St Mary’s Athletes Takes Top Spots at British Athletics Cross Challenge

Lily Partridge and Sarah Astin, students at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, have secured the top two places at this weekend’s British Athletics Cross Challenge in Cardiff. The athletes from St Mary’s Endurance, Performance and Coaching Centre (EPACC) dominated the competition, which was the second in the Cross Challenge series. Lily and teammate Sarah secured first and second place in the Senior Women’s race, crossing the finish line in 25:57 and 26:10 respectively. In particular, Lily’s performance has put her in good stead for the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) Elgoibar 72^nd Cross Juan Muguerza race this Saturday 25^th January. The Men were also represented, with a number of current and former students competing in the Senior Men’s race. It was a close finish for Daniel Davis (former student) who secured 8^th place, followed by Ollie Lockley (current student) in 16^th and Josh Grace (former student) in 19^th place. Current students Karl Billington and Tom Mead secured 24^th and 37^th place respectively. The athletes will now continue to compete in the final stages of the competition, which will culminate at the Birmingham finals, which is also a trial for the 2015 World Cross Country Championships.