English clubs battle for area cross-country glory
NORTHERN ATHLETICS CROSS-COUNTRY RELAYS, Graves Park, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, October 19
Persistent and heavy overnight rain had all but stopped before the first races got underway leaving parts of the course a bit soggy but, thankfully and unlike last year, the event was not cancelled.
Hallamshire, with three of the top five fastest times, led by their lead-off man Euan Brown, won by more than a minute from Salford. The women’s race was taken by Trafford with their twins Ava and Sara Clough providing the backbone of their trio.
Men
Hallamshire were in control throughout in the Cutlers Relay, a long-standing men’s event that well predates the advent of area cross-country relay championships.
They were ahead from the start after Brown gave them an opening leg lead over their two-mile lap with a 10:09 split. That time was to remain as the best of the afternoon.
That was just a second quicker than Sunderland’s Joe Armstrong and the pair were together for much of the lap. Brown said: “I managed to make a break”, but this was only after an early effort by Salford’s Alex Ediker, who later admitted he had “underestimated the last bit.”
Tommy Power, who had been ill earlier in the week, and Jamie Richardson increased the advantage before new signing Alfie Manthorpe completed the job with the race’s third best effort of 10:15.
Manthorpe said of his run: “The course cut up a bit and it was a bit wet, but it’s hard to gauge it. That was my first race for Hallamshire, as my old club Sheffield and Dearne, were not competitive.”
Salford took the under-17 men’s race over a 2.3km lap and their Bobby Burton was just behind Rotherham’s Mikey Bacon at the end of stage one, before Jamie Barber took them narrowly ahead after two legs.
Bacon said: “I took it easy then me and Bobby went away before I got him at the finish.”
Then it was down to Evan Grime, the Northern champion and Inter-Counties runner-up, to finish things off and he did so with the fastest stage time of 6:51.
Hallamshire had earlier taken the under-15 boys age group title and Harry Kirkman gave the Sheffield based club the lead mid-race before Thomas Thake, the 2023 under-15 Inter-Counties champion, wound things up with the fastest split of the age group, at 6:42.
He said: “We knew that we would be one of the favourites but he (Southport’s Caleb Still) caught me but then I dropped him.”
Earlier the first stage ‘race’ had been won by Jake Ireland of Macclesfield, with their race’s second-best effort of 6:46.
Bobby McEvoy led for Liverpool on the opening 1.8km leg, in the under-13 boys’ outing, with a 5:24 split, that led Darlington before Max Miles kept the Mersey siders ahead before Sam Lambert finished things off with a race fastest 5:33.
Men (Cutlers Relay, 4x2M): 1 Hallamshire 41:21 (E Brown 10:09, T Power 10:18, J Richardson 10:38, A Manthorpe 10:15); 2 Salford 42:43 (A Ediker 10:17, A Simons 11:16, H Wakefield 10:26, R Smyk 10:42); 3 Sunderland 43:05 (J Armstrong 10:10, S Armstrong 10:31, J Scott 11:38, S Jackson 10:45); 4 Leeds 44:21 (J Allison 12:10, M Bostock 10:45, G Chalmers 10:43, S Flanagan 10:41); 5 Derby 44:47 (E Busfield 10:24, J Davies 11:21, L Powell 11:09, J Mithell 11:52); 6 Vale Royal 45:09 (R Price 10:49, H Parker-McLain 10:53, T Corwood 11:17, E Davies-Hayes 12:08); 7 Hallamshire B 45:10; 8 Salford B 45:30; 9 Darlington 45:40; 10 Hallamshire C 45:55
Fastest: Brown 10:09; Armstrong 10:10; Manthorpe 10:15; Ediker 10:17; Power 10:18; Busfield (U20) 10;24
43 teams finished
U17 (3x2.3km): 1 Salford 21:10 (B Burton 7:01, J Barber 7:17, E Grime 6:51); 2 Trafford 21;40 (T Austin 7:17, P Aron 7:05, D Domsen-Emmas 7:17); 3 Blackburn 21:45 (O Gill 7:08, S Aspey 7:16, J Wood 7:22); 4 Rotherham 22:06 (M Bacon 6:59, D Reeve 7:35, A Bedford 7:31); 5 Sale 22;15 (F Goddard 7:08, J O’Brien 7:20, R Ashton 7:46); 6 Skyrac 22;22 (A Other 7:16, An Other 7:48, and another 7:36); 7 York 22:27; 8 Keighley & C 22:29; 9 Tynedale 22:34; 10 Trafford B 22:46
