5th December 2016

Dominic Jones starred in Rugby & Northampton’s Birmingham Cross Country meeting

Dominic Jones made a phenomenal Birmingham Cross Country League debut in the Division One meeting hosted at Sandwell Valley on Saturday 3rd December.

The 23-year-old led Rugby & Northampton in 14th with an impressive 31 minutes and 47 seconds, following a battle with team-mate William Gardner (31:56) who was nine seconds behind in 19th spot.

Adnan Haq clinched his best ever finish in this competition, 73rd, with a time of 34:08, while junior Ben Musgrove (34:39) was the next to finish – in 87th overall and 17th in the under-20 standings. Rounding off the six scoring athletes were Robert Male (35:01) and veteran Mike Andrews (35:50) in 99th and 120th respectively.

The team secured ninth place in the A team standings which helped the club move up into 12th overall. Meanwhile, the B team finished 12th on the day and now stand 12th in the overall standings thanks to a strong run from Daniel Williams (37:22) in 156th.

U20 runner Joe Childs (37:56) recorded a personal best position of 171st – 29th in the U20 division – and just two seconds and one place adrift was Jonathan Taylor in 37:58.

The B team was completed by Nigel Roberts (38:09) in 177th, 196th-place finisher Vince Carroll (38:54) and Joe Lantsbery (39:20) in 201st.

Three other athletes turned out for the club with Max Chippington (39:24) finishing 202nd, Ian Wright (46:39) with a best of 260th and John Saw (51:24) four places further back.

On the same day, Rugby & Northampton competed in Round 2 of the Midland Women’s League at Stratford on Avon with another depleted side.

Three weeks ago, in Round 1, R&N finished ninth with a team compiled of a junior and several masters athletes. This past Saturday, R&N were again under-strength as they claimed 12th place.

First across the line was Rebecca Leadbetter, who completed the course in an impressive 28 minutes and six seconds to claim 34th place. Following the junior over the line was Angela Copson (32:09); the 69-year-old world record holder sealed a very impressive 75th.

Finishing within five places of each other were masters pair Catherin Williams (33:24) and Minerva Chesser (34:10) for 87th and 92nd respectively, and completing the team were Tilly Lea (36:16) in 107th and Gemma Knight (36:24) one place further back.