ADAM Caulfield led the way for Rugby & Northampton Athletic Club with a strong showing at the English National Relay Championships.
A strong team of 17 juniors were out in force at the competition last weekend and it was Caulfield who was the star of the show in Mansfield.
He recorded the fourth quickest time of the under-13 boys event, helping the ‘A’ team to eighth place overall.
His closing leg of six minutes, 47.85 seconds added to the impressive running of Ben Hope (7:20.50) and Isaac Thorman (7:39.35), which handed R&N an overall total of 21:47.70.
The winning team, Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC, were just 56 seconds quicker, in what was a tightly-contested event.
R&N were able to field ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams in the race, who finished 35th and 60th respectively.
The under-13 girls contest also saw three teams entered by R&N, with the ‘A’ team earning a 19th-placed finish, in a 92-strong field.
Molly Williams set the tone with 7:54.90, and she was backed up by Georgina Woodward and Abigail Pearce, who recorded respective times of 8:02.30 and 8:18.40.
The ‘B’ team consisted of Holly Walker, Zoe Morling and Gaby Peck, and they finished 63rd overall with a time of 26:13.95 and the ‘C’ team, consisting of Amelia McMurtrie, Emma Barker and Fenella Downes, were just 26 seconds further back.
The under-15 boys event resulted in a top-20 finish for the R&N ‘A’ team. Adam Searle’s opening leg of 6:25.35 was the 11th-quickest of the event, and set the team on their way.
Thomas Hughes recorded a time of 7:16.40, with Joe Musgrove’s impressive 6:53.85 rounding things off as they set an overall time of 20:35.60. The ‘B’ team finished 57th out of a field of 81.
There were 89 teams taking part in the under-15 girls race, with two R&N teams competing. The ‘A’ team recorded a time of 24:04.80, which was enough to earn them 35th place and the ‘B’ team finished 80th.
The under-17 women’s race saw R&N produce a time of 29:40.95. Lily Carmichael ran the first leg, recording 9:43.40, and Emma Bond contributed with a time of 10:12.90. The closing leg saw Kirsty Goddard clock 9:44.75, which boosted the team into 23rd place out of a field of 53. The men’s event saw the under-17 team finish in 28th position.
The junior events saw two teams compete for the men, and one for the women. R&N finished 22nd out of a field of 36 in the junior women’s event and the men came 36th in a field of 49.
