ATHLETICS: Rugby & Northampton enjoy double success at Wicksteed Park

The heavy rain of last week may have decimated the bulk of the football and rugby programme in the county, but it didn’t stop the cross-country runners who fought their way through the mud.

Spurred on after missing out on both gongs in 2013, the club scored seven team victories on top of five individual winning performances to cement their place at the top of the county cross country table.

R&N’s men claimed back the title they last won in 2010 with their best performance in a decade, as they took victory by more than 100 points.

Jacob Allen scooped second place on the day as he scored for the seniors for the first time, completing the course in 36.25, 41 seconds behind Corby athlete Tom Bark, who took his fifth county championship victory.

Sixth-placed William Gardner (39.36) and seventh-placed Robert Male (40.00) were also first-time scorers, and completed the win with the help of Robert Gardner (8th, 40.02), Chris Lamb (9th, 40.09) and Luke Robinson (13th, 40.48).

The times for Allen and Male saw them take a one-two finish in the under 20 men’s category.

The mother-daughter combination of Rosanna (daughter, 4th, 21.42) and Penny Andrews (12th, 24.18) helped R&N’s women to a ninth county title in 12 years, aided by eighth-placed finisher Genevieve Roberts (23.52).

Kettering-born former Great Britain junior Sian Edwards was victorious in the senior women’s race in a time of 19.28 to pick up her fourth title.

Other R&N team victories came from the under 11 boys and girls, the under 13 boys and girls and the under 15 boys.

The club took runners-up spots in the remaining under 15 girls and under 17 boys and girls age groups.

Holly Walker (7.21), Elysia Lay (7.27) and Amelia McMurtie (7.29) took a one-two-three finish for R&N in the under 11 girls to secure team gold, while their elder team-mates came within touching distance of completing the same feat; Poppy Carmichael (1st, 10.47), Amy Walker (3rd, 11.02) and Charis Hayes (4th, 11.20) separated only by Kettering’s Emily Williams (2nd, 10.53).

Scott Kruck (4th, 6.47), Harry Boynton (5th, 7.07) and Noah Bennett (6th, 7.10) secured victory for the under 11 boys, while Adam Searle (2nd, 9.36), Joe Musgrove (3rd, 10.01) and Matthew Chronicle (6th, 10.24) did the same for the under 13 boys - Searle being credited with the same time as winner Adam Caulfield from Northampton School for Boys.

Joshua Lay (2nd, 16.25), Oskar Potomski (4th, 16.42) and James Wizard (6th, 18.09) scored R&N to victory in the under 15 boys, while Emily Wintsch’s success in the under 15 girls (17.43) helped her team to second spot, with Lily Carmichael (4th, 19.21) and Georgeina Willix (10th, 20.18) also scoring.

Kirsty Goddard (21.29) took individual victory in the under 17 girls, with Nicole Johnson (8th, 25.12) and Charlotte Murphy (9th, 25.16) contributing to a team silver medal.

The under 17 boys also finished as runners-up with Hizam Sheekh (4th, 19.28), Ben Musgrove (5th, 19.28) and

Michael Kinder (7th, 20.28) all coming inside the top 10.

Northamptonshire Cross Country Championships Results

Under 11 Boys: 1 Archie Parkinson, Corby 6.39, 2 George Eveleigh, Harborough 6.41, 3 James Barritt, Boughton Primary 6.45, 4 Scott Kruck, R&N 6.47, 5 Harry Boynton, R&N 7.07, 6 Noah Bennett, R&N 7.10, 7 Hal Robinson, Kettering 7.11, 8 Jake Hope, R&N 7.18, 9 Kit Moyson, Daventry 7.20, 10 Kane Burgess, R&N 7.28, 11 Ethan Nelis, Kettering 7.42, 12 Rory Pateman, Kettering 8.03, 13 Harvey Oliver, R&N 8.14, 14 Adam Gray, Silson 8.17, 15 Toby Fletcher, Harborough 8.26, 16 Thomas Ainsworth, Harborough 8.27, 17 Luke Shepherd, Kettering 9.03, 18 Joseph Lok, WDAC 9.11, 19 Max Wynne, WDAC 9.16.

Under 11 Girls: 1 Holly Walker, R&N 7.21, 2 Elysia Lay, R&N 7.27, 3 Amelia McMurtrie, R&N 7.29, 4 Gabriella Peck, R&N 7.31, 5 Daisy Robinson, Kettering 7.49, 6 Hannah Smith, Harborough 7.54, 7 Daisy Lovell, R&N 8.00, 8 Claudia Searle, R&N 8.03, 9 Emma Robinson, Kettering 8.15, 10 Poppy Lovell, R&N 8.22, 11 Hollie Reynolds, Kettering 8.26, 12 Ruby White, R&N 8.34, 13 Tabitha Frankland, R&N 8.37, 14 Mia Brockway, Kettering 8.39, 15 Katie Coles, R&N 8.45, 16 Harleen Bassan, R&N 8.59, 17 Jay-Leigh McAllister, Corby 8.59, 18 Lily Pearce, R&N 9.20, 19 Phillipa Kennedy, R&N 9.32, 20 Annabelle Parnell, WDAC, 11.05.

