Saturday saw the final fixture of the prestigious Birmingham League cross country at a mud drenched, Newbold Comyn in Leamington. Rugby & Northampton AC athletes were to the fore from the off with Finlay Ward and Luke Greer in a leading pack of nine. On the second of the three laps, Finlay pulled away and took a 20 metre lead breaking the pack into two. On the final hill, however, Finley was overtaken by two athletes and he couldn’t close the gap, finishing an agonising 10 seconds behind the winner, as he claimed third position. This meant he finished second overall in the final standings – the best ever placing by an R & N athlete. Luke was a further two places behind in an excellent fifth position. International tri-athlete, Louis Buttrick was the next R & N scorer in 31st position and he was chased hard by the ever youthful Phil Melling in 46th position. The scoring six was completed by Sam Jackson and club captain, Vince Carroll.
Previous to this season R & N’s best ever series position was 8th but this campaign saw the athletes in blue and black finish a simply stunning fifth position in what is universally accepted as the best cross country league in the country !! Well done to all those that raced over the winter.
