County cross-country champion Nicole Taylor from Crowborough was the highest placed Sussex athlete at the National cross-country championships Wollaton Park, Nottingham on Saturday.
Over the muddy and tough course Taylor, running for Tonbridge, made her debut in the senior championship and finished an excellent 22nd.
Emma Dixon from Brighton but running for Highgate who was runner up in the County event also making her debut in the senior age group did well to make the top fifty in 46th place and Bethany Garland (Chichester) placed 91st.
In the senior men’s race there was a good run from Jon Pepper (Brighton Phoenix), who is also the County cross-country champion and he did well over this nine mile course to finish 40th of the nearly 1800 finishers while club mate Max Dumbrell finished 84th and Brighton & Hove’s Kevin Moore squeezed inside the top One Hundred in 98th place.
Max Pickard (Phoenix) and Howard Bristow (Brighton & Hove) made the top 200 in 143rd and 170th places respectively.
Jamie Knapp (Brighton & Hove) and Chris Smith (Haywards Heath) who were second and third respectively in this year’s Sussex League but are not Sussex qualified both had fine runs to finish 20th and 33rd.
The highest Sussex Club runner was certainly Surrey’s Ethan Scott who runs for East Grinstead.
Running in the U13 group Scott, who will still be young enough to run in the same age group next year finished in a splendid eighth place.
Tara Bage (Phoenix) led the Sussex runners home in the U20 group placing a good 38th with Crawley’s Kennagh Marsh and Katy Peters finishing 77th and 88th.
In the U17 age group Naomi Fonteyn (Phoenix) did well to finish 48th while Leo Brewer (Phoenix) placed 50th in the U15 age group ahead of three Crawley runners, Joe Smith 59th, Callum Stone 75th and Arnold Perana 92nd.
With the Inter-County at Loughborough and England Schools champs at Norwich coming up within the next two weeks many of the leading Sussex Young Athletes obviously decided to give the journey to Nottingham a miss and overall Sussex representation was disappointing, as indeed it was last year, but maybe it will be better next year when the championships will be held at Parliament Hill.
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