Chiltern League Match 4 at Cassiobury Park, Watford

An excellent turnout of 104 athletes helped contribute to a fantastic win for Chiltern Harriers at the fourth Chiltern Cross Country League fixture on Saturday at Cassiobury Park. There were team wins for the U13 Girls, U15 Girls, and the Veteran Men and there were a host of great runs contributing to the overall win.
 
On a cold, grey day conditions were reasonable after a frosty Christmas and very rainy week.

The U11 Girls were fourth after good scoring runs from Ezrayah Latham (fifth), Martha Stanley (13th), and Marni Ison-Stierer (21st). Also running well were Jemima Barnes (28th) and Ida Goldman (34th). Further good efforts came from the U11 Boys who were fifth. Scorers were Kit Reynolds (12th), Evan Atkinson (23rd) and Oliver Dixon (30th), and the increasingly large team was completed by Freddy Higgins (34th), Jacob Harris (36th), Oliver Vandenbrekel (41st), Ethan Brown (45th), Oliver Ingham (56th), and Joseph Holdsworth (57th).
 
Chloe Willson was second on the day to confirm her status as U13 Girls Division 1 champion for the season. Sunaya Nanda had a great run to be third and Lottie Monnington (10th) and Emilia Imgham (11th) completed the team that took their first team win of the campaign. Amelia Hanstein also ran well for 43rd. The girls win on the day moved them up to third overall.
 
There was a good team effort from the U13 Boys to be third on the day. William Clasby led the team home in ninth, and the other scorers were Barnaby Williams (15th), Jack Dalton (16th) and newcomer Harvey Cartledge (21st). Strong runs also came from Thomas Cooper (25th), Jack Dixon (26th), Jonathan Kalibbala (32nd), James Woodgate (48th) and Toby Moore (57th).
 
A second team win of the day came from the U15 Girls with Maya Davis having her best run of the season to be third. Juliette MacDougall was fifth, Annie-Rose Quantrill tenth, and Holly Knott 19th. Mala Bahia was 23rd, and Amelia Qasam made a good debut to be 31st. The girls go into the final match in third spot.
 
The big U15 Boys squad again did well and were fourth on the day. The scorers were Isaac McCall (17th), Jack Rogers (25th), Harrison Lawrence (27th), and Toby Reynolds (28th). Close behind were Jacob McCall (29th), Colin Miles (31st), Isaac Brown (32nd), Isaac Taylor (33rd), Kit Dixon (39th), Hector Gamblen (43rd), and Oliver Atkinson (45th).
 
The Junior Women were second and were led home by Alex Whitfield, who had her best finish in the league to be fourth. The scoring was completed by Emily Ford (11th) and Lucinda McRonald (15th). More good runs came from Jocelyn Davies (23rd), Megan Lockwood (24th), Lara Milburn (28th), Lydia Cross (35th), and Izzy McFetrich (40th).
 
The U17 Men were light on their usual big numbers but still did enough to be second and keep their league lead. Tom Ford in second and Edward Johnson in fourth scored big points and Ben Reeder (15th) and Zach Cleary (17th) made up the team. James Henderson was 24th and Charlie De Sousa was 30th.
 
A huge Senior Women’s team had a stellar day with Soraya Lockwood taking the individual win and Bev Whitfield running excellently for third. The scoring was completed by Charlotte Docwra (23rd), Katie Royals (33rd), Ellie Bates (36th), and Alice Brown (37th). The team were second on the day. Also contributing were, deep breath, Jessie Keighley (43rd), Carys Evans (44th), Lauren Mayot (51st), Jenny Bizley (56th), Abi Askey (61st), Helen Cholawo (62nd), Cath Holloway (65th), Sylvia Moss (77th), Sue Slade (98th), Lindsay Turner (102nd), Heidi Folkard (107th), Miriam Kempson (137th), Caroline Stevens (138th), Tamsin Finch (145th), and Fiona Calder (156th). The Vet quartet were second thanks to Bev, Ellie, Lauren, and Jenny.
 
The Senior Men’s team was very strong and saw the ten scorers all in the top forty, one of the best showings we’ve had in the league. Alex Aldred led the way in eighth and was backed up by great packing from Aran Davidson (12th), Cameron Reid (15th), Daire Stack (19th), Nick Hughes (21st), Matt Whitfield (24th), Adam Shute (29th), Alex Hughes (34th), James Turner (35th), and Tim Lawrence (40th).  The team was narrowly second behind a big Bedford turnout. Also running well were Callum Powell (45th), Tom Dixon (55th), Rory Hilton (78th), Jonny Slade (95th), Daniel Munn (109th), Russell Vandenbrekel (145th), Jon Taylor (166th), Alan Crozier (182nd), Andrew Channer (201st), David De Sousa (207th), Ed Wright (208th), Glen Martin (216th), and Stuart Henderson (234th). The Vet team had a good win with Nick, Matt, Adam, and James scoring. Nick Hughes was first Vet 50 and Matt third Vet 40.
 
The club have a 600-point lead going into the final fixture but will still need a good turnout to secure the overall win. The last match is Saturday February 7th at Stopsley Park, Luton.