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119th Welsh Cross Country Championships Round-Up
17/02/2024 00:00, In Blog / Cross Country /
Over 1,000 athletes took to the field in Brecon today for the 119th edition of the Welsh Cross Country Championships in what were sticky and challenging conditions.
The 11-race programme got underway with the primary school races, held jointly with Urdd Gobaith Cymru, which saw many young runners take part in their first Cross Country event.
The U13 boys race got the Welsh Championships underway, with Macsen Watts (Blaenau Gwent Athletics) being crowned the first Champion of the day, finishing in a time of 10:31. The silver medal went to Osian Phillips (Cardiff Athletics) in a time of 10:42, and Hedd Griffiths (Cardiff Athletics) took the bronze medal.
Martha Bown (Menai Track & Field) added another Cross Country honour, taking the U13 girl's title to add to her Inter-Regional gold. The North Wales athlete finished in 11:36, the second athlete to cross the finish line was Manon Fflur Phillips (Taf Running & Orienteering Team) in 12:00, and Katie Doherty (Deeside AAC) completed the top three in 12:03.
Moving onto the senior races, it was Caryl Edwards (Swansea Harriers) who took the senior women’s title in 23:28. Only two seconds separated gold and silver, with Alaw Evans (Les Croupiers) finishing in second with 23:30, and Martha Owen (Deeside AAC) came home in third with 23:43.
It was a close race in the senior men’s event, which saw Ciaran Lewis (Les Croupiers) take an early lead, but it was Matt Willis (Wrexham AAC) who claimed the senior men’s title, completing the 10,260m in 29:48 minutes. He was closely followed by fellow North Wales athlete Tom Wood (Eryri Harriers) in second with 29:57, and Ciaran Lewis (Les Croupiers) completed the podium position with a time of 30:09.
The U15 boys race followed the senior events, which saw a sprint finish to the line. Osian Parry (Menai Track & Field) came out victorious in a time of 13:43, followed by Finlay Burns (Cardiff Athletics) in a time of 13:44. Lewis Davies (Deeside AAC) was the third athlete to cross the finish line in 13:48.
There were great performances in the U15 women’s race which saw a strong lineup of athletes. But it was Libby Hale (Swansea Harriers) that claimed the title in 14:54. Hale’s Team-mate Holly Humphreys (Swansea Harriers) was the second athlete across the finish line in 14:54, and Bryony Boyce (Cardiff Athletics) put in a superb run to finish in third with 15:01, having moved up an age group.
It was a clean sweep for Carmarthen & District Harriers in the U17 men’s race. Iwan Thomas (Carmarthen & District Harriers) put in a great performance to finish first in 15:15, 47 seconds ahead of team-mate Finlay Bruce (Carmarthen & District Harriers) in second with 16:02, Ifan Bowen (Carmarthen & District Harriers) completed the clean sweep for the West Wales team in a time of 16:17.
In the combined U17 & U20 women’s race, Millie Gold (Swansea Harriers) was the overall race winner, finishing in 17:54 to claim the U17 title. Abigail Doherty (Deeside AAC) took silver with 18:21 and Eve Bailey (Winchester & District) in third with 18:44. It was Beth Rawlinson (Wolverhampton & Bilston) who secured the U20 title. Caitlin Jones (Aberdare Valley) took the U20 silver with 19:53, and Ceri Griffiths (Newport Harriers) in third place with 20:04.
The rain held off until the final race of the day, which saw Dafydd Jones (Swansea Harriers) retained the U20 men’s title in. Oliver James (Bournemouth AC) took the silver medal, and Henry Evans (Newport Harriers) completed the top three in bronze medal position.