On Saturday the orienteering team competed in the third fixture of the Herts Schools’ League which took place in Gadebridge Park Hemel Hempstead. There was an excellent all-round team performance but the highlight was undoubtedly Ben Lockwood who has won his age group race in all three events so far. The league is structured so that all competitors only count their best three results from the five-event season, all of which means that Ben is in an unassailable position – even with two events still to go. In this race he came first in a field of 39 runners, 1 minute 40 seconds ahead of the runner in second. This is the first county league title for the team, although Ben will not actually receive his medal until the final fixture in March. James Herring, cross-country captain and a recent convert to orienteering, came home in 6th and David Westcough 24th.
In the junior competition there were more strong performances - James Lockwood came third, Ben Wright fourth and Benjamin Parikh tenth. This result means that Ben Wright is still in pole position in the league but James is also in with a chance of the title.