Fastest: Grime 6:51; Bacon 6:59; Burton 7:01; Aron 7:06; Gill/Goddard 7:08;
19 teams finished
U15 (3x2km): 1 Hallamshire 20:58 (E Hannay 7:02, H Kirkman 7:14, T Thake 6:42); 2 Southport Waterloo 21:5 (W Delamere 6:51, E Clark 7:26, C Still 6:47); 3 Macclesfield 21:32 (J Ireland 6:46, G O’Donnell 7:29, T Wood 7:16); 4 Wirral 22;10 (M Harty 7:17, J Hatton 7:34, T Kaye 7:18); 5 Derby 22:11 (O Blaske 7:04, L Fairey 7:09 F Harrison 7:57); 6 Hallamshire B 22;12 (R Keen 7:02, R MacKenzie 7:39, B Pronesti 7:29); 7 Lincoln Wellington 22;24; 8 Warriors Pentathlon 22:44; 9 Darlington 22;48; 10 Sheffield & Dearne 23:03
Fastest: Thake 6:42; J Ireland (Macc) 6:46; M Phelan (Warriors) 6:48; C Still (Scun) 6:47; Delamere 6:51; Hannay 7:02
21 teams finished
U13 (3x1.8km): 1 Liverpool 16:47 (B McEvoy 5:24, M Myles 5:50, S Lambert 5:33); 2 Darlington 17:03 (A Runner 5:29; An Other 5:54, and another 5:39); 3 Wirral 17:16 (F Reece 5:52, T Smout 5:35, R Boyd 5:48); 4 Warriors 17:17 (B Hughes 5:57, O Oswick 5:36, H Redhead 5:43); 5 Bingley 17:34 (C Porteous 5:50, T Jebb 6:00, T Griffiths 5:42); 6 Derby 17:40 (O Segal 5:41, W Sanders 5:47, T Neboult 6:10); 7 Sale 17:53; 8 Keighley & Craven 18:04; 9 Southport Waterloo 18:05; 10 Trafford 18:06
Fastest: McEvoy 5:24; A Other (Darl) 5:29; Lambert 5:33; Smout 5:35; Oswick 5:36; J McGrory (S’port W) 5:39
26 teams finished
U11 (3x1.5km): 1 Salford 15:24. Fastest: J Lombard (Salf) 4:57
Women
Trafford had to come from behind to take the championship after the fastest laps were posted on the opening two-mile stage. It was Darlington’s India Pentland who prevailed on that opener after being chased all the way by City of Leeds’ long time servant Jenny Walsh. The pair were adjudged to have run the two quickest laps, of the afternoon at 11:49 and 11:54.
“We were together on the downhill and it was quite muddy down there and I am really pleased as it was my first run out (since June),” said Pentland, who was the 2019 English Schools and Inter-Counties champion. Walsh added: “It was brutal going downhill.”
It was Trafford’s Ava Clough who was home third on that first leg before Bethany Reid and then twin sister Sara Clough brought their club home for a 13-second victory. “I knew we had a chance,” she said.
This was over Birtley, whose Lydia Turner, a 2018 Euro Cross under-23 team member, closed significantly on the final two-mile lap with 11:57, the third best effort of the women’s race.
Lincoln Wellington’s all-conquering under-17 women again came good in their three-lapper over a shorter 2.3km distance, after being led off by Isla Porter whose 8:03 clocking stayed as the third fastest lap for the rest of the race.
Faith Taylor maintained the lead for the English road relay champions before Ellarose Whitworth’s fastest second overall lap of 7:58 completed the Lincoln domination. The English National under-15 runner-up said: “I really like the course.”
Lincoln actually had four of the fastest half-dozen laps of this under-17 race as their Mollie Grant had led home all of the teams on the first stage. She said: “I just tried to keep with the pace after I got spiked at the start.”
Grant soon went ahead and away for a first led ‘win’ before adding: “I am away on holiday on a school trip for the Nationals (at Mansfield) race, so ran in the B team.” This was by way of explanation for her place in the B squad.
Sale won the under-15 girls’ race over a 2km lap but they had to concede to City of York’s Beth Lewis on the opening circuit, whose 7:26 was comfortably the fastest of the age group. Chasing her home on that opener was Birtley’s Olivier Murphy and her 8:38 was the second quickest.
