MELBOURNE-bound Chris Davies gave a masterclass in distance running when he strode to victory in the Majestic Travel North Wales Cross-Country League in Wrexham. The Telford postman, who was a late addition to the Welsh squad for the Commonwealth Games, in which he will compete in the 5,000 metres, was in a class of his own, destroying the opposition. Mike James (Shrewsbury) and Alun Vaughan (Eryri), both fine runners with League victories behind them, simply had to admit being outclassed as Davies went on to win by a huge margin. The firm underfoot conditions and flat Wrexham course were ideally suited to the Telford athlete. With six finishers in the first 10 Telford notched up one of the best points totals in League history, and with only one fixture remaining the Shropshire club are certain of wresting the title from Wrexham. Telford's ladies were just as dominant, with Davies's Royal Mail colleague Claire Martin a comfortable winner. His sister, Sian, who finished fourth, was one of four Telford runners among the first six. Results. 1 C Davies (Tel) 26.05, 2 M James (Shrews) 27.47, 3 A Vaughan (Eryri)28.46, 4 P Ward (Tel) 28.59, 5 A Walling (Menai) 29.12, 6 N Andrews (Tel) 29.18, 7 M Burnhope (Tel, M40) 29.33, 8 W Joyce (Tel) 29.45, 9 B Jones (Wrex, M45) 29.51, 10I Illie (Tel) 30.04. Teams. Division 1: Telford 36, Wrexham 180, Shrewsbury 180, Eryri 214, Buckley 230, Colwyn Bay 266, Oswestry 275, Prestatyn 436. Division 2: Maldwyn 299, Abergele 366, Denbigh 404, Menai 618, Vale Royal 645, Bridgnorth 691, Wrecsam Tri 817, Bro Dysynni 827, Deeside 831, Aberystwyth 863. Veterans. M40: 1 Burnhope, 2 M Robbins (Wrex) 30.42, 3 J Sanders (Tel) 31.03. M45: 1 Jones, 2 G Jones (Shrews) 31.38, 3 A Lewis (Eryri) 31.40. M50: 1 G Nixon (Prest) 32.57, 2 S Bellis (Wrex) 32.59, 3 M Cortvriend (Denbigh) 33.21. M55: 1 M Dawes (Tel), 33.18, 2 G Shone (Abergele) 34.18, 3 B Ward (CB) 38.30. M60: 1 D Williams (Eryri) 34.24, 2 E Davies (Eryri) 34.38, 3 A Egan (Wrex) 37.25. M65: 1 B Jackson (Bro Dys) 43.22, 2 P Norman (Wrex) 49.32, 3 R Griffin (Bridg) 52.40. Teams: Telford 15, Wrexham 18, Eryri 45, Prestatyn 57, Buckley 64, Abergele 69, Denbigh 71, Oswestry 76, Maldwyn 88, Shrewsbury 92, Colwyn Bay 145, Bridgnorth 191. Men under 17: 1 H Jones (CB) 16.02, 2 M Kimpton (Buckley) 16.44. Ladies: 1 C Martin (Tel) 16.07, 2 K Green (Tel) 16.32, 3 C Harney (Wrex) 17.01, 4 S Davies (Tel) 17.12, 5 H Davies (Wrex, L35) 17.21, 6 D Cureton (Tel, L35) 17.34. Teams. Division 1: Telford 7, Wrexham 20, Oswestry 45, Colwyn Bay 47, Buckley 63, Eryri 68, Prestatyn 110. Division 2: Abergele 89, Denbigh 89, Bro Dysynni 121, Maldwyn 153, Deeside 170, Wrecsam Tri 210. Veterans. L35: 1 Davies, 2 Cureton, 3 J Lindley (Buckley) 17.37. L40: 1 C Evans (Tel) 17.43, 2 B Eyke (Os) 18.51, 3 T Williams (Denbigh) 19.21. L45: 1 A Whitelaw (Wrex) 18.14, 2 R Naish (Bro Dys) 18.19, 3 R Adams (Wrex) 19.24. L50: 1 H Jaques (Abergele) 19.58, 2 B Ward (Osw) 20.48, 3 J McGibbon (Buck) 22.27. L55: 1 M Oliver (Eryri) 20.49, 2 H Dirksen (Buck) 21.15, 3 Y Marconi-Nolan (Bro Dys) 24.22. L60: 1 B Jones (Bro Dys) 22.19, 2 M Griffiths (Bro Dys) 35.48. Teams: Wrexham 16, Oswestry 26, Telford 31, Denbigh 50, Abergele 52, Buckley 53, Bro Dysynni 77, Eryri 85, Maldwyn100. Aggregates after four races:- Men, Division 1: Telford 316, Wrexham 523, Shrewsbury 598, Eryri 856, Buckley 1,307, Colwyn 1,375, Oswestry 1,398, Prestatyn 2,025. Division 2: Abergele 1,445, Menai 1,480, Vale Royal 1,644, Maldwyn 1,648, Deeside 2,185, Wrecsam Tri 2,497, Bridgnorth 3,017, Bro Dysynni 3,334, Aberystwyth 3,397. Veterans: Wrexham 50, Telford 67, Eryri 212, Buckley 238, Shrewsbury 257, Prestatyn 293, Abergele 297, Maldwyn 362, Denbigh 406, Oswestry 439, Colwyn Bay 476. Ladies, Division 1: Wrexham 64, Telford 84, Oswestry 175, Colwyn Bay 198, Eryri 282, Prestatyn 316, Buckley 346. Division 2: Denbigh 368, Abergele 486, Bro Dysynni 543, Maldwyn 631, Deeside 666, Wrecsam Tri 784. Veterans: Wrexham 78, Oswestry 106, Telford 175, Eryri 218, Buckley 283, Abergele 289. |
