KFL 2021-22 Match 5 - Blean Woods

Blean 2022 team

Sevenoaks AC women increased their lead in the Kent Fitness cross-country league with a superb victory in the penultimate race of the series at Blean Woods, Canterbury on 6th March, beating nearest rivals Canterbury Harriers into second place on their home mud.

Andrea Berquez (W35) led the team home in second place overall and was first veteran. The other scorers were Suzy Claridge (W45), Pauline Dalton (W55) and Hannah Sangan. All three age-group scorers were either first or second in their categories. Other SAC veterans running well were Cath Linney (3rd W50), and Bridgit Weekes and Sally Shewell (2nd and 3rd W60s).

Once again the men's team was fifth with scorers James Graham (M60), Darius Sarshar and Andrew Mead (M50), Andrew Hutchinson and Mike Lochead (M40), and Ed Saunders, Richard Alford-Smith and Guillaume Nineven. The combined team were also fifth.

The SAC results were:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Bib Runner Age Time Club Score Rtg #
24 24 688 Edmund Saunders 39 32:52 Sevenoaks AC M1 91.70 16
27 27 665 Andrew Hutchinson 42 33:08 Sevenoaks AC V40:1 90.61 15
34 34 673 Michael Lochead 41 33:40 Sevenoaks AC V40:2 88.09 16
54 53 687 Darius Sarshar 52 34:50 Sevenoaks AC V50:1 81.23 10
55 54 637 Richard Alford-Smith 45 35:00 Sevenoaks AC M2 80.87 9
57 2 912 Andrea Berquez 36 35:06 Sevenoaks AC V35 99.38 2
61 59 681 Guillaume Nineven 36 35:16 Sevenoaks AC M3 79.06 10
62 60 675 Andrew Mead 53 35:17 Sevenoaks AC V50:2 78.70 42
78 74 694 Harvey Taylor 17 36:07 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 73.65 5
92 87 678 Shaun Mullen 45 37:06 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 68.95 7
100 93 666 Jason Hutt 39 37:56 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 66.79 2
101 8 642 Suzy Claridge 49 37:58 Sevenoaks AC V45 95.65 9
110 101 655 Jimmy George 40 38:23 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 63.90 14
131 17 916 Hannah Sangan 27 39:21 Sevenoaks AC F1 90.06 3
132 18 672 Catherine Linney 52 39:22 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 89.44 39
135 116 679 James Nash 30 39:27 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 58.48 9
146 124 650 Graham Dwyer 49 39:49 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 55.60 15
181 26 645 Pauline Dalton 57 41:16 Sevenoaks AC V55 84.47 53
195 165 659 James Graham 68 41:41 Sevenoaks AC V60 40.79 26
198 32 647 Julia Davis 24 41:46 Sevenoaks AC NS 80.75 5
220 43 699 Bridgit Weekes 63 43:00 Sevenoaks AC NS 73.91 15
241 51 691 Sarah Shewell 62 44:00 Sevenoaks AC NS 68.94 116
322 86 704 Samantha Znetyniak 46 48:55 Sevenoaks AC NS 47.20 7
387 125 639 Alzbeta Benn 40 54:09 Sevenoaks AC NS 22.98 7
389 127 638 Jenny Austin 44 54:21 Sevenoaks AC NS 21.74 16
434 159 671 Sylvia Lewis 69 1:05:12 Sevenoaks AC NS 1.86 22

After five matches the women's team lead, the combined team is fourth and the men are fifth going into the final match on 20th February. This will be on Sevenoaks' home course at Knole Park starting at 09:00.

Jim Knight's report, with assistance from Duncan and Pauline, is here. The full results are here.

SAC U15 girls are Kent County Champions

u15g team

Sevenoaks ACs U15 Girls Cross Country Team scored a famous victory winning the Kent Cross Country title on Saturday 8th January at Brands Hatch, writes Head Coach Darrell Smith.

Nineteen Juniors competed for the Club in cold, windy, wet and muddy conditions over a testing course.

A total of 8 runners toed the line for Sevenoaks AC U15 Girls team, up against the top Clubs in Kent including Blackheath and Bromley Harriers, Tonbridge AC and Medway & Maidstone AC.

Sevenoaks top scorers Eliza Nicholson, Ella Baker and Holly Diprose ran really smart races. Approaching the uphill finish, with 700m to go, all three moved up and into the winning Team position placing 4th, 6th and 8th respectively.

Following these performances all three hope to be selected to represent Kent at the National Inter-Counties Championships in March.

This win is the Club's first County Team title in its 50 year history!

James Beecroft wins South of England Indoor Sprint Title

SoE 2022 60m medals

On Saturday 15th January, Sevenoaks AC athlete, James Beecroft, added the U15 South of England Indoor 60m Sprint title to the 200m title he won during the summer, writes head coach Darrell Smith.

