Essex Cross Country League, One Tree Hill, 23 October 2004  

After the sunny start and hard surface in the first round Essex Cross Country League fixture at Hockley two weeks earlier, heavy rain and windy weather made the conditions difficult for the second round  fixture at One Tree Hill on Saturday. 

The senior women again took individual first place but this time it was Faye Fullerton who stormed home well clear of the rest of the field, which was much bigger in numbers than the previous league race.  She was ably assisted in the team event, with Nikkii Barnett, returning after an injury, working her way through the field to finish in 16^th place. Linda Smith and Ruth O’Sullivan provided the consistency for the team finishing strongly on the uphill stretch in 43th and 49^th place respectively.

Although not taking the individual honours once again Under 15 Boys dominated the team event and, despite missing several key runners, with six runners in the top 15, won with 33 points. Bradley Tungatt lead the way in the tough conditions and held on well for an excellent 4th place. Steve MacLachlan improved to beat Matt Bloy, finishing 7th, with Matt three places back in 10th, while Grant Twist completed the scoring quartet in 12th.  Joe Webster and Daniel Winters were in close order to provide excellent support in 13th and 15th respectively, while Danny Walker continued his comeback in 23rd. Other finishers where; Adam Hazelden 26th, Jamie Harrington 30th, Jack Hirom 35th, Shane Sullivan in 42nd and Lenny Swain in 44th. 

The Under 15 girls matched the boys' success with a fantastic team victory.  Hayley Thomas was firsthome in fourth, with Ingrid Deane showing better form in 5th. Team victory was sealed by superb performances by Rachael Newman and Charlotte Humphreys 8th and 9th, while Clare Robinson, an impressive 6th last time, back in 15th. An improving Michaela Roberts was 18th and it was "welcome back" to Amie Adams and Rachel Kerr, 20th and 29th respectively.

The promising Under 13 Boys continued their improvement to snatch second place on count back behind the impressive Chelmsford squad. Just three seconds separated the first three Havering runners as Simon Brown once again led the team home in 8th, closed to the line by Thomas Shanney, for once getting the better of twin brother Daniel in 9th & 10th respectively. Luke Jones made up the scoring team with a 9-place improvement to finish 20th while back-up was at hand from Jack Warden in 25th, Chris Sullivan 26th and Steve Payne in 35th.

The under 13 girls claimed an excellent third place with Becky Luck improving one place to 4th, and Georgia Davies also one place higher than in round one in 8th. Eleanor Bounds ran a superb race, finishing 13th turning the tables on Chloe Jackson, two places back. Emma Fox in 23rd and Michelle Lovell in 28th produced gutsy runs. 

After fielding just two competitors last time out there was a much improved showing from the Under 17 Women as six girls toed the line. Katie Richardson returned from injury with an excellent second spot, while the returning Robyn Matson also bagged a top ten finish in 8th. Charlotte Watkins put her first round fall behind her to place 11th and Vicky Smith completed the scoring quartet in 13th. Lauren Clarke (19th) and newcomer Cheryl Webb (28th) also ran well. But the girls' better showing was not matched by their male counterparts and, as in Round 1 in the Under 17 Men Ashley Reece was the sole entrant from Havering and he again found the going tough, finishing a gutsy 6th.

Another incomplete squad was unusually the senior men, with several familiar places away on holiday. In their absence Rob Warner shone with is best finish to date in 8th, and Neill and Tony Collins both made the top 40 in a big field..

Results