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Sports News
EMMAculate
Northampton Academy’s cross country queen, Emma Barker, has
continued to shine in her sport. Following her interview at the start
of 2016, Emma has engaged with the media again after her latest
achievement.
Emma recently competed in the Cross Country County Schools
Championship, representing the Academy. Impressively, she finished
8th, which qualified her for the Anglian Cross Country Championships.
In this competition, counties from all across East Anglia faced each
other. Emma finished 59th, which is a great achievement, bearing in
mind the size of the competition.
Emma trains twice a week with the Rugby & Northampton Running
Club, and participates in the Northampton Parkrun on Saturday
mornings (9am) at the Racecourse. The Parkrun is always a great
spectacle, with hundreds of runners of all ages and abilities jogging
around the 5km route. When you arrive you immediately feel part of
the Parkrun family.
It’s clear to see that Emma is a very talented runner over hills, muddy
fields, streams… you name it! And there is no reason why you
couldn’t be too. So why wait? Pop along to the Northampton Parkrun
and give running a go!
By Matthew Bates, Year 13
The town of Northampton is widely known for its rugby, and
some of Northampton Academy’s mainstream students have
really caught the bug - Morgan Howlett and Jack Donald in
particular. These stars, who have been impressing on the field,
have been approached by the school’s media.
Morgan only moved to Northampton at the start of this academic
year and she swan-dived straight into the set-up at the Old
Northamptonians’ last October. Despite not knowing anybody
there, she found the club incredibly welcoming.
Within a few months, she trialled for the U15s East Midlands
rugby team. Unfortunately, she wasn’t selected, but every cloud
has a silver lining; she was invited to feature in a development
match for the region.
Morgan admitted that the trials were very intense, but she was
not put off by the labour of the task and tried again for the
second time. Her persistence paid off and, after impressing in the
trials, she was selected for the squad. She starred in two games
for East Midlands, which was a fantastic achievement.
The full-back’s realistic goal is to continue to play rugby at ON’s
and eventually join the ladies team when she reaches 18.
By Matthew Bates, Year 13
Jack Donald was born and bred in a rugby family and hence started playing rugby with the Old Northamptonians from as early as
the age of 7. To put that into perspective, children usually turn 7 whilst still in year 2!
Jack played tag rugby until he was 10 when the club introduced him to contact. The back rower still plays for the ON’s and
season by season he has progressed into a true talent.
Recently, Jack was selected for the Saints Development Squad, which is run
by Aviva Premiership side the Northampton Saints. This was both a great
achievement and a valuable opportunity.
His next goal would be to feature in the Saints Elite Development Squad,
however, Jack is moving to rugby-mad Wales at the end of the academic
year. Therefore, he hopes to transfer to the Sale Sharks Development Squad
and then make the step up into their elite squad. Jack is then determined to
progress through the Sharks academy and then, one day, to be playing as
a professional.
So remember these names, as you could very well be hearing them again in
years to come. Good luck Morgan and Jack!
By Matthew Bates
Duet of Ruckstars
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41
On Monday 16th January, a team of enthusiastic Year 7 and
8 athletes travelled to the impressive facilities at NSG for the
Northampton Sports Hall Competition. Teams representing
NSG, Malcolm Arnold, Abbeyfield, Thomas Becket, Duston, St
Peters and Weston Favell provided a challenging test for our
talented team. Pupils competed in various events, including an
obstacle relay; 4 x 200m relay; 2, 4 and 6 lap individual races;
speed bounce; shot put; vertical jump; standing long jump;
standing triple jump and the 8 lap paarlauf (a relay that is run
in pairs, where runners do not have to run the same distance
as their partner, but every athlete must complete at least
1 lap).
The event started with the obstacle relay, where the Year 8
Boy’s Team (Alfie North, Ross MacNaught, Cohen Curtis and
George Thompson) made a strong start, finishing 2nd. This was
followed by the 2 lap and 4 lap individual races, which both
had strong showings from the Academy participants. Marie
Massala stormed home to win her heat in the 2 lap race, whilst
Cohen Curtis won his heat in the 4 lap race.
The next track events were the 6 lap individual race and the 8
lap paarlauf. These were very competitive and tested students’
stamina.
Sports Hall Superstars
The final track event of the competition was the 4 x 200m
relay. This was a disappointing event for the Academy,
who saw two out of four teams disqualified. To add to the
frustration, the Year 8 Girls’ Team were leading before being
dismissed from the race as a result of running an incorrect
number of laps! (They somehow managed to run too many!)
Whilst these track events were taking place, multiple field
events were being held. There were some good performances
in these events from the Academy’s teams, including the
+++Year 8 Girl’s Shot Put (Dammy Adenji) and the Year 7 Boy’s
Vertical Jump.
All in all, the Sports Hall event was a great experience for our
students, who all represented our school with pride. We also
registered some excellent results, with 2nd place finishes for
the Year 7 Boys and Year 8 Girls, who will now be competing
in the County Championships. There was also a 4th place finish
for the Year 8 Boys.
If you think that you’re a budding athlete, Athletics Club will
start running after Easter. So come along to the back-field and
test your skills!
By George Thompson, Year 8
