Adam Bowden produced another strong display to lead Harrow to victory in the 50th Anniversary Chiltern League fixture on a frozen course at Wing in Buckinghamshire on Saturday, writes Tony Bush.
The 26 year old triathlete won his sixth successive race, including four in the Chiltern League, despite suffering with a heavy cold. Varsity champion Richard Franzese achieved his best ever League result to finish second while Army sergeant David Branfoot moved to second in the overall League rankings with an excellent fourth place. Damian Nevins also ran well to take 10th spot.
Julian Critchlow (13th) matched Bowden's performance by winning the Over 40 category and led Harrow to team victory in the veteran's section. Jim Cooper (18th) and Alan Wray (20th) both ran well while Chris Finill finished a superb 27th three days after his 50th birthday.
Matt Carey finished strongly for 32nd while Harrow welcomed back skipper Mo Rahim (33rd) from injury.
Harrow won the team event by more than 100 points and now have an unassailable lead in the overall standings with one match, at Luton next month, to come.
In the U13s Boys race Lewis Hawkins finished seventh while Sky Draper came sixth in the corresponding Girls event.
Meanwhile, Harrow's runners head for the county championships this weekend. Damian Nevins heads a strong team in the Middlesex event at Trent Park, Cock-fosters, on Saturday, while Bowden and Franzese head Harrow's challenge at the Hertfordshire event at Watford's Cassiobury Park on Sunday. * Marilyn Nwawulor is Harrow Athletic Club's star in the 2008 United Kingdom age-group rankings, which were published recently.
The multi-talented 16 year old appears in five events in the U7 rankings and also features in the U20 high jump list after producing a leap of 1.75m.
Steeplechaser Lara Nyman secured fourth while Harrow made the top ten in both relays.
Sky Draper was named third best in the U13 1,500m; Hayley Comer is ranked 10th in the U20 400m hurdles; Ian Smart takes 15th spot in the U20 pole vault with a personal best of 4.40m while Kadeem Greenidge-Smith ranks 11th in the long jump despite an injury-hit season. His training partner, Stefan Greenidge, is ranked 10th in the U17 long jump while James Okeyemi (13th) and Jerome Musa-Lawal (14th) also secured top 20 positions.
Saorise Chinery-Edoo is fifth in the
U15 discus while Reiss Palmer and Rhys Clarke both make the top 20, at high jump and long jump respectively.
Harrow's sprinting prowess is confirmed by nine entries in the UK relay rankings, headed by fourth spots in the U20 men and U20 women's sprint relays. * Dream Mile winner Andy Baddeley heads a strong list of Harrow Athletic Club performers in the 2008 United Kingdom track and field rankings.
The Olympic finalist ranks number one in both the 1,500m and one mile events, with his new club record times of 3.34.36 and 3.49.38 respectively. He also broke the record in the 3,000m, with 7.45.10, to rank second in that event behind European cross-country silver medallist Mo Farah.
Adam Bowden ranks in the top 20 in six events. The British steeplechase champion is fourth in his speciality and
also takes top ten spots in the 3,000 and 5,000m events and the five miles road. He is placed 18th at 1,500m and 13th in the one mile.
Ben Carne's season was blighted by injury and family illness but he still clocked a fast time to rank eighth in the 400m Hurdles.
Andrew Howell was also ravaged by injury but he ranks in the top ten for the first time, clocking 51.58 for ninth spot.
Commonwealth champion Dean Macey bowed out of competition after another season wrecked by injury. He ranks fourth with his only decathlon of the summer and is also listed at 110m hurdles, high jump, pole vault, long jump, shot and discus.
The women's rankings were dominated by Mara Yamauchi and Laura Turner. Yamauchi produced a superb dis-play to take sixth place in the Olympic marathon but is ranked only second
behind Paula Radcliffe's fast winning time in New York.
Alice Braham's late season personal best gives her seventh place in the marathon while Yamauchi also has top ten spots at 10,000m and half-marathon.
Turner, meanwhile, saw her 2007 form dip but she still ranks 4th at 100m and 18th at 200m.
Newcomer Beverlee Ladrezeau ranks seventh at discus and 11th in the shot while Eloise Newman and Angela Barrett both place 15th, in the high jump and triple jump respectively.
