The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Kempson leads the way
The success of the Nene Valley Harriers production line was showcased in London on Saturday as graduates past and present made their mark on the England Cross-Country Championship at Parliament Hill Fields.
Although now a member of Cambridge and Coleridge AC, Lloyd Kempson still represents Nene Valley on the track.
After a disappointing Cambridgeshire Cross-Country Championship last month, Kempson more than made up for it on the testing 12k Hampstead Heath course finishing 31st amongst the best crosscountry runners in England with a time of 41:50
Chris Wright has recently left Nene Valley due to a move to London, and gained his highest ever placing in the nationals of 67th in 42:46.
James McCrae also had an excellent run finishing 80th in his first national championship as a senior in 43:05.
Peterborough AC were out in force in the senior men’s race and Ben Heron led the team home - minus one shoe - with a 130th place finish and a time of 44:00.
“It was very muddy out there. I lost a shoe with about two miles to run and it was very frustrating as I couldn’t sprint in the finishing straight as I had no grip at all,” said the Spalding-based runner.
Simon Mead lost his ankle chip and therefore didn’t get a finishing position but a reasonable guess would be that he finished in 930th,
Former Harrier Alex Hampson had a tremendous run in the junior men’s race, coming home 33rd for Cambridge and Coleridge.
PAC pair Chloe Finlay (157th) and Sarah Caskey (116th) did well in the senior women’s race.
Owen Wilkinson had a storming run for Nene Valley at Under 15 level coming in 57th out of 504 finishers. Solid support from Harvey Hancock (163rd), Sam Oakley (203rd) and Sam Garner (222nd) an 18th place team finish out of 52.
ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS LOCAL RESULTS
Senior Men: 31 Lloyd Kempson (Cambridge & Coleridge/NVH); 80 James McCrae (NVH); 130 Ben Heron (PAC); 277 James Whitehead (PAC); 343 Shaun Walton (PAC); 454 Nick Stone (PAC); 585 Kirk Brawn (PAC); 665 Jon Peet (PAC); 738 Michael Chapman (NVH); 795 Lee Harthill (NVH); 1172 Luke Myers (NVH); 1258 Harrison Miles (NVH); 1280 Jay Belham (NVH); 1293 Mark Wishart (Eye); 1394 Nathan Popple (PAC); 1651 Andrew Robson (NVH); 1707 Paul Parkin (NVH); 1747 Martin Stevens (Werrington); 1874 Duane Tomaselli (NVH).
Senior Women: 157 Chloe Finlay (PAC); 166 Sarah Caskey (PAC); 216 Grace Mullins (NVH); 397 Sophie Wilkinson (NVH); 457 Emma Randall (NVH); 478 Verity Carrick (PAC); 601 Laura Whitton (Vegan Runners/Eye); 958 Yvonne Goodsell (Eye).
Junior Men: 202 Oliver Bowling (NVH).
Junior Women: 124 Hannah Randall (NVH); 129 Imogen Woodward (NVH).
Under 17 Women: 139 Amber Park (NVH); 154 Ellie Piccaver (NVH); 194 Josephine Fortune (NVH); 250 Kelsi Ellis (NVH).
Under 15 Girls: 203 Katie Tasker (NVH); 348 Olivia Mead (NVH); 407 Alice Bailey (NVH).
Under 15 Boys: 57 Owen Wilkinson (NVH); 163 Harvey Hancock (NVH); 203 Sam Oakley (NVH); 220 Dylan Tomaselli (NVH); 222 Sam Garner (NVH); 472 Angus Bowling (NVH); 499 Tom Middleton (NVH).
Under 13 Girls: 174 Lottie Hemmings (NVH); 219 Leonie Hart (NVH); 234 America Devine (NVH); 261 Chelsea Bole (NVH); 325 Josie Knight (NVH); 440 Niamh Hodgson (NVH); 442 Jasmine Heron (PAC ).
Under 13 Boys: 258 Harry Hewitt (NVH); 267 Joe Garner (NVH); 371 Oliver Beasley (PAC); 529 Freddie House (NVH ).