Competing at the at the Lee Valley Indoor arena, James cruised through the heat and semi-finals, saving his best for the final with a clear win in a time of 7.26. This is currently the 2nd fastest time in the UK so far this season. A really impressive performance.

At the same event three Sevenoaks athletes competed in the High Jump. In the U15 Girls event Emma Windsor and Ava Algar placed 8th and 9th and Harry Thorburn placed 2nd, adding a Silver medal to the bronze he won at the Kent Championships last Summer.

KFL 2021-22 Match 4 - Minnis Bay

Sevenoaks AC women retained their lead in the Kent Fitness League after the fourth match at Minnis Bay on 2nd January.

The cross-country course at Minnis Bay is unique, adds Jim Knight. Runners start at the end of Marine Parade and follow the coastal footpath towards Reculver Towers. After 3 miles, they turn inland, across the fields, over the railway embankment and then they have to jump over five deep mud-filled dykes before returning to the embankment for the final two miles to the finish. The dykes get progressively deeper and wider. The first is jumpable, but the 3rd is virtually impossible to cross without falling into waist-deep mud. A real cross-country course.

27 Sevenoaks AC athletes joined the 467 runners taking part in the race. By the finish their pristine white SAC vests were various shades of grey and brown.

The SAC women’s team ran well and were just beaten into second place by Canterbury Harriers. With two wins each, Sevenoaks and Canterbury have the same score in the series, but on count-back Sevenoaks retained their lead. The next two races, at Rough Common, Canterbury and Knole Park, Sevenoaks will be crucial in deciding the series winner. The SAC scorers on the day were Bridgit Weekes, Cath Linney, Suzy Claridge and Hannah Sangham with the rest of the team also running brilliantly over the soaking course.

Meanwhile, Jamie Philip was third overall, and first veteran, in his first appearance in the league. Along with fellow-scorers James Graham, Jonathan Marsh, Andy Evans, Mike Lochead, Ed Saunders, Richard Alford-Smith and Harvey Taylor, Jamie led the SAC men to seventh place on the day, but fifth after four races.



All this meant that Sevenoaks AC's combined team were fifth on the day and stay fifth in the standings. The SAC results were:

Ov Pos Lg Pos Bib Runner Age Time Club Score Rtg #
3 3 1062 Jamie Philip 44 36:53 Sevenoaks AC V40:1 99.33 Debut
15 15 688 Edmund Saunders 39 38:08 Sevenoaks AC M1 95.29 15
30 30 673 Michael Lochead 41 40:09 Sevenoaks AC V40:2 90.24 15
50 48 637 Richard Alford-Smith 45 41:39 Sevenoaks AC M2 84.18 8
61 58 694 Harvey Taylor 17 42:08 Sevenoaks AC M3 80.81 4
68 65 652 Chris Fenn 30 42:29 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 78.45 4
75 72 676 Andrew Milne 39 42:49 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 76.09 31
79 76 702 Daniel Witt 46 43:06 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 74.75 61
81 77 680 Sebastian Naughton 47 43:08 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 74.41 3
95 90 678 Shaun Mullen 45 44:19 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 70.03 6
116 9 672 Catherine Linney 52 45:40 Sevenoaks AC V45 95.29 38
124 114 703 Tim Young 49 46:00 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 61.95 4
128 118 679 James Nash 30 46:10 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 60.61 8
134 11 642 Suzy Claridge 49 46:18 Sevenoaks AC V35 94.12 8
137 12 916 Hannah Sangan 27 46:35 Sevenoaks AC F1 93.53 2
147 15 657 Vanessa Gilmartin 46 47:09 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 91.76 20
156 138 650 Graham Dwyer 49 47:44 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 53.87 14
160 20 647 Julia Davis 24 47:56 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 88.82 4
175 151 669 Leonard Lai King 42 48:42 Sevenoaks AC NSBLS 49.49 4
180 155 659 James Graham 68 48:57 Sevenoaks AC V60 48.15 25
192 163 1059 Jonathan Marsh 61 49:34 Sevenoaks AC V50:1 45.45 Debut
196 166 651 Andrew Evans 51 49:41 Sevenoaks AC V50:2 44.44 48
219 35 699 Bridgit Weekes 63 50:49 Sevenoaks AC V55 80.00 14
301 71 685 Ella Pyman 55 55:48 Sevenoaks AC NS 58.82 16
333 252 701 Jeremy Winter 68 57:37 Sevenoaks AC NS 15.49 5
337 84 704 Samantha Znetyniak 46 57:51 Sevenoaks AC NS 51.18 6
349 90 1000 Sarah Fisher 25 58:34 Sevenoaks AC NS 47.65 5


The full results are here.

The next (fifth) match is at Blean Woods, Rough Common on 6th February.

More Articles ...

  1. KFL 2021-22 Match 3 - Betteshanger Park
  2. KFL 2021-22 Match 2 - Oxleas Wood
  3. BMAF 10k Championships 2021
  4. KFL 2021-22 Match 1 - Swanley