Seven Warren athletes were in attendance. Most of them have a few years of experience. However, for one climber — 7-year-old Freya Heath — this was her first event.

It was a full day. The first climbers checked in at 7 a.m. and the last climbers didn’t finish until 8 p.m. Each climber had three hours to explore eight separate boulder problems (climbing challenges). Each of these climbs had three scoring opportunities worth 5, 10 and 25 points. A perfect score would be 200 points. To separate ties there was a 0.1-point deduction for failed attempts.

The USA Climbing circuit is the premier youth climbing league in the country, so the competition was fierce, and with only six qualifying events this season a large portion of the region’s athletes were in attendance.

The Thundering Herd did not disappoint. Five of seven climbers made the top 10, and the other two both finished 11th in their respective categories. Two climbers, Nina Harrington and Elodie Criswell, topped all eight boulders in their category. Teammate Eloise Harrington nearly matched this feat, but fell just short of the top on three of her eight climbs.

Grant Criswell

In the Female Under-17, Lily White’s 83.3 points were enough for sixth place. In the Female Under-15, Natalie Muntz’s 49.8 points finished 11th. In the Male Under-15 Grant Criswell’s 88.5 points earned fifth place. In the Female Under-13 Eloise Harrington’s 148.9 points placed seventh, Nina Harrington’s 198.8 points grabbed fourth and Elodie Criswell’s 199.9 points secured a second-place finish. And in the Under-11 category, newcomer Freya Heath’s 78.5 points climbed her to an 11th-place finish.

Nina Harrington

Elodie Criswell

Eloise Harrington

Freya Heath

Lily White