Back on Course
Answering the captain’s rallying call, the Senior Men’s team overhauled a 101 point deficit in Match 2 of the Surrey Cross Country League on Wimbledon Common – a result which sends them to the top the League. Full report to follow.
Having come second to Guildford on Effingham Common in Match 1 of the Surrey Cross Country League the Senior Men needed to turn around a significant points deficit over Keith Scofield’s new and challenging course on Wimbledon Common on 12 November, as the Club co-hosted match 2 with Belgrave Harriers.
Team Captain Fred Slemeck's pre-race message was clear: 'We go again. 102 points to make up for the A team, and for the B team a lead to defend'.
And the squad duly answered the call, 38 in total, packing five athletes into the top ten, and pulling out a victory that saw the Club back at the top of the table with a lead of six points over Guildford going into the Christmas break.
Andrew Penney and Jonny Cornish staged an exciting finish with Andrew sprinting home to edge second place over Jonny in third. Fred Slemeck, Ed Mallett and James Stockings finished in 8th, 9th and 10th, finishing within ten seconds of each other. George Mallett in 20th, Richard McDowell in 29th, Charlie Eastaugh in 30th, Archie Walton in 34th, and Finn Johnson in 36th completed the scoring ten, with the B team also romping home winners, 11 points clear of Belgrave Harriers.
Spectators were also treated to a guest performance from international Marc Scott who won the race. Having been victorious in the Great North Run in 2021 and produced times of 12:57.08 for 5000m and 27:10.41 for 10,000m on the track, which place him second in the UK rankings behind Mo Farah, Scott was racing over the country for the first time since 2019 (when he won the Cardiff Cross Challenge) and gearing up for the British Athletics Cross Challenge (including the Euro Trials) in Liverpool on 26 November (see below).
The Senior Women finished 13th. Jennifer Fernando, making a welcome return to racing for the Club, was the first home for HW, coming home in 40th ahead of Matilde Lomba in 44th. Eloise Davies and Claire Grima finished in 66th and 67th respectively out of 242 finishers, with Millie Thorpe completing the scoring five in 110th.
Isabella Harrison won the U13 Girls race to make it two in a row, while Thomas Whorton, who missed the first race, won for the U13 Boys. Backed up by the formidable team of Sam Dyson, Harry Allen and Theo Creed, all of whom finished in the top 16, the U13 Boys are currently top of their table.