Croydon host successful Surrey XC League finale

Croydon Harriers’ men’s and women’s teams enjoyed a solid finish to their second division campaigns at Lloyd Park in the final Surrey cross-country league fixture of the season.

The men would place runners-up on the day thanks to four athletes finishing in the top ten of the 242-strong field. Ben Chapman enjoyed his highest finish of the season in fourth place, with Phil Symonds would wrap the M35 league title finishing sixth. Jose Concha finished ninth in his first league outing in ten years with Ben Whyte one place behind him.

Two more runners filled the top 20 thanks to Isaac Flanagan (14th) and Douglas Aikman (16th), with the latter winning the overall U20 men’s league title in the process. Kyron-Bailee Burke (29th) would finish third in the U20 men’s league classifications.

The remainder of the scoring ten consisted of Luke Wakeling (46th), David Brown (54th) and Scott Miller (68th), with a further fourteen Croydon athletes in action. The men’s team would finish the division fourth overall and preserve their league status for another season.

In the women’s race, Croydon would field seven athletes with the squad finishing a comfortable mid-table eighth out of 15 teams.

Madeleine Armstrong-Plieth and Zoha Jetha would lead home the Croydon contingent in 8th and 9th respectively. Armstrong-Plieth would finish second in the W40 overall league standings, while Zoha Jetha would win the U20 women’s classification. The scoring quintet would be completed by Leanne Moore (62nd), Anna Masters (96th) and Miriam De Souza (146th). Non-scoring support came courtesy of Surrey League debutants Saima Khalid (229th) and Siobhan Garvin (240th).

In the young athletes ranks at Epsom Downs, Francis Bambury (49th) and Zephyr Walinets (80th) finished strongly in the U15/17s race, while Keelan Hylton was 38th in the Under 13 boys race.

In the Under 15/17 women’s race, Aida Palomares-Dominguez (38th), Caroline Kennefick (62nd) and Mia Warren (74th) completed the Croydon team.