Oxford Uni cross-country runners enjoy double team victory at Varsity match
OXFORD vs CAMBRIDGE VARSITY MATCH, Roehampton, Surrey, December 7
In windy, wet and very muddy conditions, Oxford took their first double victory in the annual Oxford vs Cambridge university cross-country races since 2017.
In the 48th Ladies’ Race, despite Cambridge having the top two home in Niamh Bridson-Hubbard and Bea Wood, Oxford packed their eight runners in the next nine places to take their second win in a row and third in four years and they now lead the series by 28 wins to 20.
In the 133rd Gentlemen’s Race, over seven-and-a-half-miles, Oxford finally ended a four-year light blue winning streak and, in some style, with first six men home.
First across the line was 2016 Olympic Games marathon sixth-placer Jared Ward, with fellow American Matthew Kearney and South African Nicholas Whittaker following him home.
This represented the largest victory in the men’s series since the famous fog race of 1952 and the second largest margin of victory since the eight-a-side, six-to-score format was adopted in 1948. The series score now sits finely poised at 67 wins for Cambridge and 66 for Oxford.
Earlier in the day, Jack Millar repeated his 2021 and 2022 victories to take the individual honours in the Old Blues match, where Cambridge came out on top but Oxford now lead this series by 18 wins to 14.
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Men: 1 J Ward (Oxf) 39:07; 2 M Kearney (Oxf) 39:12; 3 N Whittaker (Oxf) 39:22; 4 A Gruen (Oxf) 39:28; 5 J Morrow 39:31; 6 T Wood (Oxf) 39:34
TEAM: 1 Oxford 21; 2 Cambridge 61
Women: 1 N Bridson-Hubbard (Camb) 23:34; 2 B Wood (Camb) 24:15; 3 R Flaherty (Oxf) 24:38; 4 C Buckley (Camb) 24:48; 5 M Dickinson (Camb) 24:51; 6 L Major (Camb) 25:07
TEAM: 1 Oxford 37; 2 Cambridge 47
Old Blues Overall: 1 J Millar (Oxf) 22:07; 2 M Kunov (Oxf) 22:19; 3 T McCauley (Camb) 22:40; 4 G Gathercole (Camb) 23:02; 5 A Schaffer (Camb) 23:09; 6 E Brady (Camb) 23:15
Women: 1 P Barker (Camb) 24;45; 2 E Apsley (Camb) 25:15; 3 C Hammett (Oxf) 25:29
TEAM: 1 Cambridge 110; 2 Oxford 193
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WEST MIDLANDS YOUNG ATHLETES LEAGUE, Match 3, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, December 8
Archie Lane, the Midlands champion, repeated his victory from the October race in the league to take the under-17 men’s event but the under-17 women had a race off from their programme.
Wolverhampton’s Fred Jones, the 2022 under-13 Midlands champion, won his fourth West Midlands league race of 2024.
For the girls, Holly Turner made it three under-15 wins in a row.
U17 Men: 1 A Lane (Leam) 15:43; 2 B Allen (C&S) 16:05; 3 S Lambert (Strat) 16:17
U15: 1 F Jones (W&B) 11:14; 2 J Smith (Leam) 11:24; 3 W Hovell (Strat) 11:33
U13: 1 Z Rush (S&SH) 8:14; 2 R Hawley (W&B) 8:14; 3 J Larkin (S&SH) 8:44
U15 Girls: 1 H Turner (Stoke) 12:39; 2 M Blower (B&R) 13:00; 3 L Williams (Tip) 13:04
U13: 1 L Pearce (W&B) 9:16; 2 B Lamb &R&N) 9:25; 3 F Mustin (S&SH) 9:27
GLOUCESTER LEAGUE, Bath, Somerset, December 8
The University of Bath played host and in very windy weather all was well with the racing as triathlete Johnny James had a solid victory over fellow under-20 Harry Maxwell from a 200-strong men’s field.
The women’s race saw Millie Porter win her third race of the campaign for Western Tempo.
