The Kids are Alright!
There was marked success for local youngsters as they claimed 17 individual and seven team trophies at the national schools festival at Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline.
Newton PS had its 4th straight champion in P5/6 Girls, as Sophie Humphreys and Nina Norve topped the class in 9.46, and then joined up with Elise Barn and Jamie Tijhuis to defend the team title in the class, while Fergus McIntyre (Allan's PS) is the new P5/6 boys champ, in a time of 7.03, just one second ahead of Hamish Gallagher (Newton PS).
Sophie Edward (Newton PS) added the P7 girls title to her trophy cabinet in 7.15. from team-mate Lila Robertson (7.38). Sarah O'Halloran was 10th, to ensure Newton defended this title too, and in P7 boys, Lachlan Carruthers (Newton PS) was best placed of the locals, 3rd in 6.46, then joined with Finlay Gallagher (4th) and Luc Darvill (5th) to being Newton their third team trophy of the meet.
In the calculations for Top School, the important factor is how many athletes are within 200% of the course winning time, and Newton, with a very impressive 22 of 27 runners, took the trophy for the 4th year.
The secondary age-classes were no less successful for the local athletes; Esme Finch (Perth HS) has come into form at just the right time, and is the S1 girls champion in 10.05, and Linda Janse (Dunblane HS) was 3rd in 14.48, before joining with Ares Power and Hannah Inman for the team trophy.
Matthew Owen (Dunblane HS) took the S1 boys bronze medal in 9.55, ahead of team-mate Ben Homoncik, but with Murray Baldwin (who was 5th) having transferred his allegiance this year to Morrison's Academy, there was no team title for Dunblane in this class.
The S2 Boys title does come back to Dunblane though, as Lucas Baikie (11.14) won the class, and James Edward (11.50) was 3rd, and the pair was backed up by Ruaridh Nairn for the team honour.
There are three local medals in the S3 class, where Fraser Cheyne (Dunblane HS) won the boys division in 13.00, and Eilidh Connor (15.54) was 2nd in the girls class to Dollar Academy's Czech-born 800m runner Petra Buganova.
The third team title of the day for Dunblane HS was in S4 boys, where Alexander Hunt was 2nd in 15.52, 62 seconds ahead of Matthew Inman, who had the bronze, and Lucas Whitworth backed it up for another team title. Hanna Brindley (Linlithgow Academy) took the S4 girls silver medal in 19.19. and there was still time left for Dunblane's Peter Owen to scoop the S5/6 boys silver in 18.19.
The overall secondary title was a straight shootout between Dunblane HS and Stewart Melville College, for whom this was the final festival for long-time coach Rona Molloy, who retires in three weeks time, and although Dunblane managed to get a most impressive 21 of its 23 runners round in regulation time, Stew Mel pipped them at the post, with all 22 of their athletes counting.