Tuckfield and Sparke lead local clubs (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Tuckfield and Sparke lead local clubs

1:21pm Wednesday 17th March 2010

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ORION’S Georgia Tuckfield stole the show as Essex won the Inter County Cross Country Championships in the under-13 girls’ category in Birmingham at the weekend.

Tuckfield finished a stunning second from 305 runners at the national competition, which doubled up as the qualification event for the World Cross Country Championships in Poland.

Woodford Green with Essex Ladies athlete Ronnie Sparke also did his chances of earning a place in Great Britain’s World Cross Country Championships squad no harm with a fifth place in the U20 men’s race. He kept pace with the leaders throughout the event, although he was just pipped to fourth on the line by Surrey’s Jonny Hay.

Meanwhile, Jess Sparke’s eighth place in the women’s race was enough to earn her the winner’s cheque for £2,000 as the overall victor in the McCain UK Cross Championship series, edging out Laura Kenney by just one point.

In the U15 boys’ event, James Stockings came 52nd, finishing as the second Essex scorer. Becky Hewitt came 48th in the U20 women’s race, while young Amelia Barrett finished 126th of the 305 runners in the U13 girls’ race.

At the same meeting Orion junior Frankie Conway ran the race of his life in the U20 men’s race, coming home as the fourth scorer which enabled his Essex team to secure the silver medal.

Other Orion athletes representing Essex in this prestigious event were Lauren MacGregor and Jay Andrews, who both competed in the U17 women’s events.

Elsewhere, at the World Masters Championships in Kamloops, Canada, Woodford athletes collected four medals. Bernadine Pritchett claimed a silver and a bronze, placing second in the 3000m and third in both the 800m and 1500m in the W40 category, while Keith Newton also won a bronze in the M40 triple jump.

Closer to home, at Lee Valley, the Inter Counties Indoor Championships took place. Orion athlete India Wellings came second in the U17 women’s pole vault, representing Essex. On the same day Orion’s U13 girls, U13 boys and the U15 boys’ teams all took first place in the final event of the Chingford League.

There were a number of runners who won their respective events, contributing to a superb outing for the Chingford club. Cheyenne Antoine-Chagar led an Orion one-two in the U13 boys’ race, Charlie Weston following his team-mate home. There was another first and second place finish for the club, Auberic Hall winning the U15 boys’ event and George Hoy coming second.

Lauren MacGregor was the victor in the U17 women’s race and Auberon Hall won the men’s equivalent. Georgia Tuckfield was at it again, as she finished second in the U13 girls’ race, with club-mate Evangeline Foster coming second.

There was also an excellent collective performance from Orion in the London Mini-Marathon trials.

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