North Down and City of Derry Spartans claim team titles at Lurgan Park

Dromore AC’s Rebekah Nixon and City of Derry Spartans athlete Declan Reed were the winners of the Northern Ireland & Ulster Senior Cross Country Championships titles at a cold and breezy Lurgan Park, Malcolm McCausland reports.

Reed, 44, tracked early leader Mark McKinstry in the men’s race before applying the pressure over the final kilometres to come home 13 seconds clear. McKinstry occupied the runner-up spot for the fourth consecutive year.

Springwell’s track specialist Neil Johnstone took third as City of Derry Spartans placed six men in the top 11 finishers for a facile defence of their team title.

Nixon followed similar tactics in the women’s race to see off the challenge of defending champion Jessica Craig who faded to third in the later stages of the race.

Craig was overhauled by North Down club-mate Rachel Gibson for the silver medal but took consolation from her club’s successful defence of the team title.

Top results

Senior women

1 Rebekah Nixon Dromore 24:21
2 Rachel Gibson North Down 24:30
3 Jessica Craig North Down 24:44
4 Sarah Lindsay North Down 24:44
5 Catherine Diver (F40) Beechmount Hrs 25:02
6 Gerrie Short (F40) Beechmount Hrs 25:26
7 Catherine O’Connor East Down 25:28
8 Esther Dickson Newry 25:29
9 Erin McConnell North Down 25:52
10 Caroline O’Hare East Down 25:54

Teams

1 North Down 18
2 Lagan Valley 68
3 Beechmount Hrs 71

Senior men

1 Declan Reed City of Derry Spartans 41:40
2 Mark McKinstry North Belfast Harriers 41:53
3 Neil Johnston Springwell Running Club 42:02
4 Aaron Doherty City of Derry Spartans 43:05
5 Seamus Lynch Newcastle AC 43:08
6 Chris McGuiness Foyle Valley AC 43:10
7 Mark Long City of Derry Spartans 43:45
8 Gregory Roberts City of Derry Spartans 43:50
9 Neill Weir Willowfield Harriers 43:51
10 Allan Bogle City of Derry Spartans 43:56

Teams

1 City of Derry Spartans 41
2 North Belfast Harriers 100
3 Foyle Valley AC 120

» See the March 1 issue of AW for further coverage