Bronze medal for Tarragano at Parliament Hill

Brilliant running from Brighton & Hove’s Tomer Tarragano, Brighton Phoenix’s Almi Nerurkar and Nicole Taylor (Tonbridge) highlighted the racing at the South of England Cross-country championships at Parliament Hill on Saturday as far as Sussex were concerned.

Tarragano was in fact the only Sussex medal winner finishing a splendid third in the U20 Men’s event though Sussex School’s athlete Olivia McDonald, who runs for Guildford also finished third in the U17 women’s race with Horsham’s Alex Richer 13th. Luke Burgess (Horsham) had a good 18^th place in the men’s event and fellow Horsham athlete Jacob Cann finished 23^rd and helped to Blue Star team into fourth team spot, which, with the U13 Crawley girls team was the highest placing of the afternoon.

Nerurkar had another excellent run but just missed the medals finishing fourth in the U20 Women’s race while Lizzie Clark from Hastings who lives over the border in Kent placed 11^th and Horsham’s Surrey athlete Annabelle Morton placed 18^th.

In the senior women’s race County champion Nicole Taylor from Crowborough also just missed a medal in an excellent fourth place with Arena 80’s Maisie Trafford and Caroline Hoyte in 30^th and 34^th places while in the team event Arena 80 placed 19^th, Hastings 22^nd and Chichester 34th.

Eleanor Strevens from Eastbourne finished a fine sixth in the Under 13 race and there was another Top Ten placing in this event when Crawley’s Surrey twin Lauren Wormley placed tenth. With club mates Anna Fox in 20^th place Charlotte Wormley 22^nd and Bea Ingles (Lewes) 26^th and Brighton & Hove’s Dulcie Yelling 31^st place this was the most successful race for Sussex. Crawley just missed out on team medals placing fourth the highest team placing by a Sussex with Brighton & Hove 20^th and Lewes 26^th.

Charles Ferris (Horsham) led the Sussex runner’s home in the U13 boy’s event placing 28^th and Lewes were the leading Sussex in an excellent seventh place with Brighton & Hove 17^th and Crawley 30^th.

In the U15 age group Thomas James (Crawley) finished 13^th, Matty Smith, another Horsham/Surrey athlete 16^th and Carlos Neito-Parr (Hastings) 25^th with Crawley taking six team place and Brighton & Hove 18^th while the girls race saw Poppy Palmer-Malins 35^th and her Brighton & Hove club mate. Eadie Yelling, 39^th. Brighton & Hove were eighth in the team event with Crawley 32^nd.

Isaac Elam (Hastings) led the Sussex challenge in the U17 men’s race placing 20^th and led his team into eighth place with Crawley 10^th and Brighton & Hove 18^th.

Brighton & Hove, with a much depleted team, were 20^th in the Senior men’s race with William Cork finishing 41^st, Howard Bristow 71^st and James Turner 97^th while Arena 80 appear to be the only other Sussex club to complete a scoring six in 49^th place.

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