Under 13 Boys: 1 Adam Caulfield, Northampton School for Boys 9.36, 2 Adam Searle, R&N 9.36, 3 Joe Musgrove, R&N, 10.01., 4 Skip Snelson, Banbury, 10.08, 5 Henri Codling, Kettering, 10.16, 6 Matthew Chronicle, R&N, 10.24, 7 Ethan Kent-Whittaker, R&N, 10.24, 8 Adam McCrone, Corby, 10.29, 9 Matthew Rushton, R&N, 10.39, 10 Morgan Potter, Corby, 10.44, 11 Billy Mellor-Brook, Magdalen College, 10.45, 12 Ben Hope, R&N, 10.52, 13 William McMurtrie, R&N, 10.58, 14 Ger Supple, R&N, 11.00, 15 Joshua Cannell, Kettering, 11.18, 16 Mac Ryder, R&N, 11.39, 17 Nat Farr, Kettering, 11.42, 18 Harry Darnell, Kettering, 11.54, 19 Trystan Barnett, WDAC, 11.56, 20 Oscar Armitage, Corby, 11.59, 21 James McIntyre, Corby, 12.07, 22 Charlie Lyon, R&N, 12.13, 23 Joe Barthorpe, Kettering, 12.22, 24 Oliver Murphy, R&N, 12.43, 25 Jack Mains, R&N, 12.48, 26 Luke Ainsworth, Harborough, 12.58, 27 George Gammage, R&N, 13.24, 28 Finley Wilson, Corby, 14.29, 29 Finlay Martin, R&N, 14.34, 30 Reece Judd, Kettering, 15.33.

Under 13 Girls: 1 Poppy Carmichael, R&N, 10.47, 2 Emily Williams, Kettering, 10.53, 3 Amy Walker, R&N, 11.02, 4 Charis Hayes, R&N, 11.20, 5 Olivia White, R&N, 11.55, 6 Abigail Pearce, R&N, 12.03, 7 Rosie Edmonds, R&N, 12.06, 8 Zoe Morling, R&N, 12.09, 9 Jennifer Robinson, Kettering, 12.20, 10 Molly Williams, R&N, 12.24, 11 Selina Scott, Corby, 12.26, 12 Fay Robinson, Kettering, 12.32, 13 Alice Freeman, Corby, 13.02, 14 Lauren McMullen, Corby, 13.08, 15 Sophie Gray, Silson, 13.32, 16 Ella Rae, Kettering, 14.09, 17 Jessica Robinson, Magdalen College, 14.09, 18 Paulina Potomska, R&N, 14.29, 19 Grace Brown, R&N, 15.25, 20 Lauren Evenden, Kettering, 18.05.

Under 15 Boys: 1 Daniel Hynes, Milton Keynes, 16.21, 2 Joshua Lay, R&N, 16.25, 3 Ethan Mehmet, Kettering, 16.30, 4 Oskar Potomski, R&N, 16.42, 5 Harry Freeman, Leicester Coritanian, 17.12, 6 James Wizard, R&N, 18.09, 7 Cameron Roberts, R&N, 18.12, 8 Ewan Roberts, R&N, 18.15, 9 Zach Rycroft, Silson, 18.23, 10 Jai Sharma, Kettering, 19.07, 11 Carl Robertson, R&N, 21.24, 12 Adam Bebbington, R&N, 22.23, 13 William Rhodes, Corby, 22.47.

Under 15 Girls: 1 Emer Wintsch, R&N, 17.43, 2 Claudia Nevett, Kettering, 18.21, 3 Niamh Watson, Guilsborough, 18.33, 4 Lily Carmichael, R&N, 19.21, 5 Sophie Moss, Kettering, 19.27, 6 Mollie Watson, Guilsborough, 19.29, 7 Beth Gordon, Kettering, 19.36, 8 Rebecca Hughes, Kettering, 19.38, 9 Ruby Goodall, Corby, 20.15, 10 Georgina Willix, R&N, 20.18, 11 Chloe Hearne, Kettering, 20.42, 12 Amy Robinson, Kettering, 20.52, 13 Rhian Williams, R&N, 21.41, 14 Hannah Winstone, Kettering, 21.44, 15 Charlotte Valentine, R&N, 22.25, 16 Eleanor Rees, Silson, 25.04, 17 Millie Mason, R&N, 25.56, 18 Poppy Lofting, WDAC, 27.14.

Under 17 Boys: 1 Josh Cara, Kettering, 18.46, 2 Jack Bond, Daventry, 19.15, 3 Jack Hope, Kettering, 19.23, 4 Hizam Sheekh, R&N, 19.28, 5 Ben Musgrove, R&N, 19.28, 6 Edward Cannell, Kettering, 20.10, 7 Michael Kinder, R&N, 20.28, 8 Matthew Brookes, Kettering, 20.32, 9 Craig Shackleton, WDAC, 20.41, 10 Edward Frain, WDAC, 22.20, 11 Jacob Reid, R&N, 22.21, 12 Finn Skuce, R&N, 24.08, 13 Oliver Munns, R&N, 27.07.

