Hastings Athletic Club’s Grace Baker maintained her 100% record for this winters road and cross country season by winning the under 15 girls race at this years Phoenix AC road race at Preston Park. The 13 year old  runner did not have it all her own way, winning by just one second from her Lewes AC rival in a sprint finish clocking 7.00 minutes dead in the 2 km race making it three wins out of three this winter. There was some doubt before the race, with Grace having had two days in bed with a virus, in spite of this it was an impressive victory. In the same event Lauren Ellis finished in 7th place in 8.03. Ross Skelton and Kris Everett had a great battle in the under 17 mens race. Skelton had gone off strong striding step by step with Phoenix Charlie Grice, unfortunately the highly rated Brighton based athlete pulled way and Skelton was in danger in the final 100m of being caught by training partner Everett. The Hastings pair had to settle for second and third place respectively. In the under 17 womens event April Johns was the sole Hastings AC athlete competing the 2km course in a quick 7.26 in fourth place. In the senior mens race Jamie Larkin had a strong race finshing in 13th place in 25.13 followed by Sam Grain (22nd 26.15), Andy Lamb (23rd 27.38) and Bill Darby (51st 29.43) putting the senior mens team in fourth place overall.

Some of the younger athletes also got in on the act with Leanne Botting running in the under 11 girls, Liam Coleman coming 4th in the under 9 boys, Issac Harding 4th in the under 11 boys, Liam Coleman running again in the under 11 and coming in 10th and Sophie Markwick 11th in the under 13 girls with Natasha Bird 25th and finally Oliver Harding coming in 9th in the under 13 boys.

The clubs county athletes (Ross Skelton, Kris Everett, Stacey Clusker, Grace Baker, Katie Garland, Louise Nash, Ryan Hodd & Luke Cooper) will be on duty fo Sussex this weekend at Parliament Hill in London for the South of England Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships.