YOUNGSTER Jacob Allen has qualified to represent Great Britain at the Under-23 European Cross Country Championships.
It was a wonderful weekend for Rugby & Northampton’s Allen whose superb performance at the Liverpool Cross Country
Challenge saw him qualify to represent his country at the Championships in Hyeres, France later this month.
Allen completed the 9.8km course in 30 minutes and 47 seconds, earning him tenth overall and he was just four seconds behind the U23 winner, and 38 seconds behind the race winner.
lso taking place at the weekend was the Kettering Cross Country Cup, which saw 32 of the club’s athletes competing around
the Wicksteed Park course.
It was a great day for the club’s girls, who picked up team triumphs in the U11 and U15 categories.
The U11 success came courtesy of three runners securing top-six finishes. Olivia Williams finished third in 9.12, followed by Isabella Foale in 10.01. Sixth place went to Alice Bennett with a time of 10.14, to wrap up the win.
The U15 victory was a result of third, fourth and fifth-placed finishes for Charis Hayes, Lucy Stevens and Abigail Pearce, who
posted respective times of 22.55, 23.01 and 23.04.
There was individual success for Adam Caulfield in the boys’ U15 event, crossing the line in 18:26 for an emphatic victory, and
that feat was matched by Joshua Lay in the U17 race – he won in a time of 24.08, 49 seconds clear of his nearest competitor.
The U13 boys were also victorious, with the club’s scorers all placing in the top four. Noah Bennett was second in 12:30,
closely followed by Michael Corbett five seconds later. Harry Boynton was next home, placing 4th in 12:39 to cap a fantastic
team display.
Also finishing in third were the senior men’s team, with Daniel Mould leading the team home in a seventh-placed time of 39:13.
Brendan Moen (39.40), Nigel Roberts (41.52), Terry Egan (42.10), Neil Willsher (42.48) and Adrian White (44.59) rounded off the scoring.
The race also incorporated the NAA County Masters Championships, and the R&N men took the runners-up spot with the
aforementioned runs from Moen, Egan, Willsher and White securing second place overall.
