Last updated
14 January 2016
KCAA Cross Country Championships 9
January 2016
KCAA Cross-Country
Championships - Brands Hatch
2016 has begun in winning ways for Blackheath and
Bromley young athletes as Will Fuller wins his first GB International vest
running in Edinburgh and Blackheath youngsters picked up team medals in all
age groups.
Brands Hatch was this years venue for the Kent County
Cross Country Championships and the weather was more than appropriate with
cold rain and blustery winds.
The course, despite being in one field, was long, had
hills, long lush grass, mud and was challenging.
The U13 girls typically started the days action in
winning ways, comfortable taking the team title and retaining the trophy for
another year. Morgan Squibb paced her race well to finish a strong 2nd
followed by a determined run from Ellie Dolby in 3rd and an equally
determined run from Rosie Allen finishing 5th. Jess Neal, only 3 seconds
behind Rosie crossed the line in 6th, followed by a great 11th place for
Daniella Harper, Niamh Milmo was 21st, Abigail Leeves 22nd, Emilie Davis
33rd and Olivia Berry completed the squad in 34th.
Rowan Fuss confirmed his dominance of the U13 boys age
group with a seemingly easy run that saw him 200m clear of the field and
earns him the right to keep the county trophy for another year.
Sam Reardon has been nursing a knee injury of late but
was having a great run high up the field, before being struck down with the
same aggravating pain that meant he sensibly had to pull out half way
through the race. Justin Strover looked strong finishing 10th with Thomas
Penlington in 17th and Eddie Sellar in 21st completing the scoring four and
picking up team bronze for their efforts. A great effort from Ethan
Kitteridge in 23rd and Jake Leng in 27th and Charles Winton in 35th backed
the team up well.
Next up were the U15 girls and their performances were
good enough to collect team silver. Kelsi Cornish speed off from the gun in
a brave determined fashion and she maintained her great pace earning a
fantastic individual bronze, Millie Smith ran a strong 6th with Lily
Tappenden 13th, Stephanie Taylor 14th, Imogen Meers 17th and Isabelle Bridge
19th.
The best turn out of the day was from the U15 boys
sporting eleven athletes. Angus Harrington, recently back from time off with
an injury, flew off the line as though fully fit and led for some of the
way, finally crossing the line in a very respectable 4th place. Joe
Georgiadis ran strong and finished high up in 9th as did Robert Suckling in
19th and Coleman Corry in 21st, securing silver medals in the team
competition. Great backing up with strong runs from Charlie Andrews in 25th,
Keir Lundy in 27th, George Pope in 31st, Cameron Swatton in 33rd, Ben
Gardiner in 39th, Leo Braden in 42nd and the smiling Seb Large in 44th.
The U17 girls retained their county team trophy and
won the individual trophy in style as Jess Keene perfectly paced her race to
go one better than last year. Holly Page, a Dartford international athlete,
had opened up a sizeable lead over the field but Jess didn’t panic and ran
her own race slowly increasing her pace and closing the gap. A very strong
final hill from Jess saw her catch, pass and open up a 15 second gap to take
the gold comfortably. The ever improving Amy Leech had a great run finishing
a solid 5th with Yasmin Austridge in 7th completing the scoring trio who
collected the team trophy. Strong runs saw Genny Allen cross the line in
9th, Lottie Weitzel 10th, Joanna Clowes 12th, Chloe Kibblewhite 20th and
Mary Guy 21st.
Marco Arcuri led the U17 boys home having had a great
run finishing a fine 7th with Joss Barber just behind in 8th. A well paced
race from Lewis Mills in 19th and good to see Charlie Davis back running and
finishing 26th and James Crawley completed the quad in 35th. These
collective results earned the team a well deserved bronze medal.
Sam Leighton was our only representative in the U20
age group and represented us well finishing 6th in the U20 girls race.
The next club event is the South of England Cross
Country Championships at Parliament Hill on Saturday 30th January 2016
followed by the National weekend in Nottingham for the National Cross
Country Championships at Castle Donnington on 27th February 2016.
Paul
This week managers awards go Kelsi Cornish and
Marco Arcuri.
Kelsi wins the girls team managers award for her fantastic, determined
run at the Kent cross country Championships and in doing so picked up a
great county bronze.
Marco wins the boys team mangers award for his well paced and gutsy run
that saw him finish 7th in a very strong Kent field.
Paul
Full results
here...
Photos from Rod Harrington
