This week’s muddy field for athletes from Wolverhampton & Bilston AC was in Warwickshire as members of the club travelled down the M5 to Leamington Spa for the Midlands Counties Cross County Championships. The venue at Newbold Comyn has often been used for league races and Midland’s Championships in the past and had always boasted a couple of testing features, a massive hill with a big metal basket on a post where they light a beacon, and a mud filled ditch which always drew the crowds waiting for runners to come a cropper. Recently, with the closure of a golf course, more land has become available meaning they can avoid the big hill and the ditch, the course may be a little flatter, but it is still a proper cross country test, as we found out at the weekend.
With many keeping their powder dry for the league races in a couple of weeks numbers were limited but there were still some impressive performances from a small squad. Will Hughes was the only representative from the club in the U13 boys race placing 7th in 9.13. In the U15 girls Megan White placed 24th in 14.45 and Eleanor Simpson was 32nd in 15.09. In the U20s men’s race Louie Lambeth crossed the line in 23.52 to take 11thposition and Joe St Quinton was 27th in 27.04. The club had enough ladies running in their race to make up a team finishing in 6th place with Amelia Samuels picking up a bronze medal in 24.54, Beth Tabor ran an excellent 27.29 to place 21st, Maddie Mastrolonardo was 30th in 28.22 and Audrey Wilson was 76th in 32.11. And in the Senior Men’s race Ben Foster placed 103rd in 38.48, Dan Brazier was 215th in 45.19, Dave Norman was 257th in 48.06 and Rob Edwards was 289th in 50.45.
Swapping the outdoors for the indoors was Greg Asbury who made his debut on the boards in the Manchester Open over 600 metres winning his race in 1.36.70. And in Cardiff in the Welsh Athletics Senior & U15 Indoor Championships there was a 4th place finish for La-Taunya Samuels over 60m in a time of 8.22 and then placed 2nd over 200m in 26.70. Beth Dyall was 3rd in 2.34.14 over 800m and Harry Dyall was 4th over 1500m in a time of 4.05.99 and also 2nd over the same distance in 4.14.35.
Dave Norman
