Rowing, Cross-Country and Squash Results

St Paul’s athletes excelled across multiple sports this past week, highlighted by determined cross country efforts, standout rowing performances at the Junior Fours Head and Fours Head, and KS4 and KS5 squash teams advancing to Round 2 of the Schools Nationals.

Cross-Country

Ten Schools Fixture – Harrow – 13 November

A combined SPJ and SPS team featuring Surya Kansagra, who placed third in the Junior Boys event, and Max de Heinrich, who finished fourteenth, competed strongly against a high-quality field. The team also included boys from Fourth Form to Upper Eighth. It was an excellent opportunity for several boys to race for the school for the first time, with many members of the ESAA Schools Cup team recovering after Monday’s race.

In the Junior Boys category, Alex Koebel (72nd), Tommy Qiao (79th) and Daniel Rogn (86th, first race for SPS) all ran well. In the Inters race, there were good performances from Toby Halsall (38th) and Edmund Ashworth-Jones (48th). In the Seniors, Ivo Prosser (in his first cross country race for SPS) achieved a very creditable sixteenth place, and Samuel Christie finished thirty-sixth.

Rowing

Junior Fours Head – 14 November 

On Friday 14 November, the inaugural Junior Fours Head competition took place on the Tideway in London. St Paul’s entered three senior crews and four J16 crews; three further senior crews would sit out, racing instead at the Fours Head the following day. On Friday the seniors did well, with the top boat – with athletes drawn from the 2nd VIII – finishing 5th in School/Junior coxless fours, behind only top crews from other schools. The J16 squad stole the show, however, with the top J16 coxed four winning their event by 23 seconds.

Junior Fours – 15 November 

On Saturday 15 November, three SPS crews raced in the Fours Head. The top boat – a quad scull – finished second in the academic quads category, behind only sculling specialists Reading University. The second boat – a coxed four – enjoyed similar success, finishing runners up to Cambridge University by just over a second in the academic coxed fours race.

Squash

Schools Nationals Round 1 – Harrow – 13 November

The KS4 team finished second out of four teams, beating Berkhamsted 4–1 and Haberdashers 3–2, and losing to Harrow 5–0. This result means they qualify for Round 2 of the Schools Nationals. Well done to Sam To, Tim Lenhard, Santi Rio, Rohaan Kapur and Hugo Samama.

The KS5 team also finished second out of four teams, defeating MTS 5–0 and Haberdashers 4–1, and narrowly losing to Harrow 3–2. They too progress to Round 2 of the Schools Nationals. Congratulations to Anish Dhar, Edouard Traissac, Aryan Sankaye, Nik Younis and Sam To.

A special mention goes to Sam To in the Fourth Form, who not only played as seed 1 for the KS4 team but also stepped up to play as seed 5 for the KS5 team due to a last-minute absence. He performed admirably against much older opposition.