Host of achievements
Cameron Shaw and Josh Peevor took their place in the field at the Petzl Night Trail Wales, which was held at the impressive Coed y Brenin forest park.
They were joined by James Smith, who is the son of Estates Manager Richard to form a team of three at the event.
The enduro-style solo and team event was the final race offering in 2019 from the Run Coed y Brenin team, and rounds off another record-breaking year of trail running events.
As ever the atmosphere at the three-hour race was electric, as the team and solo participants wound their way around the 3km loop.
The trio competed in a field of 100 in the team category, with Cameron, Josh and James turning in a fabulous effort in an adult field to come away with a hugely creditable third position after completing 12 laps of the testing course between them.
This is the latest in a series of outstanding achievements from Cameron and Josh, who have recorded some impressive results in a competitive environment in areas such as Triathlon and other endurance races in recent months.
The school proudly hosted the seventh annual Welsh Invitational Fives Championships, which proved to be another huge success and a fine demonstration of the enthusiasm and talent relating to the sport within the region.
Tournament veterans Gareth Hoskins, Stephen Thatcher and Tom Cotterell took their place in the field alongside a wealth of talented pupils, with Matt Chinery and Harry Asquith also aiming for debut success in the tournament.
Matthias Fiorita has taken over in recent years as the dominant force in the competition and he continued his excellent run in the Saturday tournament, partnering Raif Horrocks to a convincing win in the final against Adam McGuigan and Max Cowen-Wright.
Sunday saw the field split into a senior and junior section and the guest players involved all the way through to the final.
Matthias missed a place in the final by the skin of his teeth, losing a semi-final shootout 12-11 alongside Harry Asquith at the hands of Matt Chinery and Luke Davies, who went on to play Anthony Bowe and former pupil Tom Cotterell in the final.
Year 11 pupil Anthony has had several near misses in recent years and was determined not to miss out this time.
Tom had also never won the senior Sunday competition and the two of them flew out of the blocks against Matt and Luke, racing through the first game in double-quick time and finishing the job in the second game to claim a well-deserved win.
The junior section saw Max Cowen-Wright and August Ball-Iversen triumph over Raif and Matthew Johnson so secure the crown, with Ester Ball-Iversen and Charlotte Hourihane winning the girls’ event with victory over Alys Peake-Jones and Emily Thomas.
Reuben Bather and Charley Simpson took their place in the field at the Alexander Quin Invitational, a world-ranking event organised by the Independent Schools’ Golf Association.
This was the first time that Rydal Penrhos had been selected to compete at the competition, which is a direct result of the exceptional performances in a competitive environment from the talented duo.
Both Reuben and Charley began the scratch competition in outstanding form, with the former shooting a superb 71 that saw him tied for the lead after round one.
Golf Academy Wales member Charley was also in contention after the first 18 holes after securing a score of 79, but day two brought with it torrential rain and winds that saw play postponed.
The third and final round saw Wales U18 international Reuben fire a 77 to see the sports scholar end the event in a very creditable sixth position, and Charley’s 76 on the final day ensured an 11th placed finish as a result of his outstanding efforts.
Mrs Head, said: “Both Charley and Reuben gave an extremely good account of themselves at one of the biggest tournaments they have ever taken part in, and their ability to perform consistently on the big stage is a testament to their preparation, desire to improve and resilience.
“They have boosted the profile of our thriving Golf Academy considerably in recent months and hopefully this is a trend that can continue throughout the remainder of their time here at Rydal Penrhos.”
The school’s winter nets cricket programme got back underway last month, which has proven to be a hugely important tool in terms of developing skills leading up to the summer.
Those in attendance have been boosted considerably this year by the arrival of Colin Grindey, who took over as the school’s new cricket coach in July.
Mr Grindey joins the team with an extensive coaching background having held numerous roles with the Cheshire Cricket Board, including Development and Coaching Officer for over ten years.
A Level 3 Coach with the England and Wales Cricket Board, Mr Grindey has been involved with Eryri Cricket in the North for the last few years in addition to coaching at National Development centre level.
His knowledge and experience has already been an invaluable benefit to aspiring players in North Wales in the role of Regional Manager for the Cricket Wales Performance Centre based at Rydal Penrhos, which is an extensive pathway programme offered to talented individuals throughout the region over the winter and summer months.
Mr Grindey has also been working closely within the coaching set-up at Bangor, who are currently top of the North Wales Cricket League Premier Division standings.
Josh Peevor travelled to Cumbria to compete at the Langdale 10km Trail Race, which featured more than 100 competitors at the picturesque surrounding.
Despite being the youngest person taking their place in the field, the teenager once again proved age is no barrier with an exceptional display that saw him complete the difficult terrain in 51 minutes, 40 seconds.
This ensured a seventh-placed finish for Josh, which is another outstanding effort in adult company during what has been an immensely impressive few months for the aspiring star.
He recently finished third in the team event at the Peltz Night Trail alongside fellow pupil Cameron Shaw and James Smith in addition to performing exceptionally well at school events such as Sports Day and regional competitions.
Mrs Head, said: “Josh has demonstrated a level of consistency in a competitive environment that defies his relatively young age, and this is something that is bringing with it significant rewards."