Varsity Success with strong CUHH contingent

en310 | Saturday, May 18th, 2013

Cambridge took wins in all four of the matches at Varsity athletics this year, and not without a little help from the Hares and Hounds in the middle and long distance races, with the men’s Blues taking a fifth victory in a row and the Alverstones continuing their dominance in the Seconds’ match with their seventh consecutive win. Success was also shared in the women’s distance events, with an overall tally of 12 wins in the 16 middle and long distance events.

Neil Houlsby began CUHH’s contribution in a less predictable form in the hammer throw finishing a strong second in the Seconds’ match, followed up by a blisteringly quick Blues 800m which saw Lewis Lloyd (1:53.03) finish within a second of the winner in a race where the winning time was certainly one of the fastest in recent times, running alongside Ed Smith who also dipped under the two-minute mark. Cambridge took maximum points in the Seconds’ 800m, with Fourths’ cross-country winner Lloyd Hilton winning followed closely by Zac Howe. The steeplechase also saw Cambridge Seconds’ take maximum points with Matt Grant and Alex Young finishing first and second, whilst Tom Watkins was edged marginally out into second (with a PB run of 9:33.08) accompanied by Pete Townsend in the Blues match.

The 1500m races showed the magic of middle distance racing with the contrast in race tactics. The Seconds’ race paced through the first lap in a little over a minute whilst the Blues’ runners went through 800m in 2:14. Nonetheless, both produced Cambridge victories, with Will Ryle-Hodges winning the Seconds’ race in 4:02.38, whilst Josh Carr dug in deep early before overtaking his opposite number to finish third. Jon Cook followed up his 2012 mile win with an unbelievable sprint finish to win, whilst Lewis Lloyd’s second race of the day saw him confirm a light-blue points victory in the Blues 1500m.

The final distance race of the day for the men’s teams was the highly anticipated 5,000m, where Cambridge showed their cross-country Varsity form and strength in depth to take maximum points again in both the Blues and Seconds’ races. With almost all athletes in the mix for most of the race, Joe Christopher won with a Blues standard time of 14:43.02, whilst Matt Leach dipped under 15 minutes to finish second. Sam Ashcroft won the Seconds’ race having been at the back of the front pack, and Alex Short finished second despite his lengthy absence from competition.

Meanwhile, the lady Hareys were out in force, helping to clinch victory for both the Cambridge Blues team and the Alligators. Particularly notable performances were observed in the women’s 5000m, in which Megan Wilson and Katy Hedgethorne so utterly destroyed their Oxford competitors, that their final, fiery lap was more a battle between each other than it was with the Dark Blues. With Megan taking first place in 18:56.58 and Katy finishing just behind her in 18:59.48, the girls claimed a very convincing first and second for the Alligators. Further success in the women’s 5000m was had by Alison Greggor for the Blues team, who completely blitzed her competition in order to finish first in an exceptional time of 17:08.69. Alison was helped by fellow Blues team member Beth Swords, who finished 4th in the Blues team, clocking an excellent 18:11.73 – a time which in other years would have won the event.

Perhaps the most astonishing performance in the female distance events was seen in the ladies’ 1500m, which – despite being just half an hour after the 5000m – saw Alison Greggor clinch a second victory for the Blues team, in a time of 4:34.75. Not to be underrated, however, was Katherine Turner’s performance in the same race. Despite suffering from injury, Katherine challenged Alison throughout the race, and finished directly behind her in 4:34.99. Clinching another first and second for Cambridge, Alison and Katherine truly were a formidable duo.

Further impressive performances were had by Carrie Beadle in the 1500m, and Alice Duncan in the 2000m steeplechase. Both girls made debut appearances in their respective events, helping to secure valuable points for the Alligators and demonstrating a great level of dedication.

Yet the most stirring image of the day had to be that of all three of Polly Keen, Jocelyn Trayler-Clarke and Grace Copplestone finishing ahead of the Oxford runners in the 2000m steeplechase. Whilst Polly reliably delivered an excellent run, finishing first in a time of 7:03.9, Jocelyn was not far behind, claiming second in 7:27.4 – a time that was tantalisingly close to her PB. Most notable, however, was Grace’s exceptional time of 7:48.6, which not only amounted to a first place finish in the second team race, but also placed her ahead of the two Oxford Blues runners – an amazing feat given that she’d competed in the 400m hurdles just hours before. The versatility and depth which Grace demonstrated, and indeed the dedication and success of all of the Cambridge distance athletes on Varsity day, perfectly explain why the Hare and Hounds have been such a formidable side this year.

For full results see http://www.thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=85639