Lewis, who mainly only competed in parkruns until this year, said: “I was fourth then got to the top of the hill first,” by way of explaining how her first leg run went.
Third home on the first leg was Derby’s Olivia Lee ahead of Sale’s Beatrix Soper, whose team-mates then saw off the challenge from their rivals albeit in slower times than on the first stage.
Their last stage runner Megan Boyer said: “I was a bit scared and got told off for spitting on the course!”
The under-13 girls event went to Warriors Pentathlon, one of whose parents told AW that the club’s basis is to do well at the Olympic discipline of modern pentathlon. There, shooting, swimming, fencing and running has historically been completed by horse riding. However, the Paris Olympics saw the final outing for the use of horses and that fifth section is now being replaced by an obstacle race.
The twins Eve and Isobel Beddow were joined by Daisy McVicar to add this title to their English Road Running championship from two weeks earlier.
Women (3x2M): 1 Trafford 37:53 (A Clough 11:18, B Reid 13:14, Sara Clough 12:19); 2 Birtley 38:13 (K Francis 13:27, A Leigh 12:48, L Turner 11:57); 3 City of York 38:23 (L Langan 12:27, E Rainbow 13:08, J Robertson-Dover 12:48); 4 Leeds 38:56 (J Walsh 11:54, G Beeden 14:17, K Ballantyne 12:44); 5 Rotherham 39:12 (L Harris 12:43, A Fearn 13:00, S Cowper 13:28); 6 Sale 39:31 (L Armitage 12:09, S Armitage 13:44, I Burke 13:37); 7 Derby 39:57; 8 Salford 40:03; 9 Rotherham B 40:42; 10 Lincoln Wellington 40:45
Fastest: I Pentland (Darl) 11:49; Walsh 11:54; Turner 11:57; Armitage 12:09; A Clough (U20) 12:18; S Clough (U20) 12:19
34 teams finished
U17 (3x2.3km): 1 Lincoln Wellington 24:22 (I Porter 8:03, F Taylor 8:20, E Whitworth 7:58); 2 Rotherham 25:33 (G Igoe 8:18, L Roden 8:46, G Turner 8:28); 3 Sale 26:30 (I Hill 8:20, I Hall 8:34, M Gillam 9:34); 4 Keighley & Craven 26:38 (M Bellwood 8:07, A O’Sullivan 9:42, I Wright 8:49); 5 Liverpool 26:54 (V Teare 9:12, B Hughes 98:48, E Redmond 8:53); 6 York 27:13 (L Scott 9:27, K Setchell 9:05, S Robertson-Diver 8:40): 7 Hallamshire 27:42; 8 Wakefield 27:44; 9 Derby 27:47; 10 Liverpool B 28:34
Fastest: M Grant (Linc W B) 7:56; Whitworth 7:58; Porter 8:03; M Bellwood (K&C) 8:07; Igoe 8:18; Taylor 8:20
17 teams finished
U15 (3x2km): 1 Sale 23:45 (B Soper 7:41, R Heywood-Young 7:50, M Boyer 8:13); 2 Rotherham 23:55 (M Schofield 7:53, M Holmes 8:06, H Bacon 7:56); 3 York 24:16 (B Lewis 7:26, L Davey 8:31, H Lovett 8:18); 4 Birtley 24:23 O Murphy 7:36, K Graham 8:29, N Graham 8:17); 5 Liverpool 24:53 (F O’Brien 8:22, M Williams 8:14, G Veevers 8:16); 6 Derby 24:58 (O Lee 7:39, I Powell 8:39, S Wheeler 8:40); 7 Sale B 25:01; 8 Blackburn 25:14; 9 Warriors Pentathlon 25:20; 10 Hallamshire 25:28
Fastest: Lewis 7:26; Murphy 7:36; Lee 7:39; Soper 7:41; I York (Warriors) 7:48; Heywood-Young 7:50
24 teams finished
U13 (3x1.8km): 1 Warriors Pentathlon 17:42 (E Beddow 5:50, I Beddow 5:56, D McVicar 5:55); 2 Lincoln Wellington 18:00 (A Ronnie 6:13, E Goulsbra 5:57, H Norris 5:50); 3 Hallamshire 18:10 (C Bailey 6:13, N Watkinson 6:18, J Thake 5:38); 4 Liverpool 18:11 (B Rawcliffe 5:55, H Peers 6:15, I Parry 6:00): 5 Bingley 18:28 (B Bailey 6:01, H Carter 6:11, C Pedley 6:15); 6 Salford 18:55 (E Lowe 5:58, F Lombard 6:37, I Weatherhead 6:18); 7 Derby 19:01; 8 Sale 19:04; 9 Warriors B 19:23; 10 Hallamshire B 19:30
Fastest: Thake 5:38; E Beddow/Norris 5:50; C Hodge (Der) 5:53; McVicar 5:55/Rawcliffe 5:55
29 teams finished
U11 (3x1.5km): 1 Warriors 16:47. Fastest: C Czekalowska (Warriors) 5:26
SOUTH OF ENGLAND CROSS-COUNTRY RELAYS, Wormwood Scrubs, London, October 19
Mild and sunny weather followed overnight rain as temperatures reached 16C as Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets and Herne Hill Harriers took the two senior races.
