South Wales on top!
Well done to all our runners at a brilliantly successful Championships, which saw South Wales placed first overall of the four regions:
- South Wales – 229
- North Wales – 222
- East Wales – 218
- West Wales – 188
A full list of medalists is at the bottom of this post.
A sunny morning turned into a chilly and rainy afternoon, with the course generally softening throughout the day leading to several very muddy sections by the senior races.
Juniors
Particularly pleasing were our junior age groups, with both male and female categories scoring the top of the regions. Overall, we had 94 athletes between U13 and U20, with Cardiff Athletics, Bridgend AC and Aberdare Valley AAC all contributing more than 20 runners to the effort.
Alesha Santos of Rhondda AC continued her form from the Gwent League to set the standard for the day with a win and individual gold, matched with a team gold for the U13 Girls. Not to be outdone, Zac Munn of Cardiff Athletics reproduced his winning form from the Liverpool Cross Challenge for another individual gold for the U13 Boys. His clubmate Farley Pritchard took silver and Rowan Carson of Bridgend AC closed out the podium with bronze, earning the team gold medals.
For the U15 Boys, Bridgend AC clubmates Nate Greig and Lewis Durston took the top two individual spots with a gold and silver, and another commanding team gold. Bridgend AC continued their U15 dominance with Esme Lewis and Bella Thie taking silver and bronze for the Girls, with their regional teammates coming through close behind to make it four team golds in the first four races.
The U17 Women saw Bryony Boyce of Cardiff Athletics lead the team home with an individual silver setting up the region for another clear team gold. The U20 Women saw an individual silver for Caitlin Jones of Pontypridd Roadents AC. Taylor Greig of Bridgend AC led the U17 Men home to a team bronze, competing against a strong team from North Wales. Cardiff Athletics’ Sam Boyce and Iwan Froley led the U20 Men to another team gold, themselves winning individual silver and bronze, with Rhys and Leroy finishing closely behind so that South Wales occupied half of the top eight places.
With such consistent and strong performances, we have a bright future to look forward to in South Wales running. Thank you to all the coaches, club volunteers, and parents that have supported the development of our dedicated young athletes.
Seniors
Across the two senior races, we had 106 athletes competing, with runners from 16 clubs highlighting the healthy competition we have within the region. Les Croupiers RC, Aberdare Valley AAC, and Penarth & Dinas Runners were represented by more than ten members, with CDF Runners, Pontypridd Roadents AC and Bridgend AC following closely with ten each.
In the Senior Women’s race, we had an individual bronze for Nynke Kuiper of Les Croupiers RC, supporting a team silver behind a strong East Wales team. Moving up, Louise Flynn of Les Croupiers RC narrowly missed the Women’s V35 podium in fourth, but helped deliver team bronze. In the Women’s V45 race, Georgie Dando of Bridgend AC was our first finisher in a silver medal winning team.
Fiona Drysdale of Ogmore Phoenix Runners led a full team home at Women’s V55 in a competitive age category. In the Women’s V65+ category Andrea Webber of Les Croupiers RC came home in a creditable fifth, with clubmate Dave Coles leading a full team of V65+ Men home in sixth, with several runners stepping in at the last minute to cover injury and illness.
In the final race of the day, Morgan James of Swansea Harriers came home to South Wales to lead the men to a team gold making good on the determination from last year to go one better to top the team podium. Phil Hambleton and Daniel Pettit of Les Croupiers RC led the field with individual gold and silver at V35, and a team silver. At Men’s V45, James Thie of Pontypridd Roadents AC took an individual silver, and led the team to gold. In the Men’s V55, Pontypridd Roadents AC’s Adrian Jeremiah led the team home in fifth, with the team taking home bronze medals.
A huge thank you to all the senior athletes representing the region, along with all the coaches, run leaders, club volunteers and partners supporting them. And, of course, a big thank you to the South Wales officials that helped to make the championships happen.
Finally, thank you to team managers Victoria Garvey (Barry & Vale Harriers), Phil Iveson (Bridgend AC), Steph Iveson (Bridgend AC), Richard Edge (CDF Runners), Bryn Griffiths (Rhondda AC), Matt Jacklin (Aberdare Valley AAC) and Clive Denton (Rhondda Valley Runners). We’re all looking forward to the next South Wales Cross Country Fixture – the CAU Inter Counties Championships on 7th March 2026 – and we’re excited to see how our athletes build on this performance.
If you can help team manage or volunteer on the day, please contact endurance.swrac@gmail.com, our athletes appreciate all the hard work that goes in to supporting the team.
South Wales Medalists
1st – U13 girls
Alesha Santos (1st), Betty Lancaster, Gwen Rowe, Isabelle Kelland, Ember Davies, Willow Tonge, Dakota Davies, Georgia Rogers
1st – U13 boys
Zachary Munn (1st), Farley Pritchard (2nd), Rowan Carson (3rd), Noah Howells, George Bailey, Jacob Miles, Osian Vale, Riley Nealan
1st – U15 girls
Esme Lewis (2nd), Bella Thie (3rd), Isabelle Lawley, Lyla Pritchard, Seren Mai Richards, Eva Martin, Elinor Roberts, Isla Carson
1st – U15 boys
Nate Greig (1st), Lewis Durston (2nd), Ioan Vale, Jacob Rixon, Archie Griffiths, Jack Harries, Rowan Green, Osian Phillips
1st U17 women
Bryony Boyce (2nd), Julia Teka, Imogen Davies, Ffion Mulford, Lily Jacklin, Grace Brady, Allie Adams, Megan Swanson
3rd – U17 men
Taylor Greig, Harri Tudor-Asveld, Freddie Hudson, Evan Davies, William Mackie, Evan Rowe, Garth Pritchard, Dexter Clement
U20 women
Caitlin Jones (2nd)
1st – U20 men
Samuel Boyce (2nd), Iwan Froley (3rd), Rhys Pladd, Leroy Griffiths
2nd – Senior women
Nynke Kuiper (3rd), Emily Fell, Laura Stark, Steph Hambleton, Bethan Moor, Hollie Ryder, Lauren Fines-Allin, Caitlin Williams
1st – Senior men
Morgan James, Oliver Price, Badr Alainzay, Tristan Rees, Jack Eggington, Tom Flitcroft, James Griffiths, Mark Price
3rd – V35 women
Louise Flynn, Ffion Morgan, Julie Chamberlain, Aimee Ferguson, Emma Seward
2nd – V35 men
Phil Hambleton (1st), Daniel Pettit (2nd), Neale Denton, Owen Thomas, Chris Oxley
2nd – V45 women
Georgie Dando, Corinna Jones, Catherine Morgan-Stephens, Joanna Ryan, Catherine Barker
1st – V45 men
James Thie (2nd), Martyn Rowling, Vaughan Edwards, Andy How, Luke Starkie
3rd – V55 men
Adrian Jeremiah, Colin Williams, Andy Pearce, Bryan Meredith, Paul Deaton
Full results can be found on Opentrack.
Photos from Paul Stillman.
