STEVE Naylor maintained his tight grip on the Oxfordshire Cross Country title with a dominant victory at Stowe School in Buckingham.
The Witney resident, who was wearing his first-claim Bedford & County vest, clinched his fifth senior men’s win in as many appearances.
Combined with the Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire Championships, due to the cancellation of the third round of the Oxford Mail Cross Country League, Naylor crossed second overall.
But the 37-year-old finished more than a minute ahead of nearest Oxfordshire rival Jonathan Cornish in 36mins 14secs as he added to his 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016 titles.
Naylor said: “The trophy has got my name on it, to be honest.
“Road racing I don’t enjoy as much because I am not getting any quicker, but when it comes to the mud and hills I just seem to be able to hold my own and keep my head above water.
“Hopefully, I can keep it going for another few years.”
Naylor added: “It’s hard work, they don’t give you the result.
“Jonathan Cornish and the other guys are very good runners, but you have still got to beat them.
“It does not get any easier, but it’s nice to get the reward of that title.”
Woodstock Harrier James Bolton won the veteran 40 title, with Oxford City’s John Atyeo and Richard Grant claiming the veteran 50 and 60 honours respectively.
Kidlington’s Helene Greenwood won the women’s event by more than a minute to clinch the senior title ahead of Eynsham’s Elizabeth McAllister, who was the first veteran 35.
Teammate Katherine Bates took the veteran 55 prize, with Banbury’s Ros Kelling the veteran 45.
- TOP THREE: Under 15 girls winner Alex Scrivener (centre), with Beth Darwent (left) and Daisy Palmer
ALEX Scrivener clinched her fifth successive title when winning the under 15 race by 57 seconds.
The Banbury Harriers ace triumphed in 15mins 13secs, beating second-placed Beth Darwent, who helped Abingdon clinch the team prize.
There was more individual success for Banbury athletes in the combined under 17 and 20 race, with Jenny Hannah and Rosie Weston winning their respective age groups.
City defended their under 13 crown, with three runners winning medals as Clover de Jonge took gold ahead of Olivia Martin and Olivia Newhouse.
Radley’s Ben Cumberland retained his under 13 boys title, also beating his Bucks and Beds competitors to finish first overall, as the vale club comfortably won the team trophy.
His clubmates Rowan MiellIngram and Thomas Kent finished second and third.
Abingdon’s Adam Ede claimed victory in the under 15 event.
Bicester’s Ben West was another runner who beat not only his Oxfordshire rivals, but the rest of the field to clinch the under 17 prize.
John Still, of Oxford University, claimed under 20 gold.
- EARLY PACE: Ben West leads the way in the under 17 boys race Picture: Barry Cornelius
RESULTS
INDIVIDUAL
MEN
*Senior: 1 S Naylor (Bed) 36mins 14secs, 2 J Cornish (Wim) 37.19, 3 M Robinson (Oxf) 37.20.
*Vet 40: 1 J Bolton (Wds) 38.22, 2 J Richardson (Oxf) 38.53, 3 T Jones (Oxf) 39.12.
*Vet 50: 1 J Atyeo (Oxf) 41.42, 2 K Lowies (Hed) 42.42, 3 N Bunn (Abn) 44.58.
Vet 60: 1 R Grant (Oxf) 33.14, 2 B Vaughan (Wds) 34.27, 3 R Treadwell (Oxf) 35.27.
Under 20: 1 J Still (OxU) 28.03, 2 A Miell-Ingram (Rad) 29.02, 3 E Cugnet (Wit) 32.38.
Under 17: 1 B West (Bic) 19.21, 2 J Taylor (Oxf) 20.18, 3 H Roe (Red) 21.14.
Under 15: 1 A Ede (Abn) 13.57, 2 O Knox (Ban) 14.27, 3 M Nicolle (Bic) 14.41.
Under 13: 1 B Cumberland (Rad) 10.02, 2 R Miell-Ingram (Rad) 10.32, 3 T Kent (Rad) 11.16.
*Combined Senior, vet 40 & 50 race.
WOMEN
*Senior: 1 H Greenwood (Kid) 33.00, 2 C Parker (Abn) 34.04, 3 J Harrison (Whh) 35.05.
*Vet 35: 1 E McAllister (Eyn) 34.04, 2 S Dudgeon (Abn) 34.16, 3 S Davies (Oxf) 35.10.
*Vet 45: 1 R Kelling (Ban) 35.17, 2 M Bartlett (Ban) 35.20, 3 D Bridges (Wds) 37.05.
*Vet 55: 1 K Bates (Eyn) 38.28, 2 G Hueter (Oxf) 39.27, 3 H Turley (Hed) 39.56.
*Under 20: 1 R Weston (Ban) 25.13, 2 J Duckett (Oxf) 25.15, 3 J Milne (Oxf) 26.00.
*Under 17: 1 J Hannah (Ban) 24.07, 2 J Garry (Oxf), 3 R Lord (Ban) 25.42.
Under 15: 1 A Scrivener (Ban) 15.13, 2 B Darwent (Abn) 16.10, 3 D Palmer (Oxf) 16.21.
Under 13: 1 C de Jonge (Oxf) 11.02, 2 O Martin (Oxf) 11.10, 3 O Newhouse (Oxf) 11.25.
*Combined senior, vet 35, 45, 55 race, and under 17 & 20 event.
