The 2025/26 Down’s League season got underway on Saturday 2nd November, with athletes from across Surrey and South London descending on the Downs for the opening cross-country fixture. For some of our young athletes, this was their first ever cross country race, and each of them rose brilliantly to the challenge.

With big fields, a challenging course and plenty of nerves on the start line, our athletes showed confidence, determination and great resilience throughout the morning.

Below is a summary of our athletes performances across the age groups.

U11 Girls & Boys

Impact AC had a superb turnout in the U11 category, producing a string of excellent results.

U11 Girls Highlights

• Mabel Smith – 3rd place (09:08) – A brilliant podium finish in her first race for Impact AC

• Georgia Hudson – 7th (09:24) – A strong top-10 placing.

• Chloe Graves – 33rd, Grace Baione – 37th, Nella Myerson – 43rd, Ruby Doyle – 45th, Amanda Melendres – 56th, Millie Dearing – 62nd, Martha Copsey – 65th, Poppy Wakefield – 68th, Tara Dansu – 72nd — Fantastic efforts across the board

Impact’s U11 girls placed 3rd team overall in the standings.

U11 Boys Highlights

• Seb Scott – 5th place (8:27) – A superb top-5 finish in a very competitive boys’ field.

• Freddie Daly – 16th, Leo Allard – 22nd, Sebastian Gibson – 25th, Edward Hoare – 35th, Vaughn Griffiths – 42nd, Freddie Foley – 45th, Noah de Kleyn – 46th, Ralph Hemy – 58th, Jacob Dunlea – 71st, Edward King – 72nd, George Davey – 77th, Finley Gibson – 79th, Blake Webb – 87th, Dexter Skiggs – 88th, Mekayl Alexander Ahmad – 94th, James Richards – 97th

• A huge turnout and brilliant commitment from the squad, many of which are only in Year 4 so running against athletes two years older than them.

Impact’s U11 boys finished an outstanding 4th team overall — a fantastic achievement.

U13 Girls & Boys

U13 Boys

• Elijah Vice – 31st (13:27)

• Kristian Beynon – 35th (13:37)

Both boys handled a tough course superbly and placed Impact 9th in the team standings.

U13 Girls

• Mya Keelaghan Clow – 7th (13:01) — An outstanding run to secure a top-10 place.

• Simone Mustapha – 19th (13:25)

• Bailey Burnand – 20th (13:31)

These results contributed to Impact’s 6th-place team finish, an excellent start to the league season.

U15 Girls & Boys

U15 Girls

• Lucy Richards – 1st place (11:52) — A magnificent victory to lead home a strong U15 field.

• Rose Hollingshead – 22nd (14:00)

• Florence Dury – 25th (14:22)

The U15 girls placed 5th team overall, a great platform for the season.

U15 Boys

• Milo Inman – 24th (12:52) — A strong and composed run.

Well done to all our athletes. The Downs League is known for its large fields and competitive atmosphere, but our young athletes embraced the challenge superbly. They should all be extremely proud of their performances.

We look forward to seeing them grow in confidence as the league continues on 30th November