This current Sussex Cross Country League is boiling up to being the most interesting for many years with Saturday’s races producing another tranche of winners.
Normally after the first three of four races several athletes have already established themselves as League Champions but not so this year and decisions as to champions will not be decided until the Final races in February.
Added to this Brighton & Hove’s reign as senior team champions is in jeopardy after more than a decade and they are lying second on the current table to local rivals Brighton Phoenix.
One athlete who has tied up his league title is East Grinstead’s Ethan Scott in the Under 13 age group.
Scott steam away from his rivals from the start and notched up his third successive victory of the season. Clocking 11:46 Scott recorded another handsome win over Crawley rival Dylan Hanslow, 12:02 who has chased him home in all three races with Jack Gardner (Lewes) recording 12:22 in third place.
Lewes took the team race from Worthing and Brighton & Hove.
At the other end of the age range Izzy Coomber (Lewes) won her second race of the season and will be crowned senior champion in February.
It was not an easy win however for we saw a remarkable run from former Sussex champion Caroline Hoyte (Arena 80), who is now in the W45 age group. Hoyte dogged Coomber’s heels for much of the race but the younger of the two had too much left in the closing stages and pulled clear for a convincing win in 19:18 to 19:35.
It was a good day for the Veterans for Helen Buller (Worthing), W35 group, took third place in 19:44 and W45 runner Julie Briggs (Arena 80) filled fourth place.
Annabel Morton (Horsham) was the first U17 runner to finish clocking 20:41 in 17th place.
The senior mens race also produced a good battle until the second half of the race when Haywards Heath’s Chris Smith, who won the season’s first race at Goodwood, fought off the attention of Brighton Phoenix runner Robbie Fitzgibbon to clock 26:12 to 26:43 with Brighton & Hove’s Jamie Knapp, who won the second race in third place in 26:44.
Phoenix won the team event from Brighton & Hove and Lewes.
Tom Eames (Brighton & Hove) strided well clear to notch up an impressive victory after placing fourth and second in the earlier races clocking 17:33 to 17:49 for Joe Body (Hastings) who had won the season’s first race and Brighton & Hove club mate Tomer Tarragano who recorded 15:53.
Chichester took the team race from Brighton & Hove and Crawley.
Harmony Cooper (Hastings) became the third different winner of the U15 Girl’s race this season in 15:45 ahead of club mate Maya Ramnarine, who had won the second race, in 15:54 and Alice Wright (Phoenix) 16:44 with Hastings taking the team event from Brighton Phoenix and Brighton & Hove.
Joe Smith (Crawley) chalked up his second win of the season in the U15 Boy’s race clocking 15:01 to George Pool (Hastings)15:04 and Ethan Fincham (Team Synergy) 15:17 with Hastings taking the team event from Crawley and Chichester.
In the U13 Girls race Bethany Cook (Bodyworks) also notched up a second win finishing well clear of Brighton & Hove’s Rebecca Losh, who had won the season first race, in 12:24 to 12:59 with Erika Body (Hastings) clocking 13:06 in third place and Bodyworks/Eastbourne winning the team race from Brighton & Hove and Hastings.
In the U11 races that preceded the League races Eleanor Stevens (Eastbourne) won the Girl’s race and Ziggy Henry (Hastings) the Boy’s event.
Always after these events a clean up team does a litter sweep and Stanmer Park was left looking cleaner than it had at the start of the event.
Full results on results page.
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