Home Countries XC International Inc. Inter-Area Match, Temple Newsam, Leeds.
It was a cold chilly day in the North of England for a day of top quality Cross Country racing.
Teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales as well as area teams from The North, South and Midlands battled it out throughout the action packed day.
First up for the Midlands was the U20 ladies race. It was a mixture of experience and debutants for our team of 4. With Bethan Homer and Maisie Trueman part of last years U20 Team and Ava Kind and Isabelle Standell both putting the Midland vest on for the first time.
All 4 ladies acquitted themselves well
In a high quality field. And going forward will be great experience for them all.
Results:
Bethan Homer 26th
Maisie Trueman 33rd
Ava Kind 35th
Isabelle Standell 36th
The senior ladies race was a high quality affair, with lots of top runners to the fore. Again the Midland ladies were not out of place in this high quality field.
Hannah Seager and Sophie Hurst were making their debuts and there was a place in the squad for 43 year old Juliet Potter after her 6th place finish at the previous week’s Midland Cross Country Championships. Beth Tabor from Tipton made up the team of 4.
It was a fast uphill start with 4 laps to contend with for the Senior ladies. All 4 of the team started sensibly and moved well throughout the field as the race progressed. Hannah and Sophie both worked well together and were picking people off on every lap.
Results
Hannah Seager 20th
Sophie Hurst 22nd
Juliet Potter 33rd
Beth Tabor 38th
The U20 Men started together with Ash Burgess pushing hard going with the lead pack in the 1st lap, as the race unfolded Ash moved through the group to take 6th overall.
Meanwhile, George Astbury, Finlay Friedersdorff and William Pridden were working well together, until George sitting behind them, decided to make his move: pushing hard to make his break with over half the race still to go finishing 30th, Finlay held on to secure 31st and Willian just behind in 36th.
Last up were the Senior Men, as like all the races it started fast, quickly splitting the pack into 5 or so smaller groups.
Jack Millar and Lee Gratton pushed with the lead pack with Alex Hampson and Joe Smith in the groups behind , on the 3rd lap Jack found himself taking the lead going wide up the hill bearing right as the pack stumbled over themselves staying on the inside (seeing a Midlands athlete at the front was good to see) Jack didn’t get excited and as they came back down the hill he settled into 3rd and never looked back. Lee was working hard pushing all the way keeping the rest of the pack honest finishing in a fine 13th position, Alex and Joe in their respective groups started moving through them in the 3rd-4th lap to finish strong in 35th for Alex and 38th for Joe.
Well done to all 👏👏👏
