This seasons National Cross Country Championships took place at Callendar Park, Falkirk on Saturday. The conditions were perfect for February it was a beautiful sunny and mild day with little or no wind. Conditions underfoot were generally good with only a few muddy sections.
The first race of the day was the under 13 girls and we had six girls running. One of our newer members Isla Madhra got the day off to a flying start, finishing 3rd and winning the bronze medal. A great performance after only a few races for the club. Next home was another one of our newer members Rosa Gomez Candy in 50th place. Team mates Laura Kitchin, Olivia Spark and Eilidh Mowbray were next in 74th, 78th and 86th respectively. Our final athlete home was Darcy Esson in 128th place.
In the under 13 boys Francis Ovani- Finnegan had another good run to finish inside the top 15 in 13th place with team mate Fraser Houston continuing to improve with a strong finish in 83rd place.
The next race was the under 15 girls and we knew we had a strong team so had high hopes of picking up medals. The girls performed well on the day with Freya Brown our first counter in 2nd place with team mate Cerys Wright not too far behind in 5th place. Our next counter was Lucy Ward in 23rd followed by Beth McWilliam 36th and Emma Thomson 43rd. There was some confusion over the team results due to an issue with the technology but after some manual intervention it was announced that the girls had won team gold by the narrowest of margins with one point separating the first three teams.
Our under 15 boys team was incomplete as one of our athletes had a stomach bug. Aaden Robertson was our first athlete home in 38th place. Only a few places separated our next two athletes with Finlay Troup in 76th place and Struan Milne in 79th.
In the under 17 women’s race Bethan Kitchin was our only athlete. In probably her best race of the season Bethan had a great run to finish in 24th place.
The under 17 men was another race where we had a strong team, but unfortunately one of our athletes was injured so was unable to race on the day. The remainder of our team performed well with our first counter Rowan Taylor in 7th place followed by Innes Wright in 11th place. Third counter was Laurence Ward in 36th place.
In the under 20 women, Olivia Meikle had her best run of the season to finish inside the top 10 in 8th place.
Club member Harry Henriksen finished 5th in the u20 men’s race representing Edinburgh University.
Claire Houston was first home for Lasswade in the senior ladies race finishing in 120th with team mate Alison Binns in 239th place.
The final race of the day with the biggest field was the senior men and we had four athletes racing. First home for us was Martin Gore in 255th place with the fast finishing Ken McWilliam in 265th place well ahead of his target. Euan Hood was next to finish in 413th with Doug MacDonald completing our runners in 568th. Lasswade athlete Magnus Tait finished in 78th place running for Glasgow University.
A great days athletics that I hope all athletes, parents and supporters enjoyed.
Congratulations to all the athletes on their performances.
For full results please click here
Thanks to Linden Nicholson for consistently representing Lasswade as an official throughout the season and to all the other volunteers who helped marshal on the day.
BIG thanks to Kate Kitchin for the chocolate cake !!
