RUGBY & NORTHAMPTON’S MEN SECURE
CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE SURVIVAL
Athletics Club retain Birmingham Cross Country League Division One status
Rugby & Northampton’s men ensured they will be competing in the top tier of the Birmingham Cross Country League next season after securing their Division One status over the weekend.
In the fourth and final fixture, held at Warwick University, Dominic Jones led the club home for the second time this season, covering the 9k course in 31 minutes and 11 seconds to finish 20th.
Veteran Stephen Marks had a terrific run to cross the line in 33:01 and earn a personal best 59th position, while Robert Male completed all four races this season by coming home in 64th place with a time of 33:28.
Also making the top 100 was Alistair McDonnell (85th – 34:06), before veteran Paul Rigby (119th) ran a 35:24 on his league debut. Daniel Williams completed the scoring six, earning a personal best 130th spot in 35:47.
The A team finished 12th on the day but had done enough in the earlier rounds to secure that top-10 league finish, while the B team’s 10th spot on the day kept them in ninth overall.
Just like in the previous race, the whole B team consisted of veteran athletes with Brendan Moen timed at 35:49 for 132nd, and chasing him hard over the line was Jonathan Taylor with his best ever league run, placing 137th in 35:53.
Nigel Roberts secured the veteran club title for the first time after sealing 167th in 37:27, and closing out the top 12 were Vince Carroll (177th – 37:51), Max Chippington (194th – 39:15) and Adrian White (211th – 40:21).
Three other athletes completed the squad with Terry Egan (223rd – 41:40), John Saw (233rd – 42:46) and Adrian Reast (239th – 43:21).
R&N’s Ladies were in action at the same venue, competing in the Midland Women’s Cross Country League. In their first season in Division One following last year’s promotion, the squad unfortunately couldn’t retain their place and were relegated in 12th position.
However, the six athletes that took part for the club did produce their best performances of the season in Warwickshire, with junior athlete Rebecca Leadbeater finishing in 27th overall and eighth among the under-20 runners with a time of 23:55 over the 6k route.
The veteran team were seventh on the day and overall, with Zoe Shepherd crossing the line in 26:29 to take 64th, and just one place and two seconds behind was Angela Copson BEM – the pair finished as the 22nd and 23rd-placed veterans.
Helen Jones and Kate Williams were next over in 86th and 87th respectively, with times of 28:35 and 28:41, before Tilly Lea rounded off the squad scoring, squeezing in to the top 100 with a time of 30:37.
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