Joel earns GB vest at Euro Cross Country Trials; November Round-up
Joel Doye qualified for the U23 race at the European Cross Country championships by finishing 2nd in the European Trials at Liverpool’s Sefton Park on 22nd November. The U23 trial race was held separately to the Senior race, over a much shorter course in preparation for the 5790m U23 (instead of 7290m Senior) championship at Lagoa, Portugal, on 14th December. Joel finished 9 seconds behind Matthew Ramsden, of Blackburn Harriers, and less than a second ahead of Sam Hodgson of WSEH. Congratulations to Joel on earning GB colours, and the whole club will be wishing him all the best in the Algarve.
Ben Potrykus and Videsh Weerakkody finished 29th and 48th out of the 921 finishers in the Senior trial, won by Morpeth’s Scott Beattie.
Earlier in November, there had also been high-quality club representation at the London Championships and at the Cardiff Cross Challenge. Oliver Bushdari and Luke Gribbin were 7th and 16th in the former fixture; and Videsh Weerakkody 40th in the main senior race and Nathan Wright 12th in the junior race at the latter. Cardiff also hosted a rare Mile cross country race for seniors, serving as a trial for the short-course Mixed Relay at December’s European Championships. Joel Doye, in his first bite at the Euro qualification cherry, was 9th in 4’29”, and Joseph Owen 27th in 4’57”.
A full report on both the men’s and women’s teams at Met League at Horsenden Hill will follow in the coming days.