Bright sunshine, light winds and strong competition marked the Sussex AA Cross Country League Races at Stanmer Park at the weekend.
With entry numbers hitting nearly 800, it was a perfect day for the second fixture in the season.
Victoria Ridley (Brighton & Hove AC) stormed home around 40 seconds ahead in the first race of the day, the under 11 girls, whilst Michael Mansell (HYAC) was the winning under 11 boy.
Next up were the under 13 girls where Chichester are proving to be the team to watch.
Placing 1st (Emmy Pemberton), 2nd (Amelie Adams) and 5th (Heather Hand),
the team scored just 8 points. A clear distance from the Brighton & Hove A and B teams in 2nd (22 points) and 3rd (47 points).
Team Bodywork’s Lana Povey had a great run for 3rd place.
It was home win in the under 13 boys’ where Brighton & Hove AC’s Barnaby Moyes crossed the line in 11.41 ahead of Xander Wagjiani (Crawley) in 11.45 and Hugo Wrapson (Horsham) in 11.50.
Both the Brighton & Hove A and Worthing teams, who were the 1st and 2nd on the day, had 3 runners in the top 10 overall. Brighton & Hove B came 3rd.
Isabella Buchanan (HYAC) often makes cross country seem like a breeze and this was definitely the case in the under 15 girls 4K where she finished nearly a minute ahead of Isabella Lendrum (Chichester) and Ruby Armstrong (Brighton & Hove).
The HYAC team also came out collectively on top with 18 points followed by Brighton & Hove on 25 and Phoenix on 35.
It was pure Brighton & Hove dominance in the under 15 boys contest with the club taking 1st (Taylor Thom Watts) 2nd (Oliver Goodman) and 3rd (George Urben).
Chichester were 2nd with 22 and Lewes 3rd on 29.
In the under 17 men’s, Fin Lumber Fry (Eastbourne) took the race on from the start. He comfortably led the pack around the 5K course winning in 17.08 followed by Freddy Boniface (Horsham Blue Stars) in 17.14 and Alex Roberts (Brighton & Hove) in 17.19.
Top team in this age group was Brighton & Hove (21) then Crawley (28) and Chichester (32).
Next up was the senior women’s race, which included under 17s, under 20s and vets as well as seniors.
Again this was the Molly (Smithers) and Milly (Dickinson) show with both athletes taking the race out from the start. As the race progressed Chichester’s Molly, who is under 17, pulled away for the in 18.55 with senior woman Milly (Phoenix) 2nd in 19.15. Horsham’s Izzy Wheeler, also under 17, was 3rd.
Highest placing under 20 was Esme Stephenson (Brighton & Hove in 9th and top vet lady was V45 Amy Dixon (HYAC) in 10th.
Female team wins on the day went to Phoenix in Division 1 and Worthing Gazelles in Division 2, while HYAC were top W35-50 and Burgess Hill Runners W50+.
The last race of the day was the under 20, senior and vet men’s race where there were a phenomenal 184 finishers.
Throughout the 8K course there was a battle but it was senior man Joshua Burgess (Lewes) who crossed the line 1st followed by V35s James Turner (Brighton & Hove) and Simon Heath (Phoenix).
Freddie Matthews was the 1st under 20 athlete in 9th place overall.
Phoenix showed huge team dominance across the divisions taking top place in Division 1, 2nd and 3rd in Division 2 and 1st V35-50. Brighton & Hove won the V50+ age group.
It was a great day for county cross country running and now looking forward to the next fixture at Ardingly Showground on December 6th.
Cardiff Cross Challenge
Congratulations to all the Sussex athletes who competed at the Cardiff Cross Challenge.
These included Eastbourne’s Byron Roberts who ran a brilliant race winning the under 15 boys on a sprint finish, Brighton & Hove’s Ava James placing 9th Under 20 woman as well as in the under 17 men’s contest Jake Pursey (Phoenix) finishing 4th, George Armstrong Smith (Eastbourne) 10th and Jonah Messer (Eastbourne) 33rd.