James leads Striders in a fantastic performance in Cross-Country
Striders of Croydon produced an excellent team performance to gain a convincing win in their first Surrey Division Three match of the season, at Wimbledon Common on Saturday. They were led by James Bennett who ran very well to place second, covering the six-mile course in 36 minutes 08 seconds. Phil Coales was fourth (36.50) with Peter Mills fifth (37.04), Simone Luciani sixth (37.07) and Bill Makuwa seventh (37.18). Team manager Krzysztof Klidzia was the first over-50 to finish, placing 15th overall (38.11). Lee Flanagan was 17th (38.38) with Rob Lines 19th (39.12), Steve Starvis 22nd (39.24) and Simon Ambrosi completing the scoring team in 34th (40.35). Striders also had 15 non-scorers. They won the team event with 131 points, well clear of second-placed Fulham who scored 289.
Meanwhile Striders’ women were competing in their Division Two match at Nonsuch Park. Their A team placed 16th, led by Katie Chadd who finished 33rd (27.53). Charlotte Letchford was 73rd (30.12), Yasmin Anderson 77th (30.20), Selena Wong 93rd (31.50) and Linda Daniel completed the scoring team in 123rd (32.47). Their B team placed 36th, led by Helene McCann in 172nd (35.25). Adele Boesinger was 174th (35.43) with Cress Davidson 183rd (36.32), Laura Hartney 199th (39.00) and Victoria Legge 227th (49.30). Striders’ youngest runner, Lucy Finch, placed 39th out of 74 finishers in the under-13 girls’ race.
