Shropshire's rising athletics star Zoe Gilbody leaves rivals trailing to land English title

The Thomas Telford Year 11 student claimed a superb victory in the Intermediate Girls’ race at the magnificent Wollaton Park in Nottingham.

It was a day to remember for the Shropshire squad as Gilbody’s team-mates Beth Trow and Dan Galloway also claimed top six finishes.

But Gilbody took top billing as she added to a very successful cross country season.

One of the highlights of this winter was that she was selected to run for GB in the World Cross Country Under-20 Championships in Australia.

She added another couple of international call-ups and still found time to bag two impressive silver medals in the National Under-17 Championships at Bolesworth Castle in Cheshire and the UK Inter Counties Championships in Loughborough, as well as winning the Midland title.

At Nottingham, she repeated the English Schools victory she recorded at Liverpool three years ago, when she won the Junior Girls title by the thinnest of margins. On this occasion she was a more comfortable winner as she crossed the line five seconds clear of her nearest rival, Shakira King from Leicestershire.

To put some context to this remarkable achievement, Shropshire have only ever had four winners of any English Schools Cross Country title. Lee Hughes won the junior boys’ race in 1994, while Will Levett won the senior boys’ title in 1995. Gilbody now has two title successes to her name.

Shropshire supporters did not have long to wait to cheer home Trow (Corbet School Baschurch) as she came home in firth place in the same race.

The Year 10 student, who still has another year at this age group, has also enjoyed a fine season, She won the prestigious Dave Sunderland Inter Counties event in November at Himley Hall, Dudley and claimed an excellent third place in the UK Inter Counties Under-15 race and second in the Midland event.

On the back of their success, both girls earned a call-up to represent England Schools in the Home Countries International at Sefton Park, Liverpool.

Shropshire have never had two athletes in the top five in an English Schools race. The previous best was in 1994 when Hughes was first and Oliver Laws seventh in the junior boys’ race at Sefton Park, Liverpool.

The third amazing Shropshire achievement of the day saw Galloway (Thomas Telford) finish sixth in the senior boys’ race.

Having suffered a nasty bout of Covid earlier in the year, he has recovered well and this result must be one of his best ever cross country results.

His best previous English Schools Cross country result was 12th as a junior boy at Leeds in 2019.

There were plenty of other good results from Shropshire athletes. In the top 100 were Chloe Stuart (Wrekin College), who came 41st in the junior girls’ race, while Jack Stockton (Oldbury Wells School) led the junior boys’ team home in 81st with Harry Parker McLain (Shrewsbury School) 83rd. Will Singleton (Shrewsbury School) was 35th in the senior boys’ race.

In the senior girls’ race, Iris Downes (Shrewsbury School) enjoyed her best English Schools cross country finish as she came home 18th.

Downes has followed up her fantastic form on the track last summer, where at 800m she was selected to run for GB in the World Under-20 Championships in Columbia. She also finished third in the European Under-18 Championships in Jerusalem.

In the senior girls’ race, Beth Rawlinson (Concord College) ran well to secure 45th place.

Other Shropshire finishers on the day.

Junior Girls: 234th Elsa Lovelock, 317th Maisie Roberts.

Junior Boys: 115th Lewis Howard, 161st Ralph Brown, 178th Simon Bagshaw, 194th William Hughes, 248th Leo Chorlton-Wilcox. Team 26th out of 46.

Intermediate Girls: 231st Sophia Coulson, 302nd Scarlett Willoughby, 328th Zoe Asquith, 331st Amelia Blackledge. Team 38th out of 46

Intermediate Boys: 119th Finlay Cullen, 131st Paul Harrison, 202nd Will Rigby, 216th Zac Wasteney, 220th Edward Harrison, 272nd Dom Weilds. Team 27th out of 46.

Senior Girls: 134th Sophia Urquart, 229th Maggie Preece, 273rd Ellie Leigh Livingstone, 278th Caitlyn Disley, 289th Eva Hall, 300th Lovisa Von Witzleben. Team 27th out of 46.