RUGBY & NORTHAMPTON BEGIN 2016 IN STYLE WITH DAZZLING CROSS-COUNTRY DISPLAY
Athletic Club dominate Northants Cross Country Championships
with multiple successes in Corby
Rugby & Northampton kicked off the New Year in style, winning five individual titles and five team titles at the Northants AA Cross Country Championships held at a very muddy West Glebe Park on the first weekend of 2016.
The Under-17 Men achieved a clean sweep of the medals, with Joshua Lay clinching the title in 24 minutes and 27 seconds over the 6k course in Corby. The victorious squad were completed by silver medal winner James Wizard in 25:43, and Cameron Roberts in third on 26:06.
Adam Searle recorded a six-second success over club-mate Adam Caulfield in the U15 Boys race, with a time of 19:40, before Matthew Chronicle closed off the winning trio in fourth spot, completing the 5k course in 20:30.
Those fantastic positions were matched in the U11 Boys 2k event with the title going to Finlay Heard in 9:09, eight seconds ahead of Arthur Tilt who took second spot. Louis Starr recorded 9:51 to earn fourth place and yet another team victory.
Molly Williams successfully defended her title in the U13 Girls race, covering the 3k course in 13:42, which also contributed to another team triumph. Williams was ably backed up by Grace Hughes (third – 14:23) and Claudia Searle (fifth – 14:36).
Amy Walker (23:20), Poppy Carmichael (24:18 ) and Lucy Stevens (24:53) finished second, third and fourth respectively in the U15 Girls competition, over 5k, to win the fifth and final team gold at the event. There was further individual success however, with the U20 Women’s title being won in convincing fashion by Emma Bond, who dashed around the 6k course in 27:31.
R&N also had three silver medal winning teams, one coming courtesy of the U11 Girls as Olivia Williams won individual silver with a time of 10:05 over 2k. Her team-mates were Alice Bennett in fifth (10:57) and Lucie Caulfield in eighth (11:21).
In the 3k U13 Boys race, Louis Buttrick was timed at 13:26 to take fourth position, before Noah Bennett (sixth – 13:52) and Harry Boynton (eighth – 14:21) joined him across the line to clinch the runners-up spot.
The Senior Men had to compete over a 10k three-lap course of the park. The R&N squad failed to hold on to their title and narrowly lost out by just eight points to Corby AC. However, William Gardner clinched a bronze medal to lead home the club for the second successive year in a time of 38:20.
The six-man scoring team also consisted of Chris Lamb (10th – 40:11), Ben Musgrove (12th – 40:30) – which also won him a bronze in the U20 race – Robert Male (13th – 40:50), Brendan Moen (16th – 41:10) and Pete Currington (21st – 42:38).
The Senior Women were led home by the aforementioned Junior Champion Emma Bond in third place, and they clinched a bronze medal with help from Bethan Goddard (seventh – 29:48) and Robyn Thorman (14th – 32:11).
Two athletes from the club contested the U17 Women’s 5k, with Emer Wintsch crossing the line in fifth, clocking 24:12, and Rhian Williams placing 13th in 31:56.
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