Tonbridge Athletic Club’s women’s team put in a very strong performance to take the team victory, at the Kent Cross Country League fixture, on Saturday. This was the third of the league fixtures this season, with the women’s league competition comprising both a three and a six to score contest. Cambridge Harriers had won the former at both the preceding events, but on this occasion Tonbridge were able to turn the tables.
Verity Hopkins (photo), who had recorded a half marathon personal best of 77.34 the week before, had a race long battle with Megan Marchant, of Cambridge Harriers. Hopkins was the one generally pushing the pace along at the front, whilst Marchant tried to stay close. It was only in the final third of the eight kilometres race that Hopkins finally created a decisive gap and went on to win by 18 seconds in 29.11.
The five runners behind these two constantly swapped places throughout the race, but at the finish Harriet Woolley (6th) and Imogen Amos (7th) were next home for Tonbridge, giving the club a victory from sixteen clubs. Then Annabel Carter (8th), Phillippa Robinson (10th) and Claire Day (11th) completed the six to score team win, which ten teams contested. The final women’s league positions will be decided after the fourth fixture in February.
There were also six young athlete races, at the meeting, which took place at Danson Park, near Bexleyheath. The Tonbridge teams were generally weakened, due to a fixture clash with the English Schools Cross Country Cup regional round.
Angus Currie (8th) finished strongly to be the club’s first scorer in the under 17 men’s race, as the team maintained their overall league leading position, although finishing second at this fixture. Ella Ayden (15th) was first scorer for the fourth-placed under 17 women. Harrison Fraser (5th) had another strong performance to help the under 15 boys to third, whilst Penny Horne (20th) was first scorer for the fourth-placed girls, in the same age group.
Millie Watts showed her potential with an excellent 4th in the under 13 girls’ race and alongside Emily Tayton (8th) and Neve Raymond (12th) helped give Tonbridge the second team place. In the boys’ race, in the same age group, Tonbridge had to wait until Jamie Rogers in 23rd place for their first scorer home, in a field of 70 finishers, with the team finishing sixth..
Tonbridge had distance runners in action at several other locations across the weekend. The UK Cross Challenge event at Milton Keynes attracted a few internationals from around the country to create some top-class cross country races. Charlotte Alexander finished 2nd in the under 20 women’s race, whilst James Kingston was 10th in the men’s event, in the same age group. In the senior men’s race Alasdair Kinloch had probably his best cross country result of his career to place 5th, whilst Corey De’Ath was 18th. Nicole Taylor was 8th in the women’s race.
Links to photos, videos, results and more details here – https://www.tacdistancerunners.com