Kate Cheer struck gold for England at the Junior 6 Nations in Cardiff.
Cheer won the Junior Girls category, adding to golds for the Cadet Boys and Cadet Girls’ teams to complete a golden treble for England.
The Cadet Masters champion last month, Sussex player Cheer continued her rich vein of form to claim top spot ahead of Ireland’s Hannah Lynch-Dawson. Bronzes went to Lucy Elliot of Scotland and Beth Roberts of Wales.
There were medals for England in all four individual events. In the Cadet Girls, Charlotte Bardsley took silver behind Ireland’s Kate Whelan, with Anna Hursey (Wales) and Mia O’Reilly Egan taking bronze.
The Cadet Boys’ event saw James Smith win silver and Shayan Siraj bronze alongside Owen Cathcart of Ireland in a competition won by Scotland’s Calum Morrison.
And Alex Ramsden was a bronze medallist in the Junior Boys’ category alongside Ryan Oyler of the host country. Chris Wheeler of Scotland won the event, with Calum Evans of Wales taking silver.
In the team contests, both of the England cadet squads were unbeaten over Friday and Saturday’s matches and both dropped only two sets on their way to gold.
The girls – Bardsley and Isabelle Joubeily – whitewashed Guernsey, Scotland and the Isle of Man, with 4-1 triumphs over Wales and Ireland to take top place ahead of Ireland in silver and Scotland in bronze.
The Cadet Boys’ line-up of Smith, Joe Clark and Siraj enjoyed 5-0 victories over Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man, plus 4-1 margins against Guernsey and Scotland as they took the top step on the podium, ahead of Scotland in second and Ireland in third.
Cheer and Denise Payet comprised the Junior Girls’ line-up and won silver behind Ireland and ahead of Scotland, the top three being decide on countback. They beat Wales and Ireland by 3-2 margins and Guernsey 5-0, with a walkover against Isle of Man. The only defeat was 3-2 against Scotland, with Ireland’s 4-1 victory over Scotland the crucial match in deciding the destination of the gold.
In the Junior Boys’ event, Ramsden and Harry Dai claimed 5-0 victories over Isle of Man and Guernsey but lost 3-2 against Wales, Scotland and Ireland as they finished fourth. Scotland won ahead of Wales and Ireland, with the top three again decided on countback.
Paul Stimpson
March 15, 2015