Chiltern Cross Country League - Match 3 at Luton

Chiltern Harriers remained competitive at Stopsley Park Luton on Saturday and go into the penultimate match still holding a slight lead. The club were second on the day to Milton Keynes who are now just 34 points behind. There were individual wins for Kara Gorman and Emily Ford and team wins for the U15 girls and U17 men. There were 62 Chiltern finishers.
 
On a chilly, grey day, there were solid performances all round on the mostly flat courses despite several athletes away at the Schools Cup final and others not available due to illness.

The U11s did well with the girls having their best match so far. Soraya Roughton was fourth, Annie-Rose Quantrill fifth, Emilia Ingham 16th and Mala Bahia 17th to tie with MK for the win. The team are second after three matches. The boys also did well with Thomas Living having his best run yet to be second. Hector Gamblen was sixth and Jack Rogers 16th. The boys were second on the day and are second overall.
 
The U13 girls had just two runners but Kara Gorman with the win and Nia Clarke, third, still scored enough points to be third. The team are third overall. The U13 boys were similarly short but Kit Dixon (16th), Jacob McCall (18th), and Theo Roughton (26th) all ran well for sixth. The team are second league-to-date and should be stronger next time.
 
The U15 girls had a really good team out and scored a team win courtesy of race winner Emily Ford, Lucy Wilkinson, having her best race of the season to be third, Marlie Nkoane eighth, and Katie Allsop 11th. Also running well were Lily Jessop-Tranter (14th), Jocelyn Davies (15th), Rebecca Lawson (26th), and Keya Kara (34th). The girls are narrowly second to MK after three matches. James Holdsworth ran well for third in the U15 boys race and the remaining scorers were Zach Cleary (16th), Danny Carruthers (21st), and Charlie De Sousa (25th). The boys were second and are second with two matches remaining.
 
Charlotte Docwra was the only Chiltern junior woman but ran well for 14th. The team are sixth so far but should be much stronger next time and could still get on the podium. The U17 Men scored a win despite only fielding three runners. Alden Collier in third, Matt Evans seventh, and Leon Doran ninth all ran well.
 
The Senior Women had a good team out and were second on the day. They still lead going into Match 4. Hannah Wardley continued her consistent season in sixth and was backed up by Bex Nkoane 11th, Finola Watkins 18th, Ellie Bates 25th, Katie Royals 32nd and Ali Young 36th. Completing the team were Fiona Kelleher 38th, Cathy Holloway 59th, Helen Cholawo 60th, Sylvia Moss 64th, Kate Paxton 92nd, Jennifer Webb 96th, Miriam Kempson 107th, Tamsin Finch 112th, Kathy Jessop 128th, and Fiona Calder 153rd. The Vets foursome of Bex, Ali, Cathy and Helen were third and the team are third overall.
 
The Senior Men ran well but were up against very strong teams from MK and Bedford and had to be content with third. Scorers were Richard Slade, second, Will Brown third, George Brown fourth, Aran Davidson 17th, James Palmer 22nd, Louis Peterson 23rd, Tom Dixon 34th, Alex Paul 76th, Neil Turner 95th and Michael Turney 103rd. Also running well were Richard Moss (117th), Jonny Slade (129th), David Williams (166th), James Grant (170th), Neil Bates (202nd), and Trevor Brawn (229th). The U20 duo of James and Louis were second and third individually and second team. The team have a big lead overall. The Vets team were fifth: Tom, Neil, Michael, Richard. The Vets are third. Nick Hughes leads the Vet 50 standings as does Trevor Brawn in the Vet 70s.
 
The season looks to be heading for an exciting conclusion and it will need good turnouts at the last two matches to ensure the club can compete to retain the league title. Match 4 is at Campbell Park, Milton Keynes on January 14th.