There was another big weekend for athletes from Wolverhampton & Bilston AC, not so much in terms of quantity but certainly in terms of quality as a group travelled north to Liverpool to take part in the Cross Challenge, an event which incorporated the trials for the European Cross Country Championships.
Although our athletes may have been rubbing shoulders with some elite athletes, some internationals and some household names, particularly in households that have an interest in running over muddy fields.
In the under 11s boys race there was a 12th place finish for Rocco Hawley in a time of 7.22, Seb Palmer was 15thin 7.26 and Theo Ulfig was 45th in 7.55, and in the girls race Lila Pearce was 13th in 7.46. There was a fantastic win on the national stage for Fred Jones in the U13 boys race crossing the line in 10.05, Sam Ball wasn’t far behind in 7th place in 10.57. There was another victory for Owen Ulfig in the U15 boys event taking 1st place in 9.29. And in the U15 girls race Scarlett Willoughby placed 73rd in 12.53. Isobelle Jones managed a superb silver medal in the U17 ladies race finishing in 15.50 just over 60 seconds behind the winner.
In the older age groups Louise Hackett placed 24th in 16.14, Beth Rawlinson was 35th in 16.37 and Beth Dyall placed 68th in 18.09. In the Senior ladies race Ella Semple finished in 72nd place in 31.04, Beth Tabor, who this week has also been called up to represent the Midlands in a development team in the Telford 10k, placed 102nd in 32.39 and Maddie Mastrolonardo was 107th in 32.55.
Finally Harry Dyall finished in 86th in 36.17 and Gareth Briggs was 319th in 40.19 in the Senior mens race.
Twenty-four hours later a large group took part in The Big Bird 5k run at East Park. As this was a charity event there are no results but there was a large presence from the club taking part, coming away with a frozen turkey and making a donation to charity as all money raised was donated to The Hibbs Lupus Trust and Mind.
Dave Norman
