Fine Anglian Schools runs from Nene Valley Harriers athletes

Nene Valley Harriers’ athletes made a massive contribution to the success of the Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire teams in the Anglian Schools Cross Country Championships.

With Suffolk, Norfolk and Northamptonshire also competing at Abingdon Park (Northampton), the Cambridgeshire team won an unprecedented five out of the eight age groups, while Lincolnshire came out on top in the intermediate girls’ race.

Molly Peel led the winning Lincolnshire girls home with a fourth place finish, while Flo Brill was close behind in seventh.

The Cambridgeshire team finished third, and were indebted to the Nene Valley pair of Ella Robinson (15th) Katie Tasker (20th).

Owen Wilkinson finished fifth in the intermediate boys event, and was the second runner home in the winning Cambridgeshire team.

Josie Fortune placed 15th and Ellie Piccaver 17th, to both score for the victorious Cambridgeshire senior girls.

Nene Valley supplied the first two Lincolnshire athletes in the minor girls’ race too, with Eliza Mardon (third) the highest-placed Harrier at the meeting. Isla Fullock-Holmes came in 18th.

Kai Chilvers (sixth) and Joseph Reindel (14th) played major roles for the Cambridgeshire junior boys, who finished as the second team, while Harry Hewitt wearing a Lincolnshire vest crossed the line in 11th place.

Cambridgeshire easily won the overall crown, and several Nene Valley athletes will now go on to represent their county in the English Schools Cross Country Championship.

• Ace Nene Valley sprinter Freddie Fraser took gold in the under-17 60m hurdles at the Eastern Indoor Championship staged at Lea Valley – and clocked a championship record time in the process.

Joe Purbrick took silver behind him.

Will Kong had previously only competed in one indoor 400m, but ran an impressive 52.06secs to take gold in the under-15 race.

• Former Nene Valley man Edgar Sumskis finished eighth in the Catalonia Cross Country Championship at the weekend.

The lanky Latvian, who splits his time between bases in Peterborough and Costa Brava, was third man home for the La Sansi club. La Sansi achieved their third successive win in the 100th annual running of the race.

• Josh Lunn won last Sunday’s Frostbite League race at an icy Bourne Woods.

The pacey Pactrac runner slipped and slid round the frozen five mile course to win in a time of 27.04mins.

Runner-up Jamie Hall (Hunts AC) was eleven seconds behind Lunn, while Eye’s Ben Heron clocked 28.27mins for third place.

Werrington veteran Paul Halford came in 13th with a time of 30.09mins, with Bushfield Jogger Scott Meadows three places further back in 30.20mins.

Pactrac’s Sarah Caskey was the second lady home, crossing the line in 33.10. The winner, Elaine Lilley of Hunts AC, clocked 32.36mins.

Emma Tomlinson-McCrae (tenth) led the Nene Valley charge with a time of 35.49mins, while reliable Yaxley veterans Gina Crane and Roz Loutit finishing 11th and 13th recording times of 36.03mins and 36.59mins respectively.

Nene Valley came second behind Hunts AC in the junior race, positions which are echoed in the overall standings.

Cambridge and Coleridge’s Callum Molloy won the race in a time of 8.24mins, with Sam Staines of Nene Valley three seconds back in second place.

Chelsie Bole, of Nene Valley, was the first girl over the line in 9.54mins. Runner–up, Pactrac’s Elizabeth Eames, clocked 10.04mins.