A TOTAL of 38 Carmarthen Harriers members joined up with their West Wales club teammates to compete in the final championships of this year.
This was the 18th staging of the Welsh Inter-Regional Cross Country Championships, which took place at Penlan Arena in Brecon last Saturday (Dec 10).
On a very wet day and on a tough course, those who ran in the red and black vests of the west performed very well and all contributed to the second overall place finish behind the south region, along with 18 individual medals altogether.
The 12-race programme began with a primary school race for boys and girls. Carmarthen Harriers had 10 athletes in Brecon who all contributed to a very successful morning.
In the boys, it was a individua l one-two for Ifan Bowen and Iwan Thomas, and they secured team gold thanks to the backup of Steffan Davies and Jake Lynock. The girls were able to field two teams in total – scoring for the A and finishing runners-up in the category were Seren Davies, Milly John and Emma Brazier while Jessica Lee, Bessy Hill and Ella Davis completed a strong turnout from the youngsters.
In the top team result of the day, the under 13 West Wales boys dominated the opposition to win the Inter Area title and prove that they are the best in Wales. Harriers Liam Edwards, Frank Morgan and Dafydd Jones all finished in the top five running in the leading group throughout the race, supported by three Pembrokeshire athletes. The other finishers in this age group were Dafydd Thomas 27th, Morgan Batten 29th and Morgan Lloyd in 34th. The boys will fancy their chances as they go on to take on the best in the UK at the inter-counties race in Loughborough next year.
In the best individual performance of the day, talented Carmarthen Harrier Daisy Thompson won the individual under 13 title. Seemingly off the pace in third with 400 metres to go, she showed her track speed as they turned for home, winning the national title with 20 metres to spare. Phoebe Davis was also a high placed finisher in fifth while Clara James was 32nd in the same race.
As in the under 13s, the under 17 boys completed a great day of running by also winning the regional age group title with Ben Thomas the highest place Harrier in seventh. Morgan Llywelyn (11th) Thomas Jones (13th) Rhys Davies (16th) and William Thompson (37th) also scored vital points, ensuring they came out on top.
In the under 15 age group, Tomos Rees kept up with the leading pack, eventually finishing in seventh and not too far behind him was Gareth Thompson and Archi Morgan in 23rd and 26th respectively, with Caspar Farquhar coming in 37th.
In the girls event, the four Harriers pushed each other well, with Eva Edwards first over the line in 37th and was followed by the remainder of the squad: Beca Roberts 39th, Siwan Jones- Evans 40th and Maddie Morgan in 43rd.
In the final races of an exciting afternoon, three athletes ran in the under 17 women race and their finishing positions were Ellie Kiff 19th, Cerys Davies 33rd and Grace Page in 34th. Finally, in the Senior men, Huw Davies in the M45 category was 28th while M70 Gwent League leader Gordon Orme moving an age group this time to the M55 came 23rd. Louise Jones-Evans had a superb run in the F45 age group, just missing out on an individual medal, crossing the line in fourth.
West Wales Team Managers, led by Hedydd Davies and assisted on the day by Nathan Jones, Rebecca Gatt, Andrew Jenkins, Brian Fox and Alistair Griffiths, thanked all those runners who made the effort to represent the region in the 2016 Welsh Inter-Regionals.
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