Here’s our latest round-up from this past weekend’s South of England and Midlands Counties Cross-Country Relays.
SOUTH OF ENGLAND CROSS-COUNTRY RELAYS, Wormwood Scrubs, London, October 18
Men
Belgrave Harriers came out on top in the men’s race, with second stage runner Raif Serif – following on from Henry Hart’s second spot on leg one – running the fastest split time of 12:17 for their 4km distance.
Will Perkin led Thames Valley Harriers through the first leg with a 12:28 split, which ended up as the second-best time overall. Simon Coppard then extended the Belgrave lead over TVH and these two clubs were around a minute and a half clear of the rest, who were led home by Chiltern Harriers.
However fewer teams finished than in recent years.
The under-20 men’s race saw just eight teams compete and it was Michael Clark who was fastest on the opener for winners City of Norwich, with an 8:07 clocking for the 3km circuit. They were pressed mid-race by Hercules Wimbledon but held on by seven seconds.
Men (4x4km): 1 Belgrave 50:51 (H Hart 12:32, R Serif 12;17, S Coppard 12:55, C McNally 13:06); 2 TVH 51:18 (W Perkin 1228, C Fielding 12:39, M Cameron 12:59, R Bradford 13;11); 3 Chiltern 52;43 (S Bossi 12;44, H Cox 13:08, A Davidson 13:37, A Aldred 13:12); 4 Newbury 53:25; 5 Bracknell 53:40; 6 Belgrave B 53;56; 7 TVH B 54:09; 8 Hillingdon 54:21; 9 London Heathside 54:26; 10 Herne Hill 56:46
Fastest: R Serif (Belg) 12;17; W Perkin (TVH) 12;28; H Hart (Belg) 12:32; C Fielding (TVH) 12:39; S Bossi (Chilt) 12:44; N Faulkner (TVH B) 12:47
Just 30 teams finished
U20 (3x3km): 1 Norwich 25:43 (M Clark 8:07, J Dorbin 9:08, W Percival 8:27); 2 Hercules Wimbledon 25:50 (T Homes 8:53, A mcGuigan 8:27, P Panchev 8:28); 3 WG&EL 27:18 (W Muffett 9:05, A Ward 9:13, A O’Driscol 8:58); 4 TVH 28:35; 5 Dacorum 28:57; 6 Chiltern 29:11
Fastest: M Clark (Norw) 8:07; L Moore (TVH) 8:26; A McGuigan (HW)/W Percival (Norw) 8:27; P Panchev (HW) 8:28; T Homes (HW) 8:53
Women
It ended up being a close senior women’s race over three 3km circuits of the Scrubs and, after Mia Waldmann had given Reading AC a first stage advantage with a 9:33 clocking, it was Herne Hill who came through to win by just 14 seconds.
Reading had increased their lead mid-race thanks to Victoria Hiscock but they could not hold on as Sarah Grover snatched the title for Herne Hill with a 9:38 split.
Hosts Thames Valley looked set for third place overall for most of the race until a last lap chase by Belgrave’s Alex Barbour’s fastest overall lap, of 9:19, almost snatched the bronze medals, but it was not to be.
Jac Heller, the 2024 English Schools steeplechase third placer, was the outstanding runner in the junior women’s three stage race over the 3km lap. Her 9:53 opener for Windsor stood up as the fastest under-20 time as her club held on to win by 16 seconds.
They were later chased home by Crawley, who had the Wormley twins Charlotte and Lauren trying to make up ground. They fell short but did enough to hold off Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets for the silver medals. Whilst the women’s lap was advertised as being 3km in length, time suggested that it was slightly shorter.
