Over 30 athletes take on the 2026 SEAA XC Champs at Beckenham
Over thirty Croydon Harriers took on the best endurance runners in the South of England at the SEAA cross-country championships at Beckenham Park on Saturday.
Sean Leahy would secure the club’s highest individual finish of the day, finishing 50th in the Under 17 men’s race, with club colleague Ernesto Kelly 16 seconds and places behind in 66th.
The under 13 boys squad notched the highest young athlete’s team placing of the afternoon in 23rd, led home by Pietro Kelly (54th), Cian O’Doherty (139th), Siva Sundaram (176th) and Ivan Thelluson (179th).
Other leading places in the young athletes ranks included Malaika Trim (Under 13 Girls, 72nd), Caroline Kennefick (Under 17 Women, 87th) and Zoe Siu (Under 15 Girls, 110th).
The women’s squad enjoyed a record turnout with eight finishers, spearheaded by Madeleine Armstrong-Plieth (72nd), Michaela Toumi (170th), Liane Evans (245th) and Anna Shields (263rd). The team would finish in 25th, five places higher than twelve months ago.
In the men’s race, Phil Symonds led the squad across the line with a top 100 placing in 97th. Douglas Aikman enjoyed a solid senior debut in this competition in 112th. The remainder of the scoring six included Tom Baxter (228th), David Brown (248th), William Stainsby (314th) and Harry Speedy (408th).