|
AVON and SOMERSET CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
SATURDAY 6TH DECEMBER 2008
Injury and illness reduced the Mendip AC headcount at the Avon & Somerset
cross country championships to just ten on Saturday. For once, warm sunny
conditions greeted the runners at Blaise Castle in Bristol, though there
were several treacherous sections of mud in the woods. The event was being
held as part of the Gwent cross country league, which ensured some South
Wales competition for the home athletes. Stars of the day were Mendip's
three medalists. In the first race of the day, under 15 Aoife Thorogood ran
well to finish fourth overall to take a well deserved Somerset title. Some
way behind Emily Derrick showed some good form as she eased in ahead of Ruby
Kelly. Nathan Young led the combined under 17 and under 20 race from English
Schools track champion Richard Peters for three of the four miles, but a
heavy fall in the woods allowed Peters past and Young could only close back
to 30m after getting himself going again. Nontheless, with Peters winning
the under 20 title, Young was a considerable distance clear of the second
under 17.
Rebecca Carver and her twin sister Hayley had a longer journey to Bristol
than anyone else - having travelled via Germany on a school trip, starting
on Thursday and involving two nights sleep on the coach! Ariving back in
Somerset just in time to be collected to drive up to Bristol, the girls ran
brilliantly, with Rebecca unlucky to find her local rivals in good form. She
did come away with a well won county bronze medal for her efforts after
finishing fourth overall. In the other races, Kieran Young and Joshua
Timmins ran well in the under 15 boys event, while James Williams (under 13
boys) and his brother Alex (under 11 boys) both had strong runs.
ALSO SEE REPORT BELOW :
Somerset XC Championships 2008/09 Blaise Castle, Bristol on December 6th 2008
Report of Paul Chadwick
Somerset XC Championship Secretary
chair@wellscityharriers.org.uk
Once again, the Somerset Cross-country championships were embedded within the Gwent XC League fixture hosted by Westbury Harriers. Our thanks to the hosts for a good challenging course with plenty of mud, the Gwent League officials for taking entries and recording finishing positions and times, and to Andy Heyes of Clevedon AC for arranging the joint championships this year.
The Gwent League fixture offered competitive fields in most age groups (e.g. the senior men’s race had over 300 competitors and the senior women’s race 130) Many thanks to the outgoing Somerset XC Championship secretary Brian Beale who assisted me with the presentation of Medals to the winning Somerset athletes immediately after each race.
Entries were received from athletes of 7 Clubs qualified for Somerset by the closing date of Dec 1st: Clevedon AC; Langport Runners; Mendip AC; Minehead RC; Taunton AC; Wells Harriers; Yeovil Town RR; and there was 1 unattached runner entered.
The number of entries received by the closing date of December 1st was 132 Somerset qualified athletes. Well done to all those that competed.
Full timed results will appear on the Gwent League website at http://www.gwent-league.org.uk
Medallists
Senior Men Senior Women
1 Elliot Haimes (Wells) 1 Anna Lewis (Wells)
2 Jon Gilling (Wells) 2 Alice Hector (Wells)
3 Tim Hawkins (Wells) 3 Katerina Prior (Wells)
V40 Nick Somerville (Wells) F35 Jenny Moors (Wells)
V50 Gordon Faulds (Taunton) F45 Not awarded
V60 Mike Horwood (Clevedon) F55 Julia Hector (Wells)
U20 Men U20 Women
Not awarded 1 Laura Parker (Wells)
2 Rachel Heard (Taunton)
U17 Men U17 Women
1 Nathan Young (Bristol/MAC) 1 Laura James (Taunton)
2 Tom Thick (Wells) 2 Leighanna Chappell (Wells)
3 Lizzie Hart (Wells)
U15 boys U15 girls
1 Simon Cooper (Taunton) 1 Aoife Thorogood (Mendip)
2 George Harris (Wells) 2 Jessica Wood (Wells)
3 Isaac Taschimowitz (Taunton) 3 Harriet Rogers (Taunton)
U13 boys U13 girls
1 Oliver Fox (Wells) 1 Holly Brown (Taunton)
2 Matthew Cole (Wells) 2 Emily Smith (Wells)
3 James Todd (Wells) 3 Rebecca Carver (Mendip)
Next year the County AA intend that Taunton AC host the joint championships.
| 