Women (3x6km): 1 Herne H 29:10 (S Tooley 9:41, D Hey 9:50, S Grover 9:38); 2 Reading 29:24 (M Waldmann 9:33, V Hiscock 9:42, E Saunders 10:09); 3 TVH 29:25 (K Olding 9:46, E Burfitt 9:59, L Sterritt 9:39); 4 Belgrave 29:28 (S Haileselasie 10:05, A Gandee 10:02, A Barbour 9:19); 5 Herne H B 31:13 (K Balme 9:50, H Keenan 10:02, J Wedmore 11;20); 6 London Heathside 31:46 (E Bond 10;21L Browne 10:43, H Barnes 10:40); 7 Belgrave B 31:51; 8 Highgate 32;18; 9 Belgrave C 33:11; 10 Clapham Chasers 33;15
Fastest: A Barbour (Belg) 9:19; M Waldmann (Read) 9:33; S Grover (Herne H) 9:38; L Sterritt (TVH) 9:39; S Tooley (Herne H) 9:41; V Hiscock ((Read) 9:42
33 teams finished
U20 (3x3km): 1 WSEH 31:10 (J Heller 9:53, A Passos 10:52, Y Grant 10:23); 2 Crawley 31:26 (L McClaren 10;12, C Wormley 10:49, L Wormley 10:24); 3 VP&TH 31:39 (L MacDonald 10:11, R James 10:59, M Panoutsou 10:28); 4 Highgate 33;22; 5 Crawley B 34:09; 6 Reading 34:20
Fastest: J Heller (WSEH) 9:53; L Delvendahl (High) 10:10; L MacDonald (VP&TH) 10:11
Just seven teams finished
Young Athletes
Havering had to come from behind to win the under-17 men’s race and it was only on the third and final stage that Freddie Rowe took them to the tape with the fastest 3km leg of 8:14, although the distance was probably a bit less than advertised.
In a close under-15 boys’ race, Theo Creed’s 5:55, for their 2km lap, gave Hercules Wimbledon a small early lead before Max Harrison and James Fraser slightly increased their advantage to the line.
After being a close fifth on the opening lap of the under-13 boys’ race, Shaftesbury Barnet came through to win comfortably from Reading AC.
There was a new name on the leaderboard in the under-17 women’s championship as Eastbourne Rovers came through to win on the third and final lap thanks to Daisy Connor’s 9:36 fastest mark.
Earlier, it had been Chelmsford’s Jorja Marsh who had led the first stage runners home, with a second best 9:38, but they then slipped back as Windsor firstly took the overall lead mid-race before conceding to winner Eastbourne.
Windsor did, however, secure the under-15 girls’ title after Kara Gorman’s 6:49 for their 2km circuit had given them a first stage advantage that they held to the end.
On their final lap, Zoe Allan’s 6:53 ensured a winning margin of more than a minute with the age group third best effort.
Whilst Guildford & Godalming were a comfortable second placed under-15 club, Isabella Buchanan came from a long way back to secure bronze for Hy AC with the fastest age group time of 6:32.
It was the favourites Brentwood Beagles who easily won the under-13 girls race over three 2km laps and had their Madison Kindler anchor them home with the fastest time of 6:49.
U17 Men (3x3km): 1 Havering 25:51 (S Horsley 8:45, F McClaren 8:51, F Rowe 8:14); 2 Eastbourne Rovers 26:01 (T Petherick 8:51, F Lumber-Fry 8:34, G Armstrong-Smith 8:35); 3 WG&EL 26:11 (H Stockill 8:39, L Norden 8:51, O Eaton 8:40); 4 Herne H 26:24; 5 Dacorum 26:29; 6 Bracknell 26:36
Fastest: F Rowe (Hav’g) 8:14; T Murphy (Dac) 8:26; C Holmes (Herne H)/B Lucas (Brack)/F Lumber-Fry (E’brne) 8:34; C Reed (Hill) 8:35
22 teams finished
U15 (3x3km): 1 Hercules W 19:04 (T Creed 5:55, M Harrison 6:36, J Fraser 6:32); 2 Lon H 19:20 (C Nicholson 5:56, J McGuire 6:43, A Kirk 6:40); 3 Bracknell 19:25 (O Pullen 6:51, J Legg 6:27, E Langley-Aybar 6:06); 4 Herne H 19:28; 5 WSEH 19:55; 6 Eastbourne R 19:58
Fastest: T Creed (HW) 5:55; C Nicholson (Lon H) 5:56; E Langley-Aybar (Brack) 6:06; A Duan (Herne H) 6:20; M Lamy (VP&TH) 6:25; J Legge (Brack) 6:27
30 teams finished
U13 (3x2km): 1 Shaftesbury Barnet 20:20 (H Henderson 6:55, D Pascall 6:44, L Ward 6:39); 2 Reading 20:48 (W May 6:47, T Sawyer 7:24, M Mazieres 6:36); 3 Crawley 20:54 (F Nottage 6:50, T Kerr 7:07, Z Waggiani 6:56); 4 Hercules W 21:09; 5 Vale of Aylesbury 21:19; 6 Herne H 21:25
