RUNNERS from Basingstoke & Mid Hants Athletic Club got 2015 off to an excellent start at the Hampshire Cross Country Championships, claiming three individual titles and one team gold.

Ben Pattison, Lucy Wildash and Freya Davis all won their races at Fleming Park, in Eastleigh, while the under-11 boys claimed team victory. A further three individuals and three other teams picked up medals.

Pattison led throughout the 3.5km under-13 boys’ race, finishing three seconds clear of the field in 12min 44sec. Wildash won a titanic under-17 women’s race, wearing her rivals down over the 5km course before breaking away in the final 200m to finish first in 19:21.

Davis carried her excellent form in training into the race, completing the 7.1km course in 28:20 to win gold. Clubmate Charlotte Chalwin stopped the clock at 29:58 to win the bronze medal.

The other individual medallists were Richard Sutton and Maddie Deadman, both of who also claimed team medals.

Sutton was a member of the victorious under-11 boys’ team, leading them to victory by finishing second over the 2km course. William Parkinson (10th), Alexander Campbell (11th) and Guy Stevens (15th) were the other team members.

Despite suffering from a cold, Deadman finished second in the under-15 girls’ race, though her illness meant she was unable to challenge her great rival, Portsmouth’s Josie Czura, for the win. Her performance did help Basingstoke to team bronze though, with Rebecca Bullock (10th), Jess Sutton (18th) and Rebecca Poole (21st) making up the team.

The other Basingstoke teams featuring on the podium were the under-17 boys and under-13 girls. The under-17 boys’ team of James Beeks (12th), Dylan Bardell (13th), Bradley Sutton (22nd) and Oliver Thomas (29th) won the silver medal, while the under-13 girls’ team of Isobel Mannion (18th), Bryony Henshall (21st), Megan French (22nd) and Lucy Hempstead (23rd) were bronze medal winners.

In the senior races, Brendan O’Connor and Krissy Lloyd were the top Basingstoke runners, finishing 10th and 15th in the men’s and women’s races respectively.