TEAM
MEN
Senior/veteran: 1 Oxford City 2hrs 32mins 31secs, 2 Headington 2.47.04, 3 Eynsham 2.53.31.
Veteran: 1 Headington 2.49.56, 2 Oxford City 2.47.48, 3 Woodstock Harriers 2.59.17.
Under 15: 1 Abingdon 1.01.32.
Under 13: 1 Radley 43.15, 2 Bicester 51.14.
WOMEN
Senior/veteran: 1 Abingdon 1.45.20, 2 Banbury Harriers 1.49.05, 3 Eynsham RR 1.50.17.
Veteran: 1 Eynsham RR 1.54.17, 2 Kidlington 1.58.48, 3 Abingdon 1.59.36.
Under 17/20: 1 Banbury Harriers 1.15.02, 2 Oxford City 1.16.50, 3 Abingdon 1.20.30.
Under 15: 1 Abingdon 50.51, 2 Banbury Harriers 56.22.
Under 13: 1 Oxford City 33.37, 2 Bicester 43.23.
KEY
Abn: Abingdon; Ban: Banbury Harriers; Bed: Bedford & County; Bic: Bicester; Eyn: Eynsham RR; Hed: Headington RR; Kid: Kidlington; Oxf: Oxford City; OxU: Oxford University; Rad: Radley; Red: Reading; Wds: Woodstock Harriers; Whh: White Horse Harriers; Wim: Hercules Wimbledon; Wit: Witney RR.
CLUB SUBMITTED
OXFORDSHIRE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN
Abingdon – Senior & Vet: 15 O Stepney 41.05, 30 G Wood 44.10, 36 N Bunn (V50) 44.58, 54 M Hills 47.36, 69 J Bones (V40) 50.18, 74 A Francis (V40) 51.26, 78 K Welby (V50) 52.08, 81 N Hamilton (V50) 52.49, 86 G Wiggins 56.14, 96 B Hedges 64.23. Over 60: 8 T Greenland (V60) 39.37. Under 17: 4 E Lawton 22.10. Under 15: 1 A Ede 13.57, 5 A Pennington 15.34, 6 A Clay 15.40, 7 K Francis 16.21, 10 O Idle 20.46; Team: 1 Abingdon. Under 13: 6 S Lawton 11.28, 12 J Garner 12.15.
Headington – Senior & Vet: 3 J Eve (V40) 40.09, 15 S Kerr 40.53, 21 K Lowies (V50) 42.42, 24 D Axford (V40) 43.20, 26 R Skilbeck (V40) 43.45, 32 S Cayley 44.25, 35 C Prince (V40) 44.35, 38 A Phelps (V50) 45.53, 49 A Walton 47.14, 52 D Simpson (V50) 47.42, 56 H Grange 47.59, 58 J D’Angelo 48.04, 60 R Thetford (V50) 48.29, 61 D Bremner 48.30, 65 D Henning (V40) 49.28, 80 C Turnbull 52.43. Over 60: 5 N Baker 37.32, 6 L Hurman 38.00, 14 K Villiers, (V70) 59.42.
White Horse Harriers – Senior & Vet: 2 J Cornish 37.19, 20 P Wileman 41.49, 23 T Walsh 42.46, 39 M Attwood 45.35, 43 I Lambourn (V50) 46.10, 46 M Lane (V40) 46.33, 66 S Leech (V50) 49.31, 68 M Beale 50.08; Team: 5 White Horse Harriers.
Witney – Senior: 28 C Colbeck (V40) 44.07, 62 J Floyd 49.04. Over 60: 11 K Morgan 45.03. Under 20: 3 E Cugnet 32.38. Under 15: 8 T Miller 17.03.
WOMEN
Abingdon – Senior & Vet: 3 C Parker (SL) 34.08, 4 S Dudgeon (LV35) 34.16, 12 L Shelton (SL) 36.56, 34 L Bedford (LV45) 41.22, 43 J D’Arcy (LV45) 43.58; Team: 1 Abingdon. Under 17/20: 6 K Harris (U17) 25.53, 9 L Siddle (U20) 26.42, 13 V Tilling (U20) 27.55; Team: 3 Abingdon. Under 15: 2 B Darwent 16.10, 4 M Bedlington 16.29, 10 I Jones 18.12; Team: 1 Abingdon. Under 13: 6 G Halfhead 11.36.
Headington – Senior & Vet: 27 M Ding 39.55, 28 H Turley (LV55) 39.56, 39 N Giannousi-Varney (LV35) 42.48, 47 R Winder (LV35) 46.06, 49 K King (LV35) 46.53, 52 J Duvall (LV55) 47.24, 53 S Harding-Brown (LV45) 48.50, 54 E Carter-Biggs (LV45) 49.56.
White Horse Harriers – Senior & Vet: 5 J Harrison 35.05, 13 S Lloyd 36.57, 25 S Sheehy 39.37, 26 R Burgess (LV45) 39.54, 40 P Mack 42.50, 41 C Nunn (LV35) 43.12, 48 R Colliass (LV45) 46.21; Team: 5 White Horse Harriers. Under 17: 10 L Rycroft 27.15.
Witney – Senior: 11 F Snare 36.29, 17 R Stanley-Evans (LV35) 38.05, 18 J Hewlett 38.22, 33 J Wright (LV35) 41.15, 45 J Ashton (LV45) 44.27.
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