Chichester athletes celebrate best-ever Sussex cross-country result

They made the top three in seven out of the eight age groups and three of the team medals were gold – a first for the club.

There were three individual golds as well as a host of minor places and to cap a fine day, Chichester emerged as the top overall club in the county for the season.

Under-17s

Chichester are currently strong across all age groups, but the under-17 age group has stood out this season.

The women’s team knew only the best would be good enough to hold off a strong challenge from Brighton & Hove and especially Hastings, who were just two points adrift before Saturday.

It looked precarious when Rose Ellis was forced to retire soon after the start and Brighton and Hastings were occupying the first three places.

However one of the club’s strengths this season has been the depth of talent in their squad and fine runs from Amber Westron, Charlotte Reading and Saskia Gardam in fifth, sixth and seventh gave a low total of just 18 points to secure gold, with Brighton finishing as their nearest challengers and Hastings demoted to third.

The under-17 men were lying in a solid silver-medal position and produced their best team performance of the season to win the fixture with just 13 points. Another win from Casey Keates ensured him the individual title and an inspired run from Harry Lyne in third was his highest-ever league finish in any age group.

Harry Pink completed the A team scoring in ninth which left Chichester just nine points behind winners Lewes after a hard-fought season over four tough fixtures.

Again Chichester showed their strength in numbers has been a factor, with the B team putting in a strong performance to clinch third place on the day thanks to Will Kallaway in 12th, Sam Pink 15th and Sam Reading 18th.

Under-15s

One team with a slightly more comfortable margin at the top of their division were the under-15 boys, who were holding an 11-point lead over Hastings before this final fixture.

There was the usual sight of the leading two runners at the head of the pack once the race had settled down, with county champion Joe Body from Hastings shoulder to shoulder with Chichester’s Ben Collins, the pair having occupied the top two places in the county championships in January.