Men: 1 J James (Radley, U20) 32;39; 2 H Maxwell (T Bath, U20) 33:18; 3 M Downey (Belg) 33:29; 4 I Morgan (C&C, U20) 33:38; 5 M Morgan (C&C, U20) 33:47; 6 O Jones (B&W, M40) 33:50
M40: 2 B Price (W Tempo) 34:06
M45: 1 A Fooks (T Bath) 36:13
M55: 1 H Bampton (Chelt) 39:25
M65 (6km approx.): 1 M Hamm (Yate) 2858
M70: 1 T Hutchison (T Bath) 25:44
U17: 1 T Webb (Wells) 17:38; 2 S Wilson (Chelt) 17:38; 3 S Haslam (Soton) 18:12
U15: 1 P Paul (Chelt) 12:06; 2 E Sparey (B&W) 12:20; 3 O Gagg (Taunt) 12:25
U13: 1 J Shingler (Chelt) 9:35; 2 E Salter (Taunt) 9:48; 3 A Spurr (Chelt) 10:00
Women: 1 M Porter (W Tempo) 24:00; 2 E Waldman (B&W) 24;18; 3 G Roberts (Bath U, U20) 24:18; 4 A Gascoigne (T Bath, W45) 24:20; 5 N Frith (Chelt) 24:36; 6 A Wallace (T Bath, U20) 24:41
W40: 1 E Willmers (Salis) 25:07
W50: 1 A Granger (B&W) 25:23
W55: 1 F Maycock (W tempo) 27:50
U17: 1 M Thomson (Chelt) 20:53; 2 E Spencer (Swin) 20:56; 3 S Wood (Salis) 21:46
U15: 1 S Maxwell (T Bath) 13:28; 2 O Avery (Glouc) 13:54; 3 L Simpson (B&W) 14:21
U13: 1 E Hutchings (W’bury) 10:41; 2 C Griffiths-Clack (Swin) 10:52; 3 J Hathaway (Stroud) 11:00
NORTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE, Match 3, Corby, Heanor, December 7
While other cross-country events were called off in advance of Storm Darragh, the hardy souls of the league descended on Shipley Park for their third-round match held in very windy conditions.
Men’s winner Edward Buck was involved in a close race with Masters M45 International winner Alastair Watson before leading his Newark club to a team win on the day.
It was all change at the front of the senior women’s race as Elin Griffiths turned the tables on previous match winner Aimee Seager.
Men: 1 E Buck (Newark) 34:52; 2 A Watson (Notts, M45) 34:54; 3 G Hatton (Newark) 35:59; 4 T Atkinson (Notts Trent U) 36:57; 5M Chesterton (Newark) 36:48
M50: 1 R Keale (Beest) 38:43
M55: 1 A Taplin (Beest) 41:09
U20: 1 H Samkin (Linc W) 37:44
TEAM: 1 Newark 61; 2 Mansfield 82; 2 Notts U 128
M40 TEAM: 1 Notts 25; 2 Mansfield 93; 3 Beeston 110
U17: 1 J Nugent (Mansf) 2:45; 2 S Collins (Wreake) 22:52; 3 H Murphy (Der) 23:10
TEAM: 1 Derby 16; 2 Mansfield 30; 3 OWLS 30
U15: 1 E Withnall (Burt) 17:10; 2 J Pares (Mansf) 17:12; 3 F McAlister (R’cliffe) 17:36
TEAM: 1 Burton 19; 2 Wreake & SV 28; 3 Rushcliffe 32
U13: 1 J Harman (Burt) 14:37; 2 W Saunders (Der) 14:41; 3 T Bronnert (OWLS) 14:44
TEAM: 1 Derby 18; 2 Charnwood 21; 3 Lincoln W 38
Women: 1 E Griffiths (Notts U) 29:04; 2 A Seager (Charn) 29:33; 3 S Bourne (Der) 30:34
W45: 1 H Gill (Mansf) 31:16
W55: 1 K Ramsey (Charn) 31:47
W60: 1 C Heaton (H’pont) 37:53
TEAM: 1 Charnwood 17; 2 Notts U 34; 3 Derby 35
W35 TEAM: 1 Mansfield 110; 2 Holmepierpont 194; 3 Beeston 200
U17: 1 V Rudkin (Wreake) 20:45; 2 M Taylor (Notts) 21:06; 3 H Limmer (Ret) 21:10
TEAM: 1 Derby 15; 2 Burton 31; 3 Mansfield 33
U15: 1 O Lee (Der) 14:03; 2 M Mullett (Wreake) 14:11; 3 C Whysall (Mansf) 14:20