U17 Girls: 1 Kirsty Goddard, R&N, 21.29, 2 Jess Gordon, Kettering, 21.37, 3 Emma Bond, Daventry, 23.30, 4 Abigail Coleman, Kettering, 24.10, 5 Gemma Vaughan, Kettering, 24.36, 6 Francesca Ashworth, Kettering, 24.46, 7 Lauren Mehmet, Kettering, 24.58, 8 Nicole Johnson, R&N, 25.12, 9 Charlotte Murphy, R&N, 25.16, 10 Ciara Moore, R&N, 25.46, 11 Katie Clubb, R&N, 26.33.

Senior Men: 1 Tom Bark, Coventry, 35.46, 2 Jacob Allen, R&N, 36.25, 3 Rory Grant, Birchfield, 37.45, 4 Stuart Nelson, WDAC, 38.13, 5 Matt Clarke, Daventry, 39.24, 6 William Gardner, R&N, 39.36, 7 Robert Male, R&N, 40.00,

8 Robert Gardner, R&N, 40.02, 9 Chris Lamb, R&N, 40.09, 10 Lewis Hayes, Kettering, 40.16, 11 Chris Wood, Silson, 40.29, 12 Simon Woodward, Silson, 40.39, 13 Luke Robinson, R&N, 40.48, 14 Dan Doherty, Higham, 40.58, 15 Brendan Moen, R&N, 41.16, 16 Josh Coles, Corby, 41.37, 17 Thomas Phelps, Silson, 41.48, 18 David Kelly, Higham, 42.32, 19 Stephen Thompson, Kettering, 42.36, 20 Vince Carroll, R&N, 42.43, 21 Liam Kirk, Kettering, 42.55, 22 Jon Kemp, WDAC, 43.05, 23 Joseph Lantsbery, R&N, 43.20, 24 Neal Humphreys, Corby, 43.40, 25 James Berry, WDAC, 43.45, 26 Jed Hayes, Kettering, 43.55, 27 Iain Gillam, R&N, 44.11, 28 Kevin Reboul, Silson, 44.25, 29 Phil West, Kettering, 44.35, 30 Andy Field, Silson, 44.45, 31 Keith Molloy, WDAC, 45.04, 32 Terry Egan, R&N, 45.07, 33 Daniel Mould, R&N, 45.17, 34 Julian Blackwell, WDAC, 45.46, 35 Guy Petersen, R&N, 45.47, 36 Sam Furey, Corby, 46.34, 37 David Yarnall, WDAC, 46.41, 38 Neil Willsher, R&N, 46.45, 39 Tom Ward, Harborough, 46.46, 40 John Donaldson, WDAC, 46.50, 41 David Hutchings, Higham, 46.53, 42 Andrew Clawson, Kettering, 47.05, 43 Martyn Winstone, Kettering, 48.11, 44 Peter Goringe, Kettering, 48.24, 45 Ben Norman, Higham, 48.28, 46 Shane Hill, Higham, 48.33, 47 Neil McDonald, WDAC, 48.56, 48 Mark Bonham, WDAC, 49.26, 49 Roger Bullen, WDAC, 50.09, 50 Martin Hamilton, Higham, 50.22, 51 Neil Gray, Higham, 51.18, 52 Andrew Redden, WDAC, 51.43, 53 Andy Hoare, Silson, 52.22, 54 Paul Marlow, Kettering, 53.17, 55 John Walters, Higham, 53.56, 56 Anthony Poncia, Kettering, 54.32, 57 Ash Hall, Higham, 54.58, 58 Mark Nicholls, Silson, 55.21, 59 Scott Hutchinson, Higham, 59.32.

Senior Women: 1 Sian Edwards, Swansea, 19.28, 2 Rachel Cave, Higham, 20.46, 3 Melanie Wood, Aldershot & Farnham, 21.05, 4 Rosanna Andrews, R&N, 21.42, 5 Hannah Eveleigh, Harborough, 21.49, 6 Kelly Barnett, WDAC, 22.14, 7 Claudia Kelsall, Kettering, 22.41, 8 Genevieve Roberts, R&N, 23.52, 9 Harriet Woolley, WDAC, 24.01, 10 Karen Brooks, Harborough, 24.03, 11 Julie Wargent, Higham, 24.14, 12 Penny Andrews, R&N, 24.18, 13 Yvonne Scarrott, Harborough, 24.40, 14 Louise Kemp, WDAC, 25.06, 15 Sarah Baxby, Corby, 25.15, 16 Clarissa Blake, R&N, 25.30, 17 Gabriella Ventura, Kettering, 25.37, 18 Anne-Marie King, Kettering, 26.45, 19 Eden Bates, R&N, 26.48, 20 Barbara Fulton, Kettering, 27.00, 21 Trudi Pike, Corby, 27.15, 22 Kelly Burn, WDAC, 28.05, 23 Gillian Brightwell, WDAC, 30.07, 24 Emma Bond, Higham, 31.51, 25 Linda Dawson, Higham, 32.56, 26 Margaret Bond, Higham, 33.57, 27 Jo Prigmore, Higham, 35.10.