Fastest: N Mazieres (Read) 6:36; L Ward (SB) 6:39; D Pascal (SB) 6:44; W May (Read) 6:47; F Nottage (Craw)/A Small (VoA) 6:50
35 teams finished
U17 Women (3x3km): 1 Eastbourne Rovers 29:41 (F Pearce 9:42, R Petrova 10:23, D Connor 9:36); 2 WSEH 30:09 (T Ferguson 9:54, R Street 10:05, G Colley 10:09); 3 Chiltern 31:20 (I Robinson 10:36, E Wildman 9:56, A Whitfield 10:47); 4 Chelmsford 31:30; 5 Brentwood Beagles 32;10; 6 Herne Hill 32;19
Fastest: D Connor (E’brne) 9:36; J Marsh (Chelms) 9:38; F Pearce (E’brne) 9:42
17 teams finished
U15 (3x2km): 1 WSEH 20:45 (K Gorman 6:49, H Lucas 7:02, Z Allen 6:53); 2 Guildford & Godalming 21:41 (J Allen 7:24, E Davenport 7:06, H Kalfoss 7:09); 3 Hy AC 21:57 (S Dixon 7:39, A Skelton 7:44, I Buchanan 6:32); 4 WSEH B 22:02; 5 Hercules Wimbledon 22:05; 6 Shaftesbury Barnet 22:24
Fastest: I Buchanan (Hy AC) 6:32; K Gorman (WSEH) 6:49; Z Allen (WSEH) 6:53
28 teams finished
U13 (3x2km): 1 Brentwood B 21:21 (S Davis 7:16, L Esterhuysen 7:25, M Kindler 6:49); 2 Herne H 22:10 (M Scriven 7:13, O Fisher 7:50, S O’Brien 7:06); 3 S London 22:29 (G Shade 7:23, I Errington 7:42, S Lange 7:23); 4 St Mary’s Richmond 22:48; 5 Hillingdon 23:17; 6 WSEH 23:28
Fastest: M Kindler (B’wood) 6:49; S O’Brien (Herne H) 7:06; G Barclay (Hill) 7:09
26 teams finished
MIDLAND COUNTIES CROSS-COUNTRY RELAYS, Aldersley Stadium, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, October 18
With three of the top six fastest laps, in the men’s four stage race over 6km, Worcester took the title but were briefly challenged by Wolverhampton & Bilston’s James Neilson mid-race, before going away to win by getting on for a minute.
A fast lap was posted by Worcester’s Luke Jones on stage one but, late on, it was Luke Burgess who snatched bronze for Bristol & West with the best return of the day at 18:25.
Tipton Harriers, with Ian Willims’ 19:33 – the quickest leg overall – took the Masters championship by more than four minutes, as team mate Robertt Meredith ended up second fastest.
Men (4x6km): 1 Worcester 77:20 (L Jones 18:33, A Wilson-Spence 20:24, A Jeavons 19:01, S Davey 19:24); 2 Wolverhampton & Bilston 78:04 (J Bonser 19:29, J Neilson 19:05, R Hodgkiss 19:48, L Lambeth 19:44); 3 Bristol & West 78:09 (F Roach 19:34, L Gawler 19:24, W Christofi 20:48, L Burgess 18:25); 4 Halesowen 79:44; 5 Tipton 80:14; 6 Bromsgrove & Redditch 80:57
Fastest: L Burgess (B&W) 18:25; L Jones (Worc) 18:33; A Jeavons (Worc) 19:01; J Nielson (W&B) 19:05; G Buttery (Charn) 19:15; S Davey (Worc) 19:24;
34 teams finished
M40 (4x6km): 1Tipton 80:10 (D Perry 20:13, S Brookes 20:28, I Williams 19:33, R Meredith 19:58); 2 BRAT 84:29 (N Smith 23:08, M Pollard 20:43, R Vaughan 20:05, D Robinson 20:33); 3 Wolverhampton & Bilston 85:11 (L Maskew 20:31, P Marson 21:28, G Worrall 21:32, B Foster 21:42); 4 Sphinx 86:28; 5 Tipton B 88:19; 6 Telford 90:57
Fastest: I Williams (Tip) 19:33; R Meredith (Tip) 19:58; D Brewis (Sphinx)/R Vaughan (BRAT) 20:05
Women
There was also a healthy winning margin in the senior women’s event as Tipton also took that one after leading throughout.
Beth Tabor’s first lap effort of 22:44 stood up as the quickest of the three-stage race, as Tipton teammate Catherine Holden second fastest.
Bristol & West had a steady race until Elaina Gard’s 23;34 secured them silver medals on the final stage.
Cheltenham & County took the Masters women’s title and had Petra Vymetalova post second fastest time of the age group on the opening stage.
They then increased their margin to more than four minutes at the line but the quickest lap went elsewhere.