TEAM: 1 Mansfield 20; 2 Derby 21; 3 Wreake & SV 35
U13: 1 A Kemp (Wreake) 14:27; 2 O Wright (Mansf) 14:40; 3 A Rennie (Linc W) 14:55
TEAM: 1 Wreake & SV 18; 2 Mansfield 25; 3 Derby 29
WEST YORKSHIRE LEAGUE, Oulton, Rothwell, December 8
Final team standings
Men (all 4 races): 1 Leeds C 4; 2 VoY 9; 3 Wake 12
U17 (best 3): 1 CoY 3; 2 Skyrac 9; 3 Ilkley 12
U15 (best 3): 1eq K&C/Leeds C 4; 3 Hali 10
U13 (best 3): 1 Wake 3; 2 Bing 5; 3 Bev 11
U11 (best 3): Bing 3
Women (all 4): 1 CoY 4; 2 Bing 9; 3 Holm 17
U17 (best 3): 1 CoY 3; 2 Leeds C 7; 3 K&C 8
U15 (best 3): 1 CoY 3; 2 Leeds C 5; 3 Bev 8
U13 (best 3): 1 Bing 3; 2 Denb D 6
U11 (best 3): Vall 3
SCOTTISH NORTH DISTRICT LEAGUE, Aden Park, Mintlaw, December 7
Men (8.5km): 1 Ross Gollan (E Suth) 27:29; 2 J Yells (HHR) 29:26; 3 Ruairidh Gollan (E Suth) 29:23
M40: G Lennox (E Suth) 30:56
U20: G Naughton (Dever) 32:30
TEAM: 1 Moray 355; 2 I’ness 341; 3 P’head 323
U17 (6.5km): 1 R Stirling (I’ness) 23:30; 2 F McLuckie (Moray) 24:22; 3 J MacGruer (Ross C) 26:43
TEAM: 1 I’ness 197; 2 Ross C 193; 3 Moray 193
U15 (4.8km): 1 D Green (Moray) 20:00; 2 E Thompson (I’ness) 20:00; 3 L McLean (P’head) 20:43
TEAM: 1 P’head 283; 2 I’ness 193; 3 Ross C 192
U13 (3.2km): 1 A Grant (I’ness) 11:44; 2 C Bowie (ITRC) 11:56; 3 A Grant (I’ness) 12:19
TEAM: 1 I’ness 294; 2 Moray 191; 3 ITRC 99
U11 (1.6km): K Tresidder (L’ber) 5:57
TEAM: P’head 277
Women (8.5km): 1 H Leigh (I’ness, W40) 33:08; 2 K Meek (I’ness, U20) 34:41; 3 K Rogan (HHR) 35:40
TEAM: 1 HHR 374; 2 Moray 363; 3 Fraser 267
U17 (4.8km): S Simpson (I’ness) 24:13
TEAM: 1 I’ness 199; 2 Ross C 98; 3 P’head 97
U15 (4.8km, all I’ness): 1 A Meek 20:28; 2 L Beastall 22:50; 3 S Bertram 22:50
TEAM: 1 I’ness 297; 2 Ross C 96; 3 P’head 95
U13 (3.2km): 1 N Doorley (I’ness) 12:20; 2 C Comisson (Ross C) 12:58; 3 L Sharman (Moray) 13:38
TEAM: 1 I’ness 293; 2 Ross C 288; 3 P’head 182
U11 (1.6km): K Grant (I’ness) 6:16
TEAM: I’ness 294
DUNBARTONSHIRE CHAMPIONSHIPS, Balloch, December 7
Men (5.2M): 1 F Donaldson (Garsc, U20) 33:08; 2 D Carr (W’lands CC) 33:21; 3 R Hamlin (W’lands CC) 33:29
M40: J Connolly (Garsc) 34:05
TEAM: 1 W’lands CC 20; 2 Garsc 25; 3 Helen 64
U17 (3M, all Garsc): 1 D Hendry 17:21; 2 D Owens 17:33; 3 K Thomson 18:33
TEAM: Garsc 6
U15 (3M, all Garsc): 1 A Loch 18:30; 2 M Connelly 20:03; 3 R Stewart 20:31
TEAM: Garsc 6
U13 (2M, all Garsc): 1 S Robertson 12:10; 2 B Burnett 12:21; 3 S Gemmell 12:38
TEAM: 1 Garsc 6; 2 W Dunbs 20; 3 Helen 21
U11 (1M): A Matheson (VPCG) 7:19
TEAM: VPCG 11
Women (5.2M): 1 M Blair (Garsc) 37:48; 2 C Heasman (Helen, W50) 38:51; 3 S Canty (Dumb) 39:32
U20: L Donaldson (Garsc) 40:56
TEAM: 1 Garsc 31; 2 W’lands CC 37; 3 VPCG 52
U15 (3M): 1 AE Ross (VPCG) 20:11; 2 F Matheson (VPCG) 21:03; 3 Z McPherson (Helen) 21:09
U13 (2M, all VPCG): 1 C Laing 13:12; 2 L Campton 14:01; 3 F Jarvie 14:16
TEAM: VPCG 6
U11 (1M): N Rodgers (Garsc) 8:14
LINCOLNSHIRE LEAGUE, Louth, December 8
Meeting cancelled due to Storm Darragh.