Men
The eventual winners were always there or thereabouts in their race, although it had been Reading’s Luc Jolly who had narrowly taken the first lap ‘race’ over the 4.5km circuit that was muddy in parts thanks to overnight rain.
Jolly, who ran 13:31, was in a complete team but was headed on that first leg by Aldershot's only runner, Luke Prior, who ran 13:27. It was close behind as Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets’ Richard Whelan was sixth, before Alex Lawrence moved them to second with a 13:32 split at halfway.
This was behind a depleted Bracknell club whose Ben Wills had taken over from Matt Seddon after a 13:07 clocking that was the fastest of the race to see them ahead.
Two par laps by Dominic Howarth and Harry Wells then saw VP&TH home by 12 seconds from hosts Thames Valley Harriers. After a steady start, the Valley had to thank Michael Cameron’s third stage 13:28 for that second spot that they then held on the final leg thanks to Hugo Cayssials.
Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow had won last year but despite a second best of the race effort of 13:13 by Dan Brookling, they just lost out on bronze medals to Chiltern Harriers.
The Buckinghamshire club had earlier themselves just lost out to City of Norwich, who led throughout the junior men’s race. Their fastest runner was Zac Dunn on the 3km opener, with 8:59, despite their Leon Doran closing with another 8:59 on the final stage.
It was similarly close in the under-17 men’s race where Chiltern again lost out, this time to Hercules Wimbledon.
Behind the winners there was a mad scramble to the line as Chiltern just edged Thames Valley and Woodford Green, as all three were separated by just a single second.
After a steady start, Hercules’ Pancho Panchev’s 9:25 saw them home and was third quickest overall.
It had been Louis Moore who had given Thames Valley a first leg lead with a race quickest 9:02, over Highgate’s Harris Austin’s 9:09, but they could not hold on as Panchev went through.
The under-15 boys title went to Dacorum, the club who had been disqualified from the English Road relays two weeks earlier for allegedly being paced. They made no mistakes here as, after Teddy Murphy’s 6:27 2km first leg, Toby Pritchard and Oliver McDonald followed to give the Hemel Hempstead club a 23-second winning margin over Eastbourne.
Further back, Hercules’ Theo Creed gained seven places on the final stage, to fifth, with the second-best time of 6:33.
Windsor took the under-13 title by 31 seconds from Shaftesbury after Ted Bainbridge had brought them home second on the opener before they romped home for an easy victory. That was behind Mason Sanford’s quickest effort of 7:05.
