Story by REDintern Edina Tan. Photos by Les Tan/Red Sports

(Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Isabelle Toh (RVH #572) was the fastest River Valley High runner with a time of 24:38. She finished fifth. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Bedok Reservoir, Saturday, February 6, 2015 — River Valley High comfortably clinched the under-15 team title at the 65th Singapore Athletics Cross Country Championships.

The team’s top runner, Isabelle Toh, clocked 24 minutes 38 seconds for the 5km route. She was followed by her teammate Ong Wui Shen with a time of 24:59. River Valley High Team A runners finished 5th, 6th, and 8th to bag the team title.

Indira Patel was the fastest runner in the category when she stopped the clock at 19:53.

Germaine Chan of Cedar Girls’ Secondary, who finished third in the race with a 23:44 timing, said, “I was in the front pack from the start, and overtook a few people along the way. I’m satisfied with my race.”

Isabelle, who was also in the front pack, said, “I had a good start, and ended up in front. I sprinted towards the end. Overall I am okay with my performance, but I was aiming to get top 3 because there were fewer people (than in Nationals).”

Jurong Secondary stood out with a top-three finish with runners in 7th, 9th, and 12th placing, a remarkable feat considering they were not in the top five at the 2015 National Inter-School Cross Country Championships.

With River Valley High back on track after a long hiatus from the podium – their last C Division cross country title was in 2010 – the next few cross country races will be exciting to behold.

Girls’ U-15 Results (Top 10)
1st Indira Patel (#554, JS Athletics) — 19:53
2nd Claire Callon (#575, Individual) — 21:18
3rd Germaine Chan (#535, Cedar Girls’) — 23:44
4th Sonia Koh Yi Jia (#551, EVG SMALL) — 24:25
5th Isabelle Toh (#572, River Valley High) — 24:38
6th Ong Wui Shen (#571, River Valley High) — 24:59
7th Goh Zhi Xuan (#558, Jurong Secondary) — 25:08
8th Keona Toh (#573, River Valley High) — 25:19
9th Kang Ming Ying (#561, Jurong Secondary) — 25:27
10th Sophie Ferraton (#556, JS Athletics) — 25:44

U-15 Team Results
1st RVHS Team A — 19 points
Isabelle Toh (5th), Ong Wui Shen (6th), Keona Toh (8th), Clara Chow (#14)

2nd JS Athletics Team 2 — 27 points
Indira Patel (1st), Sophie Ferraton (10th), Chua Rei Qi (16th), Emily Chen (27th)

3rd JSS C Girls Team 1 — 28 points
Goh Zhi Xuan (7th), Kang Ming Yang (9th), Tan Si Xuan (12th), Wong Jing Ting (18th)

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