ENGLISH SCHOOLS CROSS-COUNTRY CUP Final, Leeds, December 7
Postponed until March 1st 2025 due to Storm Darragh.
MANCHESTER AREA LEAGUE, Woodbank Park, December 7
Meeting cancelled due to Storm Darragh.
READ MORE: Storm Darragh leads to cancelled races
SOUTH OF ENGLAND MASTERS & INTER-COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIPS, Lloyd Park, Croydon, Surrey, December 7
For the second year in a row, weather caused the cancellation of the event, which should have gone ahead at Oxford in 2023 and here in Croydon this year. The culprit was named as Storm Darragh.
LINCOLNSHIRE RUNNER LEAGUE, Stroxton, Grantham, December 1
Men: 1 J Richardson (Granth) 31:04
TEAM: 1 Lincoln & D 10
U17: 1 J Thorpe (Slea) 30:29
U15: 1 L Hemmings (P’boro &NV) 15:05
U13: 1 J Middleton (Slea) 15:28 3
Women: 1 S Davies (Granth, W345) 31:01; 2 H Morgan (Granth, W45) 31:20
TEAM: 1 Grantham RC 7
U17: 1 H Limmer 26:20
U15: 1 H Smith (Clee) 20:56
U13: 1 C Jay (Slea) 17:02
DOWNS LEAGUE, Epsom Downs, Surrey, November 24
U20 Men: 1 A Pruthi (Tiff) 13;28
TEAM: 1 Tiffin 26
U17: 1 E Sone (S Lon) 10:41; 2 S Leahy (Croy) 11:09; 3 W Weyham (S Lon) 11:10
TEAM: 1 S London 46; 2 Holland Sp 104; 3 Croydon 110
U15: 1 E Cunliffe (Herne H) 11:20; 2 F Jenkin (S Lon) 11:36; 3 E Roberts (K&P) 11:37
TEAM: 1 S London 74; 2 Herne H 61; 3 Epsom & E 112
U13: 1 H Kucerov (Herne H) 11:56; 2 E Vicctor (Impact) 12:02; 3 F Bolton (Tiffin) 12:12
TEAM: 1 Herne H 76; 2 S London 118; 3 Hercules W 141
U20 Women: 1 L Brown (E&E) 13:20
U17: 1 L Cole (Croy) 12:44; 2 G Brough (S&D) 12:57; 3 M Morrell (S Lon) 13:36
TEAM: 1 S London 47; 2 S&D 69; 3 Croydon 710
U15: 1 I Kaur (S&D) 12:30; 2 A Thurmakulasingam (S&D) 12:34; 3 Z Dodgson (Herne H) 12:59
TEAM: 1 Herne H 77; 2 S London 79; 3 S&D 121
U13: 1 S O’Brien (Herne H) 12:16; 2 I Carter (Herne H) 12:46; 3 G Shade (S Lon) 12:53
TEAM: 1 S London 27; 2 Herne H 74; 3 Kingston & Poly 153
More on the cancelled events due to Storm Darragh here.
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