A fantastic day for Aldershot, Farnham & District Athletic Club at the English National Cross Country Championships on Saturday saw our athletes dominate across multiple age groups, taking three team golds , two team silvers , and three individual medals making us the most successful club in the country again!
We travelled the 250+ miles to Sedgefield, County Durham and were rewarded with 23 medals!
The club’s U20 Men, U17 Women, and U13 Girls all stormed to team gold , while our Senior Women and U15 Girls were narrowly beaten into second place by strong opposition. Individually, three of our athletes achieved podium finishes: Matt Pickering (U20 Men 2nd), Kitty Scott (U17 Women 2nd), and Poppy Guest (U15 Girls 2nd).
U20 Men — Team Gold 
Matt Pickering – 2nd 🥈— 31:27
William Smith – 12th — 33:05
Owen Smith – 14th — 33:09
Luca Hamblen – 25th ⚡ — 34:02
In the closest race finish of the day Matt pushed the pace the whole way losing out by a single stride in the sprint finish – but leading the team home to a dominant victory.
Special mention goes to Luca Hamblen ⚡, who not only contributed to the U20 Men’s team gold , but also won the FlyCarb Super Sprint for the first athlete to the 1km point of the race.
U17 Women — Team Gold (41 points)
Kitty Scott – 2nd 🥈 — 16:26
Sabrina Coppola Johansen – 7th — 17:00
Otelia Garcia Davis – 13th — 17:37
Katie Ealden – 19th — 17:47
U13 Girls — Team Gold (79 points)
Isabel Goodey De Diego – 8th — 11:24
Koko O’Neill – 16th — 11:40
Evie Jones – 23rd — 11:50
Emily Walmsley – 32nd — 11:58
Senior Women — Team Silver 
Niamh Brown – 5th — 29:15
Millie-ann Jordan-Lee – 16th — 30:19
Maisie Grice – 22nd — 30:37
Harriet Preedy – 36th — 31:18
U15 Girls — Team Silver (104 points)
Poppy Guest – 2nd 🥈 — 13:10
Naomi Walmsley – 10th — 13:48
Amelie Sowerby – 25th — 14:22
Harriet Robertson – 67th — 15:01
Overall it was another very successful day for AFD, which marks the end of the competitive club cross country season.
Many of our best athletes will be in action representing their counties at the Inter Counties Championships in Nottingham, whilst our younger athletes will be looking forward to the English Schools.
Full results: Sporthive Results
Photo Credit: https://grahamsmithphotography.pixieset.com/