Story by Edina Tan/Red Sports. Photos by Clara Yuan/Red Sports
Vanessa Lee of VJC clinched the gold medal in the U-20 Women’s race with a timing of 14:30.39. (Photo 1 © Clara Yuan/Red Sports)
Bedok Reservoir, Saturday, February 20, 2016 — Vanessa Lee was the first to cross the finish line in the Under-20 women’s 3.65-kilometre race with a timing of 14 minutes 30.39 seconds in the Wings Cross Country Championships. It was her second gold of the cross country season.
Her teammate Nicole Low was second in 14:44.85 to repeat their 1-2 finish at the Singapore Athletics (SA) Cross Country Championships two weeks ago. Alexandra Wee and Ng Qi Hui came in 5th and 10th respectively, giving Victoria Junior College (VJC) their first team title of the season.
The race started off at a moderate pace, with Vanessa establishing the lead from the start. Nicole caught up about 400 metres into the race, and took over the lead with Vanessa following closely for the first kilometre. At the downslope portion of the route, Vanessa saw her chance and surged to regain the lead, which she maintained for the rest of the race.
Vanessa, Nicole, Fleur Legrain and Qua Bi Qi had a clear lead over the rest of the competition who were mostly scattered throughout the 3.65km course. Legrain and Qua went on to finish first and second respectively in the Women’s Open category.
When asked about the race, Vanessa said, “It was an okay race for me, considering I had been sick. It could have gone better since the weather was good. The path threw me off a bit as I did not expect it to follow last year’s Nationals route. I hope I can break my own personal best at Cross Country Nationals this year.”
Raffles Institution (RI), who won the team title at the SA Cross Country Championships, came in a close second to Victoria Junior College. They scored a total of 23 points, just five points more than VJC’s 18.
Nah Yi Xin of RI, who came in third, said, “I am satisfied with this race. With just a few weeks left to Nationals, I hope I can improve by then.”
This race marks the last major competition for both the RI and VJC teams before the National Inter-School Cross Country Championships on March 23. With both cross-country powerhouses vying for the team title, the next few weeks leading up to Nationals will be crucial.
Women U-20 Results (Top 20)
Distance: 3.65km
1st Vanessa Lee (#20040, Victoria Junior College) — 14:30.39
2nd Nicole Low (#20039, Victoria Junior College) — 14:44.85
3rd Nah Yi Xin (#20032, Raffles Institution) — 15:28.41
4th Chiang Aiting Faye (#20029, Raffles Institution) — 15:46.68
5th Alexandra Louise Wee Rei-min (#20042, Victoria Junior College) — 16:03.33
6th Lau Jia En Ashley (#20021, National Junior College) — 16:37. 38
7th Lok Qi Ying Amanda (#20033, Raffles Institution) — 16:38.43
8th Mariana Ramos Branicio (#20007, Catholic Junior College) — 16:41.79
9th Lai Zi Qing Valarie ( #20031, Raffles Institution) — 16:45.02
10th Ng Qi Hui (#20044, Victoria Junior College) — 16:47.67
11th Awe Wan Qi Valencia (#20023, National Junior College) — 16:50.89
12th Crystabelle Wang (#20015, Hwa Chong Institution) — 16:51.83
13th Pyone Myat Thwe (#20041, Victoria Junior College) — 17:22.11
14th Renne Phay (#20034, Raffles Institution) — 17:23.50
15th Shi Peng Yi (#20014, Hwa Chong Institution) — 17:29.06
16th Corrine Jireh Teo (#20036, Raffles Institution) — 17:48.45
17th Tang Kai Qi (#20043, Victoria Junior College) — 17:58.15
18th Grace Yeo Ning (#20001, Victoria Junior College) —18:03.20
19th Ker Chin Jin (#20037, Raffles Institution) — 18:09.93
20th Amelia Wong (#20016, Hwa Chong Institution) — 18:17.94
U-20 Team Results
1st VJC — 18 points
Vanessa Lee (1st), Nicole Low (2nd), Alexandra Louise Wee (5th), Ng Qi Hui (10th), Pyone Myat Thwe (13th), Tang Kai Qi (17th), Grace Yeo Ning (18th)
2nd RJC W1 — 23 points
Nah Yi Xin (3rd), Chiang Aiting Faye (4th), Lok Qi Ying Amanda (7th), Lai Zi Qing Valarie (9th)
3rd RJC W2 – 74 Points
Renne Phay (14th), Corrine Jirreh Teo (16th), Ker Chin Jin (19th), Lim Rui Ting (25th)
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