County’s best do battle at the Kent Cross-Country Championships
Kent Cross-Country Championships
Brands Hatch hosted the Kent Cross-Country Championships for the first time on Saturday, writes Alan Newman.
Kent AC lost all four of their senior team trophies to Tonbridge AC as John Gilbert (Kent AC) and Ashley Gibson (Tonbridge) powered to the individual titles round the wat erlogge d former airfield.
Tonbridge also took all four male team awards and two female team prizes in the young athletes’ races but only three individual gold medals in the latter category.
Gilbert was a narrow winner as he regained the senior men’s title he lost to Cambridge Harriers’ Dean Lacy last year.
The now five-time champion had 14 seconds to spare following a gruelling four laps in 41min-21sec.
With Lacy absent, King’s College student Maximilian Nicholls (Tonbridge) pushed Gilbert all the way with M40 master Chris Greenwood (Kent AC) only six seconds further behind for bronze.
Tonbridge put the team race beyond doubt as Ben Cole, Corey De’ath and George Duggan were next and, worryingly for the opposition, Nicholls, De’ath and Duggan are still under-20 juniors.
Kent AC salvaged team silver while Tom Collins (eighth) led his Medway and Maidstone team-mates to bronze at six-to-score.
Doubling the team size to 12-to-score had little effect as the order was identical.
Leading higher age-group runners were M45 Richard Tomlinson (M&M, 49th), M50 Ben Reynolds (Tonbridge, 13th), M55 Steve Smythe (Dulwich Runners, 112th), M60 Alan Newman (Paddock Wood, 120th), M65 Ian Marshall (Cambridge Harriers, 156th) and M70 Vernon Thomas (Greenwich Tri, 184th).
Ashley Gibson (Tonbridge) had won both of her Kent league races on the country this winter and her clash with last year’s champion, Amy Clements (Kent AC), was eagerly anticipated.
The women’s 8k was the final race on the programme and the conditions were bleak with wind and rain.
Not surprisingly, there was an early reluctance to forge a lead but when Gibson struck out just after halfway no-one was capable of going with her.
She won by 26 seconds in 31.25 from Clements, with Bryony Proctor (Aldershot) third.
Lucy Reid was fourth for Tonbridge as W45 master Maria Heslop (Paddock Wood) fought off Carole Penlington (W40 Blackheath and Bromley Harriers) for fifth.
Junior runner Chloe Bird (12th) secured the trophy for Tonbridge despite finishing behind Paddock Wood’s silver team medallists Tina Oldershaw (W45, ninth) and Sarah Shepheard (11th).
Blackheath and Bromley Harriers took bronze at threeto-score and previous winners M&M were sixth led by Louise Knight (W40, 18th) and Jenny Fowler (W35, 19th).
Tonbridge also succeeded at six-to-score ahead of Blackheath and Kent AC. The other
age-group leaders included W35 Nicola Susans (Larkfield, 13th), W50 Angie Norris (Dulwich, 23rd), W55 Vicky Talbot-Rosner (Invicta, 48th) and W60 Barbara Ockendon (Istead and Ifield Harriers, 78th).
Rowan Fuss (Blackheath and Bromley Harriers) retained his under-13 boys’ title from M&M’s Bashiri Ryan and Oliver Bright (Kent AC).
Tonbridge provided the next five finishers, led by Matthew Taylor, to claim the team gold from M&M and Blackheath.
Cambridge Harriers’ Matthew Francis and Tom Simpson dominated the under-15 race, with the bronze winner James Stoney (Tonbridge).
Angus Harrington (Blackheath) and Quinn Austin (M&M) were next to finish and this mirrored the team positions with Tonbridge champions from Blackheath and M&M.
With holder Alex Yee (Kent AC) away on international duty, the under-17 title went to last year’s silver medallist, Alasdair Kinloch (Tonbridge), from Jake Berry (M&M) and Tonbridge team-mates Jamie Goodge and James Puxty. Tonbridge added to their gold tally in the team race from M&M and Blackheath.
Abel Tsegay (Invicta) kept his under-20 trophy by more than a minute, beating the Tonbridge trio of Stuart Brown, Euan Nicholls and Luke Fisher.
Tonbridge took the team honours from fi f th- pl ac e Cameron Payas’ M&M and Dartford Harriers.
Katie Goodge beat Blackheath’s Morgan Squibb and Ellie Dolby for one of Tonbridge’s two individual golds in the under-13s’ race.
Blackheath were team winners from Tonbridge and M&M, led by Billie Rouse (12th).
Kathleen Faes (Tonbridge) kept her under-15 trophy by one-and-a-half minutes. Beth Williams (Thanet Roadrunners) and Kelsi Cornish (Blackheath) were behind as Tonbridge took team gold from Blackheath and Dartford Harriers.
The absence of the holder Sabrina Sinha (Cambridge Harriers) gave Blackheath’s Jessica Keene an untroubled run to gold ahead of Dartford Harriers’ Holly Page and Chloe Sharp at under-17 level. Blackheath retained their team from Tonbridge and Dartford Harriers.
Amy Old (Invicta) defended her under-20 title from Dani Chattenton (M&M) and Isabel Bradley (Kent AC). There was no team interest in this age group.