New club best for Newbury's senior women

Newbury Athletic Club's senior women finished ninth at the South of England Cross Country Championships

NEWBURY Athletic Club's senior women set a new club best when finishing in the top 10 teams at the South of England Cross Country Championships held at Parliament Hill in Hampstead Heath on Saturday.

Newbury finished ninth of the 62 competing clubs with Sophie Crumly leading the individual contribution.

She worked her way up from a top 40 placing during the first lap, making her way to 19th place with Susie Bush finishing 36th and Jess Franklin 53rd in the field of 381 runners, Jane Mackey's 143rd place finish securing the all-important fourth scoring spot that gave Newbury a points total of 252.

Newbury's veterans also showed up well with Sue Van Huyssteen 155th, Bev Hall 210th and Sarah Fowler 217th as Newbury finished ahead of host club Highgate Harriers and Woodford Green, and 197 points ahead of the nearest Berkshire club, Reading AC, in 16th place.

James Craggs produced a good run to finish 223rd in the senior men's race with Dave Wright also making the top half of the 885 runners in 396th spot.

Team Kennet's best result on the day came from Yasmin Ryder, who finished 26th und the under 13 girls' race and led her team into 22nd spot overall.