candidates to cement a place in the Lancashire Inter Counties Team with selector Phil Leybourne an interested spectator.
Westholme School’s Beckie Taylor assured herself of a spot at English Schools’ with a storming run and a decisive victory in the Intermediate Girls’ race and top five finishes for Blackburn’s Charlotte Atkinson and Hyndburn’s Helena Wallis guarantees them selection.
Another Westholme girl, Emma Flanagan, is certain of her place in the senior team after finishing fourth, but the sixth, seventh and eighth picks are at the discretion of the selectors. That means that Katie Buckley was our only local qualifier from the junior girls’ race after the Blackburn girl produced a strong run for third place.
Luke Betts of Chorley and Joe Moores from Rossendale were second and third in the Intermediate Boy’s race, but couldn’t dislodge Lancaster’s Beau Smith from the top spot.
There were three English Schools’ qualifiers from our area in the junior race as Jake Copeman of Hyndburn, Matthew Dutton from Pendle and Chorley’s Jack Smith all made it through with third, fourth and fifth.
The Year 7 races always produce a spectacular finale to the day as the youngest children get to enjoy what is often their first taste of competition. There is not the pressure of racing for places in Lancashire Schools team, yet more that 150 had a go – the biggest fields of the day. Chorley had the stand out result as Bethany Blackwell and Phoebe Howe made it a 1-2 for the town in the girls’ race while Maddie Ashworth of Blackburn and Rossendale’s Isabella Lewis hit the top six.
Kyle Smith could be one to watch as he was second for Hyndburn in the boys’ race and Burnley’s Connor Barrow and Callum Weatherall of Pendle were also well to the fore.
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