Britton and Gray on fire in Seniors
ÚNA BRITTON and Alex Gray claimed the crowns at the Wicklow Senior Cross Country Championships in Druid’s Glen last weekend after two superb but very different runs.
Britton was imperious on the undulating course which contained some eye-wateringly steep hills and the Kilcoole AC star set out her stall early by romping out to an early lead from which she was never drawn in.
Britton came home in 19.24, over two minutes ahead of her nearest rival and is looking to be in superb form.
The real battle in the women’s race was for second and that came down to Parnell AC pair Catherine O’Connor and Annmarie Kenny with Catherin pulling away in the last lap to finish in 21.36 with Kenny completing the course in 21.59. Parnell AC secured the team gold thanks in no small part to battle between the two stalwarts for second and third.
Roundwood and District AC’s Alex Gray claimed the honours in the men’s race. From the word go in this very competitive race it was Gray along with Paul Duffy, Mick Byrne and Derek Crammond among others who set the pace.
With three laps to go, Paul Duffy and Alex Gray left Derek Crammond behind and started to pull away. With two laps remaining Mick Byrne started to move up through the gears back down the field to eventually secure the third spot at 57 years of age (58 in two weeks).
Up front it was on the last steep hill that Alex Gray seemed to break Paul Duffy and on the final downhill slope Gray stormed home in his first Senior final.
Women - Individuals – 1st: Úna Britton (Kilcoole) 19:24; 2nd: Catherine O’Connor (Parnell) 21:36; 3rd: Annmarie Kenny (Parnell) 21:59; 4th: Aisling Kirwan (Parnell) 23:17; 5th: Sile O’Byrne (Parnell) 24:40; 6th: Sandra Pegman (Kilcoole) 25:09; 7th: Mary Hayde (Bray Runners) 25:43; 8th: Sinead Wall (Kilcoole) 26:57; 9th: Kathleen Macadam (Kilcoole) 34:15; 10th: Claire Lauder (Kilcoole); Lynn Duffy (Parnell).
Teams – 1st: Parnell AC (2, 3, 4, 9); 2nd: Kilcoole AC (1, 6, 7, 14)
Men - Individuals – 1st: Alex Gray (Roundwood & District) 38:28; 2nd: Paul Duffy (Inbhear Dee) 38:34; 3rd: Mick Byrne (Parnell) 39:14; 4th: Damien Byrne (Kilcoole) 39:20; 5th: Guest 385, Pat Foley (Croghan) 39:27; 6th: Derek Crammond (Parnell) 39:45; 7th: Neil Wiktorski (Bray Runners) 39:52; 8th: Brian Gurrin (Kilcoole) 39:55; 9th: Patrick Kinsella (Parnell) 40:08; 10th: Darren Mooney (Parnell) 40:09; 11th: Alan Dalton (Parnell) 40:10; 12th: Darragh Flynn (Kilcoole) 41:36; 13th: Ray Kenny (Parnell) 41:46; 14th: Andrew Lawless (Kilcoole) 42:04; 15th: Robert Murphy (Parnell) 42:07; 16th: Ronan King (Inbhear Dee) 42:41; 17th: Robin Mooney (Inbhear Dee) 42:56; 18th: Aklex Gleeson (Kilcoole) 43:16; 19th: Colin Morrissey (Kilcoole) 43:32; 20th: Alan Dempsey (Inbhear Mhor) 43:52; 21st: Tony Redmond (Parnell) 43:59; 22nd: Tony Collins (Parnell) 44:03; 23rd: Ben Mooney (Inbhear Dee) 44:09; 24th: Pasco O’Neill (Parnell) 46:03; 25th: Michael Priest (Inbhear Mhor) 47:49; 26th: Justin Doyle (Kilcoole) 49:07; 27th: Cormac O’Kelly (Parnell) 50:29; DNF: Colm Murphy (Kilcoole)
Teams – 1st: Parnell AC (2, 4, 6, 7); 2nd: Kilcoole AC (3, 5, 9, 11); 3rd: Inbhear Dee AC (1, 12, 13, 16).