Emelia Gorecka. Pic: Markus Kinch for film41.co.uk
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Gorecka and Twell retain National titles
February 26, 2009
Runners from Aldershot, Farnham & District produced another dominant display as they won half of the individual titles and six of the ten team titles at the Saucony English National Cross-Country Championships last week.
As ever, Steph Twell led the way, and she was one of two AFD athletes to retain the titles that they won last year at Parliament Hill.
Twell won her final race at the U20 level by a clear 13 seconds from Lauren Howarth, the Leigh Harrier who took bronze when Twell won the third of her European junior titles in December last year.
Third across the line was AFD’s rising star Louise Small, who was the leading U17 in the combined race. Like Twell, Small has enjoyed a superb cross-country season to date, winning silver in the South of England Cross-Country Championships and gold in the Hampshire Schools Cross-country Championships.
Aldershot also provided the bronze medallist in the U20s’ section, with a strong run from Lily Partridge, while Emma Pallant came eighth, and Natasha Doel ninth. The trio formed the second half of AFD’s winning quartet.
Small was backed up by Ciara Dullaghan, who came tenth, and Catherine Taylor, 18th. Beth Hubbard finished 24th, to help secire the club’s U17 team win.
The other AFD athlete to retain a title was Emelia Gorecka, who stormed to victory in the U15 girls’ event.
Fresh from a win at the England Cross-Country Championships at the end of last month, Gorecka was in good form once again to take the title.
AFD were once again the star performers in the U15 race, with Georgia Peel finishing fifth, Ruth Haynes sixth and Susan Shiel-Rankin 13th to ensure the club of another huge margin of victory.
AFD also provided both the individual and team winners in the U17 men’s competition.
Jonny Hay, who has been in fine form over the last few weeks, was even further ahead of the rest at the finish than when he took the South of England crown last month.
Josh Grace in 15th, Ian Bailey, 19th, and Will Newnham, 47th, made up the rest of the AFD team to secure another team gold.
The day’s proceedings at Hampstead Heath had commenced in fine style with Harvey Dixon holding off the challenge of Cornwall’s Connor Robinson, to win the U15 boys’ race.
Robinson is the age-group’s English Schools champion, but Dixon produced a superb effort to hold off his rival by just one second.
Matt Arnold ran well to come home in sixth place, and he was well supported by Toby Starling who came 11th, Ben Watson in 16th, and Richard Allen in 18th, to secure that the U13 boys’ event was yet another team gold for AFD.
The U13 girls produced an equally impressive display to match their male counterparts with another AFD team gold.
They were led to their triumph by the individual bronze medallist Harriet Preedy.
Her AFD companions were Leigh Chapman, who finished 22nd and Rebecca Howard in 27th. Bethany Gibson came home in 40th place to seal the team gold.
The senior men’s contest also featured an individual bronze medal for the club as Andy Vernon led his side to a commendable fourth place finish, and the U20 men’s side also ended the day in fourth spot.
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