Men (4x4.5km): 1 Victoria Park H & Tower Hamlets 55:15 (R Bartram 13:40, A Lawrence 13:32, D Howarth 14:00, H Wells 14:05); 2 Thames Valley 55:27 (O Newton 13:57, N Faulkner 14:04, M Cameron 13:28, H Cayssials 14:00); 3 Chiltern 55:48 (S Bossi 13:42, A Davidson 14:09, A Williams 13:55, C Reid 14:03); 4 Windsor Slough, Eton & Hounslow 55:50 (J Campbell 14:11, D Brookling 13:12, T Bains 14:48, A Gladley 13:41); 5 London Heathside 55:51 (B Kelly 13:42, C Gracie 14:15, W de Cothi 14:02, Y Sevestre 13:54); 6 Belgrave 57:18 (C Whelan 13:39, S Davis 14:44, J Preston 14:34, E Jodrell 14:22); 7 Thames Valley B 57:36; 8 Highgate 59:28; 9 Reading 59:31; 10 Belgrave 59:33
Fastest: B Wills (Brack) 13:07; Brookling 13:12; L Prior (AFD) 13:27; Cameron 13:28; L Jolly (Read) 13:31; Lawrence 13:32; M Seddon (Brack) 13:37
27 teams finished
U20 (3x3km): 1 Norwich 27:43 (Z Dunne 8:59, J Dorbin 9:27, H Smith 9:18); 2 Chiltern 27:53 (A Pinder 9:22, E Pinder 9:32, L Doran 8:59); 3 Shaftesbury Barnet 28:27 (A O'Gorman 9:26, R Gayer 9:07, J Clement 9:56); 4 Herne Hill 28:45 (F Whitelock 9:20, M Alimi 9:38, C Wood 9:48); 5 Norwich B 28:59 (T Ash 9:16, T Cheesbrough 9:26, S Yellop 10:18); 6 Hercules Wimbledon 29:01 (J Hobden 9:32, T Davies 10:03, S Cockerell 9:28); 7 WSEH 30:22; 8 Barnet 32:43
Fastest: Doran/ Dunne 8:59; Gayer 9:07
U17 (3x3km): 1 Hercules Wimbledon 28:36 (N Fernandez 9:41, A McGuigan 9:31, P Panchev 9:25); 2 Chiltern 28:48 (J Holdsworth 9:38, A Suleyman 9:43, E Johnson 9:28); 3 Thames Valley 28:49 (L Moore 9:02, R Rock 9:38, K Camargo Scholz 10:08); 4 Woodford Green with Essex Ladies 28:49 (H Stockill 9:31, O Eaton 9:34, L Norden 9:45); 5 Bracknell 29:24 (M Pointon 9:40, W Humm 9:46, E Hily 9:58); 6 Norwich 29:26 (M Parsley 9:32, F James 9:57, H Ashton 9:58); 7 Brighton & Hove 29:43; 8 Epsom & Ewell 30:01; 9 London Heathside 30;27; 10 Highgate 30:32
Fastest: Moore 9:02; H Austin (High) 9:09; Panchev 9:25
23 teams finished
U15 (3x2km): 1 Dacorum 20:05 (T Murphy 6:27, T Pritchard 6:55, O McDonald 6:45); 2 Eastbourne Rovers 20:28 (F Lumber Fry 6:47, G Armstrong-Smith 6:54, B Roberts 6:49); 3. Herne Hill 20:31 (Z Morris 6:57, T Clerkin 6:45, L Roch 6:50); 4 Bracknell 20:44 (B Lucas 6:52, J Legg 7:04, E Langley-Aybar 6:49); 5 Hercules Wimbledon 20:48 (H Allen 7:08, S Dyson 7:07, T Creed 6:33); 6 WG&EL20:52 (D Arnold 6:53, L Freedman 7:16, G Watkins 6:44); 7 VP&TH 21:03; 8 Wycombe Phoenix 21:11; 9 Eastbourne Rovers 21;12; 10 Hillingdon 21:25
Fastest: Murphy 6:27; Creed 6:33; McDonald 6:45
31 teams finished
U13 (3x2km): 1 WSEH 22:22 (T Bainbridge 7:13, B Welch 7:41, A Evans 7:29); 2 Shaftesbury Barnet 22:53 (J Day 7:48, D Pascal 7:21, R Parkes 7:46) 3 Hercules Wimbledon 22:59 (T Hennigan 7:41, F Bolton 7:50, M Harrison 7:29); 4 Herne Hill 23:07 (J Aldham 7:46, H Kucerov 7:36, J Reynolds 7:46);
5 VP&TH 23:32 (H Dimmock 7:40, L Togher 7:54, J Haji 8:00); 6 Reading 23:42 (I Paviour 8:15, J Ryman 7:47, N Mazieres 7:41); 7 Chiltern 23:52; 8 Wycombe Phoenix 24:38; 9 TVH 24:48; 10 Norwich 24;49
Fastest: M Sanford (Chelms) 7:05; Bainbridge 7:13; Pascal 7:21
25 teams finished
Women
Two weeks earlier, Herne Hill had won the English senior women’s road relay title and the south London outfit scored again here by some 23 seconds from Belgrave Harriers albeit with a different team.
Sophie Tooley and Darcy Hay had started them off in second spot before their quickest, Lucy Jones with a 9:59 race best, saw them home.
It had been Belgrave’s Imogen Wolsey who had taken that first approximate 3km lap with a 10:07 split, before Emily Robbins held the lead but they could not withstand Jones’ late race blast.
