Banbury Harrier to represent England after winning silver at English Schools Cross Country Championships

Banbury Harrier Isla McGowan (pictured) has won silver at English Schools Cross Country Championships.

After winning the junior girls race at Oxfordshire Schools Cross Country Championships, Isla, a student at Tudor Hall School, was part of an eight-strong Oxfordshire team competing in Kent on Saturday.

On a fast, flat 3.19km course the race went out hard from the start. Shaikira King (Leicester and Rutland) soon built up a 20m lead, but Isobela Waugh (Derbyshire) and Isla didn’t let the gap grow any further and had also built up a lead on the chasing pack of 340 athletes.

In the last kilometre over the narrow and twisting course, Shaikira’s track speed showed as pulled away.

Isla also finished very strongly just three seconds behind.

Isla was delighted with her podium place in such a large championship event, and even happier when she realised her run meant she had been selected to represent England at the SIAB International in Wales on Saturday.