|
|---|
|
Click on photos to enlarge - use browser back button to return Pictures by Steve Perkin |
|
|
|---|
|
Click on photos to enlarge - use browser back button to return Pictures by Steve Perkin |
A record high of 95 Chiltern Harriers took part in the first Chiltern League match of the winter at Horspath, Oxford on Saturday and, with several team and individual victories, finished a very good third overall.
Amongst many great performances were individual wins for Connie Lewis in the Under 13 girls race and Will Perkin in the Under 11 boys. There were team victories for the Under 11 boys, Under 13 boys, Under 13 girls and Veteran ladies.
First race of the day was the Under 11 girls and despite missing some key personnel, the girls ran very well to finish second behind a very strong Bracknell AC trio. Hannah Thear was fourth in her Chiltern League debut, with Claire Buttivant seventh and Sophie Morton tenth completing the team.
The Under 11 boys were very dominant in their race with Will Perkin a convincing winner and David Willcox third and Angus Denison-Smith fourth. Also in the top ten were Robert Hall in sixth and Josh Hughes ninth.
Further glory came in the next race with a superb individual win for Connie Lewis. In a large and high-calibre field Hannah Morton in third and Rosalind Firth in fourth also ran brilliantly. Completing the scoring four was Emma Barraclough in sixteenth, recovering from an ear infection.
The fantastic day for the club continued as great packing led to another victory in the Under 13 boys race. Joe Cochrane was fourth, James McCarthy fifth, Bill Hughes sixth and Sam Butcher ninth to record a strong win. Joe Aherne also had a great run to be tenth.
In the Under 15 girls event, usually not a strong one for the club, the team did very well in a high quality field to finish sixth. Ellie Jones was 18th, Amy Harris 22nd, Alice Heinel 26th and Phoebe Cutter 38th to score very useful points.
A hotly contested title race is anticipated in the Under 15 boys event with just two points separating the first three teams. Bedford and County finished on 174, Windsor on 173 and Chiltern on 172 in a thrilling race. For Chiltern, Jack Dutton in fourth, Michael Goddard in fifth, Dan Barraclough in 13th and George Gillingwater in 14th were the scoring four.
The Under 17 boys were seventh with Alex Watson 23rd, Dan Loach 30th, Will Fletcher 31st, and Ben Hall 39th.
The senior women's race saw the Chiltern team without several key individuals due to injury but Judith Orr in 16th, Sian Thomas in 19th, Ali Young in 22nd and newcomer Jess Gray in 29th ran to a creditable fourth place. The quartet of Judith, Ali, Barbara Ralph in 36th and Heidi Folkard in 42nd won the Veteran ladies competition.
In the final race of the day, the senior men were missing several top runners but still managed a solid fifth place. Running particularly well were Eddie O'Gorman and Tom Beedell, third and fourth in the 190-strong Division 1 race.
After one match this leaves the club third overall of the fourteen teams in Division 1, with both Male and Female teams lying in third.
The next match is at Wigmore Valley, Luton on November 7th. Team managers will be looking for another great turnout to enhance the club's position.