Oxford-based American, who was sixth in the 2016 Rio Games, won the British Universities and Colleges crown at Loughborough on Saturday.

It was relatively late that Charnwood College at Thorpe Hill was pressed into service for the British Universities and Colleges Championships after other potential venues had fallen through, Martin Duff reports.

It was the University of Oxford’s Olympian Jared Ward who won the main men’s race, but it was close at the line as Glasgow’s Tom Spencer just lost out by a tick of the clock.

Ward had won the Inter Varsity 5000m back in the summer but was also one of the oldest competitors in the race at the age of 37. He had competed for the United States of America in the 2016 Olympic Games where he ran in the marathon and finished sixth.

A victory in the 2024 Oxford versus Cambridge Varsity cross-country was also his when leading Oxford to the team title.

It was the same here as Ward led his university to the four to score team title ahead of Loughborough and Edinburgh.

The main women’s race went to Isabel Holt, where the Leeds Beckett runner had a few metres to spare over Loughborough’s Emily Parker and Charlotte Dannatt, who led their quartet to a team victory over Birmingham. This improved her fourth spot from last year.

Victory however was Euro Cross runner Holt’s. She finished ninth in the BUCS 5000m last summer, but is more at home over the country as her victory in last winter’s English National junior championships proved.

The students at Loughborough proved their strength in depth by also taking the women’s short-course team title, with a third place there as well, as their India Frost took the individual gold.

They were even more dominant in the final race of the day the men’s short course event, where Hamish Reilly led home eight of his team-mates for a complete domination by the purple vests.

Men (long Course): 1 J Ward (Oxf U) 33:59; 2 T Spencer (Glas) 34:00; 3 J English (Bristol) 324:05; 4 M Pickering (St Mary’s) 34:09; 5 A Ludewick (Manch) 3421; 6 C Parker )(Oxf U) 34:22; 7 F Jennings (Lough) 34:23; 8 M Ruby (Exe) 34:25; 9 H Henricksen (Edin) 34:36; 10 T Hilton (Edin) 34:44

TEAM (4 to score): 1 Oxford 41; 2 Loughborough 51; 3 Edinburgh 74; 4 St Mary’s 96; 5 Birmingham 102; 6 Leeds Beckett 171

Men (Short Course): 1 H Reilly (Lough) 27:07; 2 W Sutcliffe (Lough) 27:18; 3 A Melloy (Lough) 27:32; 4 J Rees-Gara (Lough) 27:34; 5 D Thompson (Lough) 27:41; 6 D Van Aardt (Lough) 27:50

TEAM: 1 Loughborough 10; 2 Loughborough B 26; 3 Loughborough C 47

Women (long course): 1 I Holt (Leeds Beckett) 29:08; 2 E Parker (Lough) 29:12; 3 C Dannatt (Lough) 29:14; 4 A Weightman (Camb) 29:22; 5 R Flaherty (Oxf U) 29:27; 6 L Wellstead (Leeds B) 29:58; 7 L Storey (Durh) 30:10; 8 A Barnes (Birm) 30:11; 9 S Jacobs (Bath) 30:13; 10 H Andrejczuk (Oxf U) 30:25

TEAM (4 to score): 1 Loughborough 49; 2 Birmingham 55; 3 Oxford 68; 4 Leeds Baeckett 106; 5 Bath 119; 6 Cambridge 133

Women (short course): 1 I Frost (Lough) 22:30; 2 E Powell (Birm) 22:35; 3 E Wells (Lough) 22:37; 4 S Roiditis (Birm) 22;37; 5 A Souter (Bath) 22:59; 6 C Martin (Lough) 23:00

TEAM (4 to score): 1 Loughborough 18; 2 Birmingham 29; 3 Loughborough B 81