Majestic Travel Cross Country League.

Round 3; Bangor, 24/11/2007.

It was records all round for Abergele Harriers in the third round of the Majestic Travel Cross-Country League in Bangor, with a club record 15 men, and a record 22 members altogether, competing on the day, with the men recording 149 points, their best ever score by over 50 points. On a day to remember, five members also got selected to represent North Wales in the upcoming Inter-Regional cross-country championships in Cardiff on December 9th; Geran and Angie Hughes, Sean and Steven McCormack and Justin McIlveen. On a cold day over a very muddy course the ladies got the team off to a great start with Carol Willgoose leading them home with an excellent 19mins 36secs, helping the team to leapfrog to the top of the second division. Angie Hughes, in fantastic form at present, was less than thirty seconds further back in a tremendous 20mins 5secs, again pleasing the selectors. Ever-reliable Su Calvert was next in just over 25 minutes for an excellent 67th overall. Annette Jones, who is making huge strides in the discipline, finished an excellent 74th, with Sonia Wignall hot on her heels in 77th. Lucy Jones was one of many runners who fell in the slippery conditions, but still managed to get up and complete the race for a fantastic 83rd position, while Annwen Begley continued to show great grit and determination finishing in 84th overall.

For the men, Welsh International Geran Hughes once again lead the team home in 32mins 3secs for 12th position overall, ahead of Cross-Country Captain Sean McCormack who was back to form with a very satisfying 23rd overall in 33mins 20secs. The next five Harriers were home less than a minute behind McCormack, and with only nine positions between them proving the fantastic strength in depth within the club, and responsible for the outstanding overall score of 149 points. Justin McIlveen lead the quintet home in 26th position in 33mins 42secs, by far his highest position ever in the league. Just one second and one position further back was Tim Cahill, again with his highest position, while the performance of the day, in a day where everyone did phenomenally well, came from Matthew Ashton, who finish in an almost unbelievable 28th, by far his best ever performance in any league race, road or cross-country. Dewi Roberts ran an excellent time of 33mins 56secs for 33rd position, just ahead of Steven McCormack, who appears to be right back on form just in time to gain selection for North Wales, finishing in 35th. Gareth Roberts, who got a very bad start to the race, managed to fight his way back up the field, finishing in 34mins 37secs for a highly satisfying 40th position. Ed Reid ran a superb 36mins 16secs for 65th, while Grahame Shone, in 38mins and 8secs for 95th position, insured the club had ten home in under 100 positions for the only time in its history. Keith Elliott, making his debut in the discipline, finished in a very respectful 128th position in a time of 41mins 40secs, just ahead of Robert Spotswood in 134th (43mins 44secs), a time that could have been much faster if he hadn’t very unselfishly slowed up to stay with another runner who had got into difficulties. Alan Lucas continued his recent great performances, finishing in 43mins 44secs for 134th, while John Hickman, making his first appearance in the country for many years, also ran superbly finishing in 149th. The team was once again completed by the ever-reliable Stevie Ward in 62mins for 161st position. The record result keeps the men’s team in the hunt for honours both overall and in the Veterans competitions, with the ladies still pushing for promotion.

 

Ladies positions;

Name

Position

Time

Carol Willgoose

20

19:37

Angie Hughes

26

20:05

Susan Calvert

59

24:00

Annette Jones

66

26:41

Sonia Wignall

69

27:34

Lucy Jones

75

28:16

Annwen Begley

76

34:57

Ladies score

105

 

 

Men’s Positions;

 

Name

Position

Time

Geran Hughes

12

32:03

Sean McCormack

23

33:19

Justin McIlveen

26

33:35

Tim Cahill

27

33:42

Matthew Ashton

28

33:43

Dewi Roberts

33

33:56

Steven McCormack

35

24:21

Gareth Roberts

40

34:38

Ed Reid

65

36:16

Grahame Shone

95

38:06

Keith Elliott

128

41:40

Rob Spotswood

134

42:44

Alan Lucas

142

44:00

John Hickman

149

46:02

Stevie Ward

161

62:09

Men’s score

149

 

 

 

Photos