Louis Shia of North Vista came in tops for the U-15 category in 18:50. (Photo 1 © Joseph Lee/Red Sports)
Bedok Reservoir, Saturday, 19 January 19, 2013 — Louis Shia of North Vista Secondary came out on top in the boys’ under-15 category at the 62nd Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) Cross Country Championships. Louis finished the 5km race in a time of 18 minutes and 50 seconds, beating out a clutch of athletes from more well-known running schools.
Isaac Tan of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) was second in 19:04, while Aaron Shane Tan of Singapore Sports School was third in 19:12.
Three schools had four athletes each finishing in the top 20.
Raffles Institution stood out with Aaron Chan leading them with a 19:45 timing to finish seventh. Aaron was joined in the top 20 by Ashton Tan (9th; 20:27), Cheong Wei Soon (10th; 20:36) and Andy Koh (12th; 20:54).
Catholic High’s four athletes were led by Isaiah Boh who finished sixth in a time of 19:43. Ezra Goh (8th; 20:10), Dylan Tay (11th; 20:51) and Vincent Chua (15th; 21:08) rounded off their strong showing.
The third school to have four runners in the top 20 was Victoria School. Jared Ng led the team with a 16th place finish in a time of 21:10. He was followed home by his teammates Rohin Singh (18th; 21:19), Gabriel Neo (19th; 21:22) and Kum Kai Weng (20th; 21:24).
Despite heavy showers in the morning that delayed the event, Louis was able to keep a clear mind and bring home a gold for his school on his first try at the event.
When quizzed on his impressive performance, Louis said: “I did not expect to win at the race today. After all, it was my first try. My time of 18:50 also happens to be my personal best too. I’m glad for today’s result.”
However, the rain proved to be a hurdle he had to overcome during the race. Louis admitted that the 24 degree celcius rainy weather caused his muscles to be much tighter than usual despite adequate warm up.
Louis also shared his targets and goals for the upcoming National Schools Cross Country Championships.
He said: “I will run my races with a confident mindset as I know I stand a high chance of bagging the gold for my school. As it is, my main rival is mainly Isaac Tan of ACS(I) and I will try my best to stay on par with my objectives.”
U-15 Boys Results (Top 10)
1st Louis Shia Wei Jia (#36, North Vista) — 18:51
2nd Isaac Tan (#3, Anglo Chinese School Independent) — 19:04
3rd Aaron Shane Tan (#56, Singapore Sports School) — 19:12
4th Ierhan Muhd Raushan (#57, Singapore Sports School) — 19:31
5th Shail Modi (#16, Fabian Wlliams Coaching Concepts) — 19:42
6th Isaiah Boh Yu-Teng (#8, Catholic High) — 19:43
7th Aaron Chan (#39, Raffles Institution) — 19:45
8th Ezra Goh Si Qi (#10, Catholic High) — 20:10
9th Ashton Tan (#42, Raffles Institution) — 20:27
10th Cheong Wei Soon (#43, Raffles Institution) — 20:36
[…] who dominated at the SAA Cross Country Meet earlier in January, described his race as […]