Youngster takes silver medal at Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships
Adam Caulfield’s outstanding season continued when he picked up a silver medal at the weekend’s Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships in Birmingham.
The Rugby and Northampton Athletic Club youngster bagged the bronze medal at the English National Country Championships a fortnight ago, but he went one better this time around by finishing second over three-kilometres at Cofton Park.
Caulfield shot around the course in 11 minutes and 56 seconds as one of just two athletes to break the 12-minute barrier. Leeds City’s Tommy Dawson was the victor in 11.48, but Caulfield’s time ensured a comfortable second ahead of the chasing pack as he picked up another medal to continue his fine cross-country campaign.
There were several more strong performances from Caulfield’s R&N club-mates at the Championships, which saw some of England’s finest runners in attendance representing their counties. Warwickshire’s Emily Waugh has had a number of brilliant displays over the cross-country season and she maintained her form in Birmingham.
A huge field of 275 runners took part in the 8k senior women’s race, with Waugh comfortably in the top 25 per cent. Her time of 28.14 earned an impressive 64th spot among a cluster of runners, with the race being won by Lily Partridge, who completed the course in a lightning-quick time of 25.07.
Molly Williams and Georgina Woodward competed in the under-13 girls’ race, which featured another huge field of 305 young runners. Williams (13.53) put in a dazzling display to finish 54th, while Woodward was 126th in 14.24 in a hard-fought contest, which was won by Border’s Olivia Mason in 12.25.
Joshua Lay rounded off a good weekend performance for R&N when he crossed the line in 36th place in the 301-strong under-15 boys’ race. Lay dashed around the 4.5k course in 18.07, just over a minute behind the winner from Southampton, Zakariya Mahamed (16.58).
Several R&N runners opted out of the event to concentrate on the English Schools Championship, which takes place this coming weekend in Blackburn. The club will have 26 young athletes representing Northamptonshire schools, with a further seven running for Warwickshire, in what is a prestigious event in the annual calendar.
