Chiltern Cross Country League - Match 3 at Campbell Park, Milton Keynes

Chiltern Harriers had another strong day at Campbell Park, Milton Keynes on Saturday at match 3 in the Chiltern Cross Country League series. The club achieved third place on the day and held onto the league lead overall. This was despite a much lower turnout than match 2 with 72 facing the starter (compared to 103 at Oxford).
 
The testing hilly courses at Campbell Park were relatively firm given recent rain, and the day was mostly dry but with a blustery wind.

The Under 11s continue to do well and the U11 Girls achieved a third-place finish with Ezrayah Latham (sixth), Martha Stanley (15th) and Marni Ison-Stierer (16th) all running well. The U11 Boys had a larger squad out and the scoring three of Kit Reynolds (sixth), Evan Atkinson (tenth) and Ollie Dixon (14th) took a win and are second overall. Good back up came from Ethan Brown (30th), Joseph Holdsworth (41st), and Oliver Vandenbrekel (49th).
 
The Under 13 Girls were missing a couple of key runners (running for their school at the ESAA Cup Final) but Chloe Willson ran her third Div 1 win of the season to lead the team home for fifth place. The other scorers were Emila Ingham (11th), Amelia Hanstein (40th), and debutant Anna Whitty (52nd). The U13 Boys also lost runners to the Schools Cup Final but the trio of William Clasby (seventh), Jack Dalton (16th), and Toby Moore (49th) did enough for fifth place on the day.
 
Just Maya Davis in sixth and Juliette MacDougall in eighth were involved in the U15 Girls race but were still fifth as a team, and kept team podium hopes alive. Fifth was also where the U15 Boys landed with Josh Woodward (25th), Jacob McCall (29th), Toby Reynolds (30th), and Isaac Brown (33rd) completing the scoring. Also involved were Kit Dixon (35th), Colin Miles (37th), Hector Gamblen (45th), John Rooney (46th) and Alex Vandenbrekel (56th).
 
The Junior Women were missing some key runners but have a big squad this campaign, and the scoring three of Alex Whitfield (sixth), Jocelyn Davies (12th) and Emily Ford (14th) were second on the day and stay second overall. They were backed up by Lucinda McRonald, completing her first race for a couple of years, in 20th, Lara Milburn in 23rd and Izzy McFetrich in 26th.
 
Although league leader Tom Ford was absent through illness, the U17 men’s team ran well for second and are still leading the league after three matches. Edward Johnson (third), James Holdsworth (sixth), James Henderson (11th) and Aidan Suleyman (15th) scored, with Charlie Quantrill (16th), Zach Cleary (18th), Eddie O’Brien (22nd), James Malin (24th), and Charlie De Sousa (33rd) all running strongly.
 
The Chiltern Senior Women were fourth on the day and are second overall. The scoring six on Saturday were Bev Whitfield (sixth), Katie Royals (17th), Charlotte Docwra (26th), Ellie Bates (30th), Lauren Mayot (45th), and Abi Askey (48th). Also competing well were Cathy Holloway (54th), Lindsay Turner (64th), Sue Slade (83rd), Tessa Passey (88th), Heidi Folkard (93rd), Miriam Kempson (103rd), Tamsin Finch (119th), Tyra Bishop (130th), and Fiona Calder (141st). The vets quartet of Bev, Ellie, Lauren and Abi were second and the team still lead overall.
 
The Senior Men were missing five scorers from Oxford but the scoring ten did an excellent job to be second and keep hold of second overall. Alex Aldred was again first Harrier home in fifth and was well supported by Aran Davidson (16th), Tim Lawrence (18th), Matt Whitfield (25th), Callum Powell (31st), James Turner (43rd), Daniel Munn (55th), Tom Dixon (66th), Jack Turner (78th) and Rusell Vandenbrekel (128th). There were good runs by Ben Hannen (142nd), Jon Taylor (150th), Duncan Passey (184th), Mark Johnson (188th), and Ed Wright (194th). The vets foursome - Tim, Matt, James and Tom - won and remain top. In the Vet 40 stakes Tim was second, Matt fourth, and James sixth. The U20 trio of Callum, Daniel and Jack were second and the team are third overall.
 
The fourth match is at Watford on January 10th, a week after County Championships weekend, where the club will hope to build turnout and remain competitive for the overall title.