It`s taken more than 140 years for our men`s team to finally win the English men`s cross country
team title, but in an unprecedented year when the annual championships had to be postponed due
to weather conditions and rescheduled for late summer, I suggested in my preview that opportunity
knocked and that if we seized the moment the predicted status quo could be overturned.
And to a man our guys did just that when the championship race finally took place on a rolling
grassland course at Weston Park in Shropshire. What`s more, even allowing for the fact that the
entry was virtually halved compared to its traditional mid winter date, it was still the same top clubs
that as ever dominated the race at the front: defending champions Leeds City, their immediate
predecessors Tonbridge, top London club Highgate and ourselves, with last year`s silver medallist
Cambridge and Coleridge the only missing force on the day.
The critical difference was that despite ourselves also missing two of our top runners KURT TAYLOR
and MAX DAVIS, our renewed strength in depth and sheer determination on the day proved crucial.
With WILL BATTERSHILL and JACK MILLAR giving us the start any club would dream of by both
making the top ten, and our other four counters MILAN CAMPION, NAPHTALI MOULTON, BEN
ROBINSON and JOE MORROW all in the top 40 of the huge field, we set our rivals the challenge of
bettering a remarkably low total of just 138pts which none of them could match on the day..
Our final rise to the top step is the culmination of what has been a 20 year target since the club was
rebranded as Bristol and West for the men`s endurance team to bring a National title back to the
South West for the first time since the championships were first contested in 1879.
It`s a bid that has intensified in recent years since we unexpectedly took the silver medals for the
first time at Parliament Hill in 2018 , which has been followed by the bronze medals in both 2019
and 2020 before slipping to 4 th in 2022 and 5 th last year, though to put that in context it should be
borne in mind that the race is regularly contested by more than 200 of the country`s leading clubs.
HOW THE RACE DEVELOPED
The 12k championship course consisted of three undulating and twisting fast 4k laps laid out in a
picturesque parkland setting that ensured a no holds start, so it was no surprise that two of the pre
race favourites Derby`s international pair HUGO MILNER and BEN CONNOR set a blistering pace from
the off and actually were never really challenged for the major individual medals.
But back to that opening lap, for behind the flying Derby pair Will was in a small group that included
Tonbridge`s defending champion JAMES KNIGSTON and his immediate predecessor CALLUM
JOHNSON from Gateshead along with new Highgate star SEYED TAHA GHAFARI, with Jack for his part
in the next group together with last year`s silver medallist JACK GRAY, STEVE MCCULLUM for
Hercules Wimbledon and SAM EGLEN from Aldershot.
It was just the start we needed, while not too much further back new signing Milan was proving
what an asset he is going to be to our squad by running confidently just inside the top 20, with
fellow newcomer Joe not far behind him chased by Ben and Naphtali as well as LUKE BURGESS.
Positions did not change dramatically from then on, though Milner, our top cross country runner last
winter, began to get away from his colleague and went on to win by nearly half a minute, while
Kingston eventually edged ahead of Will`s quartet in a bid to take the bronze medal and no more
than a further half minute back Jack and his small group had consolidated their position in the top
ten.
In the end Milner duly extended his advantage over Connor to nearly half a minute, while Kingston
in closing up to within ten seconds of Connor to secure the bronze medal stayed a similar distance
ahead of Will, who himself had to withstand a late challenge from the rugged Johnson to take an
unexpected 4 th place, with Ghafari another ten seconds back in 6 th place.
“Frankly I never thought I would finish quite as high as this, so while 4 th is never the best position to
end up in I was really pleased how competitive I managed to be after my long track season,”
concluded Will, who was clearly well satisfied with his effort and the contribution he had made to
the success of the team.
Little more than a further half a minute back Jack was involved in a tussle with his old rival Gray who
just outsprinted him to leave him in 8 th place, but still just ahead of both McCullum and Eglen who
completed the top ten.
“I would like to have finished closer to Will, but fast underfoot conditions like that don`t play to my
strength that`s on softer ground, “ said Jack, who none the less was excited about the overall
performance of the team that he has been so instrumental in promoting.
Meanwhile backing up our leading pair, though Milan did fade a little on the final lap he still
managed to finish only just outside the top 20 in 22 nd place and was stunned when realising that he
had won such a prestigious gold medal on his first appearance for the club.
NAPH`S AU REVOIR
Another so chuffed to be in the gold medal winning team was our American colleague Naphtali, who
regrettably was having his last run for the club before returning to the States due to not being able
to get the necessary funding for his Ph.D. You could tell from the start that he was going to leave
nothing in the tank as he was determined to be in the scoring six, and running up to his best ever
form he ended up only ten positions and half a minute behind Milan in 32 nd position.
“I really appreciate the competitive club structure here in the UK and only wish I could stay as long
as I`d hoped,” claimed Naph, adding that he would like to thank everyone for making him so
welcome in the team while he`s been here.
“I`m going back to enrol in the US marines, but have not ruled out coming back for the 12 stage if it`s
possible! Whatever I shall always value this medal.”
Just one position behind Naph in 33 rd place, which was by far his highest ever finishing place in the
National, Ben continued what has surely been the best year of his career as he prepares to defend
his World Cannicross title in Italy in six weeks time.
This left Joe, another new face in the team, to fight out the final scoring position with another of the
club`s stalwarts FELIX MCGRATH, which could hardly have been closer, for Joe admitted he had
started too fast and was clearly tiring in the closing stages while Felix had moved through the field
strongly on the second lap and in the end had closed to just five seconds on his new clubmate at the
finish, with Joe 39 th and Felix 42 nd .
There was speculation on all sides at the finish as to who had won, which was hardly surprising as In
the end it was a really competitive finish to the team event, for though our 138pt total was obviously
going to take some beating, the next three clubs Highgate (168), Leeds (189) and Tonbridge (194) all
posted scores of under 200 to make it one of the closest finishes for the medals for years.
The separate nine to count classification was even tighter, for when Felix`s finishing position is
combined with that of team captain OWAIN JONES, who despite a recent injury problem still
managed to finish well inside the top hundred in 72 nd position, and Bristol student ALEX STEWART`s
81 st place, we still came out on top again though only 22pts ahead of Highgate, which further
confirms the growing strength in depth of our current squad.
Of our other runners FRASER ROACH was the only one to make the top hundred and certainly
boosted his reputation in 87 th place, while ALED ANDERSON (132), DAVID LEWIN (181) and MATT
BROWN (425) , whose aim was just to have a run after watching his daughter compete earlier, all
performed reasonably well, excepting the unfortunate LUKE BURGESS who was forced to drop out
after contracting a violent stitch pain near the end of the first lap.
I`ll leave the last word to our cross captain Owain, who actually failed to be in the scoring team at
the National for the first time I can remember.
“Mike`s right, but at this stage of my career, now that I`m well into the Masters category, I`m just
more than happy to see our younger guys coming through and am concentrating on further fostering
the great team spirit and camaraderie that has done so much to enable the success we`ve had
today.”
One thing now is surely indisputable that following our second place in the National 12 stage road
relay championship with this long awaited victory in English cross country championship we can
justifiably claim to be among the top three teams in the country.
Long may it continue guys!
MIKE DOWN (Team Manager)
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