Last weekend was Leeds relays, whereby we hosted a race at our very own Bodington fields. Teams came from the length and breadth of the country to take part in arguably one of the best races of the year. The course was a two mile lap through mud and hills, with four boys per team and three for the ladies.
The ladies set off first and the race was won by a rapid Leeds Met Old Girls team. Our own old girls did well taking fourth. Lucy Crookes led the way for the Leeds Uni A team and put in a strong performance but wasn’t quite on her Edinburgh race winning standard. Caroline Ford then took the mantle and put in another fast leg. Canada’s very own Bronwyn Hodges rounded off the relay to bring home the girls in a respectable fifth place, most importantly one place above the current Leeds Met A team. Jocelyn Payne proved she was a force to be reckoned with once again, and Catherine Whitfield takes the title for being the best of the rest.
On the boy’s side, the Met unfortunately managed to do the double and take their second win of the day. The Leeds Uni triathlon club secured a solid fourth. The cross country lads were represented by John Wills who put in an impressive first leg to complete the lap in third place; which remained the third fastest lap of the day. Josh Stone then took over putting in a decent time which was then mirrored by Glenn Phair. Jacob Clark brought home the team in a final placing of sixth, ahead of our major rivals Manchester. Other notable performances came from Phil Sesemann who produced the second fastest time of the day for Leeds Uni Triathlon club, Freddie Slemeck’s quick time which secured the B team ninth, and DJ Crizzzle whose E team proved once again that cross country isn’t only for the elite but it’s the taking part that counts.
Well done to all those who took part and I hope you managed to clean the mud off. A big thank you goes out to all those who were involved in the organisation and implementation of the weekend, making it such a big success.
With these strong performances it gives us a lot to look forward to in the New Year, kicking off the season with Cross Country Varsity in January, and a return to Bodington fields in February as Leeds host BUCS.
Author: Matthew Evans