It was Vicki MacKay, who took that honour, for second placed Wolves, on stage two with a nippy 22:33.
Women (3x6km): 1. Tipton 72:08 (B Tabor 22:44, C Holden 23:21, S Walker 26:05); 2 Bristol & West 73:13 (J Harbert 24:25, S Everitt 25:13, E Gard 23:35); 3 Halesowen 74:54 (L Collins 24:08, A Harrison 25:26, S Gill 25:20); 4 Nuneaton 75:38; 5 Sphinx 76:18; 6 Worcester 76:28
Fastest: B Tabor (Tip) 22:44; C Holden (Tip) 23;21; E Gard (B&W) 23:35; R West (Nun) 23:43; E Jones (BRAT) 24:00; E McKinley (Sphinx) 24:01
26 teams finished
W35 (3x6km): 1 Cheltenham & County 74:04 (P Vymetalova 24:26, E Balfe 24:47, J Fairbairn 24:52); 2 Wolverhampton & Bilston 78:08 (E Simmonds 27:29, V MacKay 22:34, L Tait-Harris 28:06); 3 Wolverhampton & Bilston B 9:46 (L Webster 27:50, D Braine 30:13, J Condon 37:45); 4 BRAT 1:45:33; 5 Northbrook 2:00:26; 6 Bromsgrove & Redditch 57:42
Fastest: V McKay (W&B) 22:24; P Vymetalova (Chelt) 24:26; E Balfe (Chelt) 24:47
Young Athletes
Whilst the senior races were relatively well supported, medals went cheaply in many of the young athletes’ age groups.
The stand-out performer in these age groups was again Cheltenham’s Archie Lane who, this year, helped his club take the under-17 men’s title by more than a minute with a 9:11 split for their 3km distance.
U17 Men (3x3km): 1. Leamington Cycling & Athletics Club 28:38 (K Halsey 9:42, A Lane 9:11, J Smith 9:46); 2 Telford 29:41 (S Ball 9:37, K Gilbody 10:01, R Brown 10:03); 3 Telford B 30:10 (L Howard 9:39, J Gaulder 10:23, A Pugh 10:09); 4 Nuneaton 31:27; 5 Worcester 33:00; 6 Nuneaton B 33:00
Fastest: A Lane (Leam) 9:11; S Ball (Telf) 9:37; L Howard (Telf B) 9:39
U15 (3x3km): 1 Hereford & County 35:18 (I Farrant 11:08, S Farrant 12:41, R Mathey 11:30); 2 Halesowen 41:13
Fastest: I Farrant (Here) 11:08
U13 (3x3km): 1 Telford 34:42 (G Nicholls 11:26, F Bell 11:44, J Howard 11:34); 2 Cheltenham & County 35:08 (J Bradshaw 11:36, B Lewis 12:12, W Bell 11:21); 3 Hereford & County 36:57 (T Exton 11:37, J Slade 12:33, M Williams 12:48); 4 Hereford & County B 40:15; 5 Worcester 40:26; 6 Hereford & County C 41:09
Fastest: S Palmer (W&B) 11:01; W Bell (Chelt) 11:21; G Nicholls (Telf) 11:2w6
U17 women (3x3km): 1 Halesowen 36:15 (F Collins 11:58, K Welborn 12:19, L Hellingsworth 11:59); 2 Nuneaton 40:09
Fastest: F Collins (Hales) 11;58
U15 (3x3km): 1 Telford 35:35 (A Wood 11:19, I Brannen 12:19, G Jones 11:58); 2 Cheltenham & County 36:02 (K Hodgkinson 12:09, M Cowley 11:58, B Watts 11:56); 3 Hereford & County 39:26 (S Reid 12:06, P Grundy 14:14, M Bakewell 13:08); 4 Wolverhampton & Bilston 40:45; 5 Nuneaton 40:49
Fastest: A Wood (Telf) 11:19; B Watts (Chelt) 11:56; M Cowley (Chelt)/G Jones (Telf) 11:58
U13 (3x3km): 1 Worcester 36:50 (H Cooke 11:17, F Bidwell 12:21, K Harte 13:13); 2 Nuneaton 37:32 (A Drage 12:38, D Wileman 12:35, A Coats 12:21); 3 Cheltenham & County 38:04 (N Pettingell 12:48, A Church 13:14, J Bailey 12:03)
Fastest: H Cooke (Worc) 11:17; J Bailey (helt) 12:03; F Bidwell (Worc)/A Coats (Nun) 12:21
