Collins holds pole position

Athletics Table tennis

Tom Collins leads the standings after the second round of the Kent Cross-Country League.

The Medway & Maidstone AC runner timed 33min14sec for second place in the senior men’s race won by Jake Wightman (Dartford) at Somerhill School in Tonbridge.

Collins, who was third in the opening round at Stanhill Farm, was backed up by clubmates Teweldebrhan Menges (fifth, 33.47) and Simon Habtom (sixth, 34.05). Tonbridge’s Daniel Bradley was ninth (34.27).

Paddock Wood got the better of Tonbridge in the senior women’s race. Maria Heslop (third, 19.19) and Claire Day (20.06) finished ahead of Chloe Bird (eighth, 20.16) and Shauna Paice (10th, 20.24). M& M were led by Stephanie Hearn (11th, 20.25). Heslop is second in the standings after two events.

Tonbridge’s Jamie Goodge took the under-20 men’s honours in 16.38. Cameron Payas (17.39) and Marley Godden (18.38) put M& M in the top 10 with fifth and ninth.

Alice Ralph (17.57) was first with team-mate Emila Hope 18 seconds back in third for Tonbridge in the under-20 women’s event. Emma Jenkins was sixth for M& M in 19.25.

There was a Tonbridge onetwo in the under-17 boys’ race, with Bede Pitcairn-Knowles (17.03) pipping Daniel Blades (17.12). Clubmates Sam Crick (17.30) and Charlie Lindsay (17.32) were fifth and sixth with another Tonbridge runner, James Stoney, ninth in 17.33. M& M’s Jacques CunninghamMarsh was 11th in 17.41.

Lola Wheeler was best of the rest in the under-17 women’s race, the M& M runner trailing winner Holly Page by 15 seconds. Tonbridge duo Clara Tyler and Grace Flemming were sixth and ninth in 17.12 and 17.40.

Bashiri Ryan’s 11th place was the best effort for M& M in the under-15 boys’ race, Tonbridge had two runners in the top 10 – Fraser Gordon (fourth, 14.31) and Finn Harvey (seventh, 14.40).

Charlotte Young was among the frontrunners for Medway & Maidstone in the under-15 girls’ event. Young clocked 11.36. Tonbridge had four top10 places, led by Katie Goodge (11.24) in fourth.

Stephanie Puxty (11.53), Matilda Hall (11.55) and Vita Milana (12.00) were eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.

Tonbridge enjoyed a top-three finish in the under-13 boys’ race.

Matthew Taylor took the honours in 10.33 ahead of Fin Croll and Olukorede Fasina. Joe Hollands was M& M’s quickest runner, finishing 10th in 11.13.

Isobel Shelley made the top-five for M&M in the under-13 girls’ race (9.44), with Madeleine Wise second for Tonbridge in 9.27.

Larkfield’s Dave Moorkite was the men’s veterans’ winner in 25.57. Weald Tri’s Ian Bracken was fourth (30.51) and Tunbridge Wells’ Bryon Taylor was sixth in 59.53.

There were team wins for Tonbridge (boys’ under-13s, under-15s, under-17s) and M& M (senior men’s four-to-score, senior men’s 12-to-score). A Weald Club team of Arthur Bracken, Tom Down, Shem Lejarde and Lewis Marsh topped Division 1 of the National Cadet League in Horsham last Sunday. They beat Graham Spicer (New Malden) 5-1, Guildford 5-1, Horsham Spinners B 6-0, Brighton City 6-0 and Horsham Spinners A 6-0 to finish unbeaten. Bracken and Down won 10 out of 10 singles and Lejarde, making his debut in the National Cadet League, lost two singles but finished with six wins. Another debutant, reserve player Marsh, won both his singles against Brighton.

Maidstone’s William McCarthy topped a field of 48 players to win the BATTS Cadet (under-15) Super Series tournament at Harlow last weekend. McCarthy, who attends the South East Performance Centre in Cranbrook, beat Joshua Amanor (Middlesex) 3-1 in the final.