Windsor led throughout the junior women’s event after Ella Davey’s 10:30 first stage. Evie Bartlett’ 10:31 and Jaq Heller then went more than two minutes clear of Thames Valley for victory.
Eastbourne Rovers went ahead of the under-17 women’s event mid-race through Raya Petrova and Freda Pearce to give last leg runner Daisy Connor a chance of holding off Olivia Forrest.
It was enough, as despite the English Schools champion’s fastest overall time of 10:17 was not enough and the Sussex club held on to win by 28 seconds.
Earlier, Sabrina Coppola-Johansen had ‘won’ the first stage in 10:19 for the second fastest time of the age group, for Epsom & Ewell.
Windsor got another team medal in the under-15 girls' race, but it was silver behind Chelmsford, whose B team took third.
Erin Kelly had given the winners a steady start behind their B team’s Ava King, whose 7:21 stayed as the fastest time of the age group. Ezra Harrold took the lead mid-race, before Jorja March wound things up with a 7:08 second best clocking.
Bracknell led throughout the under-13 girls race, over a 2km three lapper, after Hannah Lucas’ 7:45 gave them a good opening lead. They then held on to win from Guildford and Brentwood Beagles, whose Madison Kindler’s 7:18 was easily the quickest under-13 time on show.
Women (3x3km): 1 Herne Hill 30:31 (S Tooley 10:09, D Hey 10:24, L Jones 9:59); 2 Belgrave 30:54 (I Wolsey 10:08, E Robbins 10:25, E Fennelly 10:23); 3 Thames Valley 32:36 (C Baker 10:42, S Ainley 11:02, A Mundell 10:53); 4 Reading 33:09 (S Crumly 10:41, V Hiscock 11:14, E Saunders 11:15); 5 Thames Valley B 33:23 (A Casey 11:05, N Edmunds 11:20, R Vallance 10:59); 6 Belgrave B 33:40 (O McGinley 11:04, M Canham 11:05, A Gandee 11:32); 7 Ranelagh 34:16; 8 Serpentine 34;26; 9 Belgrave C 34:30; 10 TVH 34;31
Fastest: Jones 9:39; Wolsey 10:08; Tooley 10:09; Fennelly 10:23; Hey 10:24; Robbins 10:25
35 teams finished
U20 (3x3km): 1 WSEH 31:41 (E Davey 10:30, E Bartlett 10:31, J Heller 10:39); 2 Thames Valley 34:00 (A Massey 10:58, C Edge 12:18, A Svihalkova 10:45); 3 Guildford & Godalming 34:35 (V Isaacs 10:52, A Bushell 11:37, C Kirkby 12:07)
4 Crawley 34:43; 5 Dacorum 35:17; 6 Epsom & Ewell 37:03
Fastest: Bartlett 10:30; Davey 10:31; S Shaw (Craw) 10:37
U17 (3x3km): 1 Eastbourne Rovers 31:59 (R Petrova 10:32, F Pearce 10:56, D Connor 10:32); 2 Brentwood Beagles 32:27 (E Warn 10:32, M Thomas 11:39, O Forrest 10:18); 3 WSEH 33:00 (G Colley 11:01, L Smith 11:16, M Fieldsend 10:45); 4 Chelmsford 33:48 (L Wilkin 10:51, H Matthews 11:32, S Shipton 11:26);
5 Crawley 34:08 (N Lesova 11:23, E Whyman 11:31, A Cox 11:16); 6 WSEH B 34:16 (A Passos 11:17, Y Grant 11:23, S Massie 11:38); 7 Epsom & Ewell 34:29; 8 VP&TH 34:52; 9 Norwich 35:01; 10 Highgate 35:02
Fastest: Forrest 10:18; S Coppola-Johansen (E&E) 10:19; Connor/Petrova/Warn 10:32
14 teams finished
U15 (3x2km): 1 Chelmsford 22:03 (E Kelly 7:27, E Harrold 7:28, J March 7:08); 2 WSEH 22:11 (T Ferguson 7:27, Z Allan 7:33, K Gorman 7:12); 3 Chelmsford B 23:06 (A King 7:21, L Sanford 7:58, F Philipps 7:48); 4 Hercules Wimbledon 23:53 (F McAndie 8:36, F Harper-Tee 7:51, I Harrison 7:27); 5 Crawley 24:06 (E Aston 8:01, A Axford 8:02, A Whitehouse 8:05); 6 St Mary's Richmond 24:30 (J Gilkes 8:32, E Archer 8:17, E 274 7:42); 7 Cambridge 24:45; 8 Bracknell 24;56; 9 Ealing, Southall & Middx 25:00;10 WSEH B 25:08
Fastest: March 7:08; Gorman 7:12; King 7:21
23 teams finished
U13 (3x2km): 1 Bracknell 24:04 (H Lucas 7:45, M Hamilton-Martin 8:24, T Davies-Dixon 7:56); 2 Guildford & Godalming 24:15 (N Davies 8:07, H Kalfoss 8:04, E Davenport 8:06); 3 Brentwood Beagles 24:23 (A Twydell 8:27, A Sabado 8:39, M Kindler 7:18); 4 Herne Hill 24:27 (I Carter 8:14, M Millar 8:11, S O'Brien 8:03); 5 Chelmsford 24:43 (I Kehoe 7:58, O Martin 8:13, B Cooke 8:33); 6 Hercules Wimbledon 25:13 (J Wood 7:56, A Aumuller 8:48, B Domsodi 8:30); 7 Cambridge 25:39; 8 WSEH 26:05; 9 Barnet 26:35; 10 Shaftesbury 26:39
Fastest: Kindler 7:18; Lucas 7:45; Davis-Dixon/Wood 7:56
21 teams finished
MIDLAND COUNTIES CROSS COUNTRY RELAYS, Aldersley Stadium, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, October 19
Glorious sunshine greeted teams at Aldersley although there had been some rain overnight during the dark hours.
The senior teams put on a fairly good show but turnout in the young athletes, races was disappointing and looked as if it was one race too many in a crowded autumn schedule.
Bristol & West took both the senior men’s and women’s races, with their men building on their recent wins in the English National and Midlands Road Relay.
Bristol’s men were led off by Owen Jones, whose 20:20 for the 6km leg held out to be the third best of the afternoon.
Flynn Jennings and then, finally, new signing Milan Campion with the second and then fastest laps gave them a winning margin of more than two minutes over City of Stoke as they retained their title.
Bristol’s women made it a club double but only after junior Isobelle Jones had given Wolverhampton & Bilston a two-minute led on the opening 6km leg.
This was over Bristol’s Chelsea Baker, whose club then went clear mid race before W45 Jess Sanzo finished the job for a two-minute victory.
Jones was in her first race as a senior and is the under-17 British 5km road record holder but has had a mixed time since setting her 16:06 at Cardiff in March 2023, having had time out between June this year and a parkrun outing earlier in October.
Wolverhampton’s boys won two titles in an otherwise disappointing young athletes turn out with Fred Jones, Isobelle’s brother, fastest in the under-15 event. He too has a British age group 5km record to his name with his under-13 time of 15:18 from August 2023.
Men (4x6km): 1 Bristol & West 80:48 (O Jones 20:20, F Jennings 19:58, D Rigby 20:44, M Campion 19:47); 2 City of Stoke 82:52 (J Arnold 20:55, J Condlyffe 20:59, V Martin 20:36, J Thomas 20:24); 3 Bromsgrove & Redditch 85:23 (T Adkins 20:50, P Ball 22:14, T Stubbins 20:57, M Appleton 21:24); 4 Tipton 85:36 (R Carpenter 20:32, A Barnes 21:30, J Read 21:58, C Lomax 21:38); 5 Telford 86:31 (D Galloway 20:03, J Cole 20:50, K Paterson 22:43, B Watkinson 22:57); 6 Newcastle Staffs 88:51 (J Droogmans 20:24, L Nagington 21:55, S Mensing 23:13, J Taylor 23:21); 7. Tipton 89:13; 8 Halesowen 89:35; 9 Coventry Godiva 89:50; 10 BRAT 90:18
Fastest: Campion 19:47; Jennings 19:58; Jones 20:20; Thomas 20:24; Carpenter 20:32; Martin 20:36
36 teams finished
M40 (4x6km): 1 Tipton 85:16 (B Gamble 21:03, D Perry 21:56, R Meredith 21:23, I Williams 20:56); 2 Wolverhampton & Bilston 87:04 (J Hart 20:57, L Maskew 21:45, G Worrall 22:41, T Isherwood 21:43); 3 Tipton B 88:25 (K Quiney 21:25, T Holden 21:51, D Bate 22:26, M Williams 22:44); 4 Severn 01:32:19; 5 Newcastle Staffs 95:07; 6 Wolverhampton & B 95:11
Fastest: I Williams 20:56; Hart 20:57; Gamble 21:03
26 teams finished
U17 (3x3km): 1 1. Telford 33:23 (K Gilbody 11:00, S Bagshaw 11:09, R Brown 11:16); 2 Worcester 34:47 (O Smith 11:15, B Gooch 11:34, J Sanders 11:58; 3 Halesowen 36:50 (A Taylor 10:47, S Pugh 12:15, J Woodall 13:49)
Fastest: Taylor 10:47; Gilbody 11:00; Bagshaw 11:09
U15 (3x3km): 1 Wolverhampton & Bilston 32:29 (N Homer 11:12, F Jones 10:29, W Hughes 10:49; 2 Cheltenham & County 32:59 (T Spurr 11:00, J Pennell 11:09, P Paul 10:51); 3 Telford 33:23 (A Pugh 11:28, S Ball 10:57, L Howard 10:59); 4 Wreake & Soar Valley 35:37; 5 Worcester 35:55; 6 Sphinx 38:16
Fastest: Jones 10:29; Hughes 10:49; Ball 10:57
7 teams finished
U13 (3x3km): 1 Wolverhampton & Bilston 35:28 (R Hawley 11:35, T Ulfig 11:56, S Palmer 11:57); 2 Wreake & Soar Valley 41:19 (C Adkins 13:37, J Langlands 14:08, F Hart 13:35)
Fastest: Hawley 11:35
Women (3x6km): 1 Bristol & West 73:11 (C Baker 23:58, M Couchard 24:34, J Sanzo 24:39); 2 Tipton 75:37 (J Charlton 24:56, L Calrow 25:17, C Holden 25:25); 3 Bristol & West B 76:19 (M Monaghan 25:49, E Gard 24:44, E Clarke 25:48); 4 Bromsgrove & Redditch 77:02 (T Freeman 24:31, H Dale 25:15, L Sykes 27:18); 5 Staffs Moorlands 77:31 (H Wall 24:53, J Clay 26:12, A Neill 26:27); 6 Halesowen 78:48 (L Collins 26:03, M Dale 28:13, P Dodd 24:32); 7 Wolverhampton & Bilston 80:14; 8 Birchfield 81:05; 9 Worcester 81:21; 10 Telford 82;15
Fastest: I Jones (W&B) 21:54; Baker 23:58; Freeman 24:31; Dodd 24:32; Couchard 24:34; Sanzo 24;39
31 teams finished
W35 (3x6km): 1 City of Stoke 75:17 (L Dawson 26:02, S MacKness 25:12, D Sherwin 24:04); 2 Trentham 78:03 (D Thomas 25:58, L Callaghan 26:05, J Stanfield 26:01); 3 Cheltenham & County 78:29 (P Vymetalova 25:54, J Fairbairn 26:16, E Balfe 26:20); 4 Wolverhampton & Bilston 79:08; 5 Telford 85:15; 6 BRAT 86:22
Fastest: Sherwin 24:04; V McKay (W&B) 24:43; MacKness 25:12
19 teams finished
U17 (3x3km): 1 Halesowen 37:56 (L Hellingsworth 12:16, J Dale 13:07, F Collins 12:34); 2. Wolverhampton & Bilston 41:53 (R Read 12:29, M White 15:35, S Willoughby 13:51)
Fastest: Hellingsworth 12;16
U15 (3x3km): 1 Cheltenham & County 39:05 (I Harvey 13:15, S Eagland 12:36, B Watts 13:15); 2 Wolverhampton & Bilston 41:08 (K Guest 13:06, E Nash 13:51, M Roberts 14:13); 3 Worcester 45:37 (E Kilby 13:34, C Gardner 16:26, S Davies 15:38); 4 Wreake & Soar Valley 26:31
Fastest: Eagland 12;36; Guest 13:06; Harvey/Watts 13;15
U13 (3x3km): 1 Wreake & Soar Valley 41:29 (A Drage 14:44, A Walczak 14:15, A Kemp 12:31); 2 Wolverhampton & Bilston 44:19 (B Guest 13:48, P Bridgen 14:14, A Pal 16:18); 3 Wreake & Soar Valley B 44:52 (A Puttnam 13:55, G Collins 15:16, E Hillman 15:42)
Fastest: Kemp 12:31: Guest 13:48; Puttnam 13:55
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