A cold but dry day at Brands Hatch set the stage for an excellent outing for the club at the 2026 Kent County Cross Country Championships. 63 young athletes
competed, delivering an outstanding return of 3 individual golds, 2 silvers, 2 bronzes, alongside 2 team golds, 4 team silvers and 1 team bronze.

The U13 girls opened the day over a tough 3k loop. Jazzy Stephens claimed individual bronze, supported by year-young Elsa Matthews (4th) and Lucy Junginger (8th) to secure team silver, just two points from gold.

The U13 boys lived up to expectations, with Emery Aldridge winning gold and Zach Evans taking silver. Strong support from Luc Jones (8th) and Akul Gurunathan (10th) sealed an emphatic team gold.

In the U15 girls, Alba Homans Yau (8th), Evie De Bruyn (9th) and Ella Rae (14th) combined for team bronze, while the U15 boys earned team silver, led by Johnny Lee’s individual bronze.

The U17 girls finished in a close 4th place, with Aoife McDonagh (8th) and Niamh Stanley (12th) leading a tightly packed squad.

The U17 boys delivered a historic result, ending Tonbridge AC’s 19-year dominance of the team trophy. Joe Scanes (gold) and Joseph Hill (silver) were backed up by Ben O’Grady (4th) and Daniel Horgan (7th) to claim team gold.

The U20 women secured team silver, led by Carys Firth (5th) and Libby Whyte (7th), while the U20 men matched that result, highlighted by Jed Starvis’ individual gold.

At the senior level, the women dominated, with Andrea Clement (gold), Hannah Clark (silver) and Millie Smith (5th) winning the three-to-score trophy. And with Gracie Horton (14th), Trang Nguyen (26th), Katy Sugden (37th) all finishing in the top half the team achieved silver in the 6 to score competition.

Among the senior men Charlie Davis impressively secured individual bronze, fresh from a 2:15 marathon and back running for BBHAC as a 2nd claim. Sam Parsons backed this up with a solid 9th-place finish. Completing the 6 to score team (overall 4th place) were Kevin Fini (15th), Graeme Lugar (24th), Leo de Bruyn (26th) and Paolo Lancini (50th). The club also finished 4th in the 12 to score, with Philip Bunn (63rd), Greg Firth (68th), Ian Scott (85th), Roger Beswick (99th), Paul Sharpe (100th) plus Jason Meers racing hard to claim 12th scorer (115th) from Barry Horgan (116th). President Steve Pairman completed the club’s finishers in 127th.

A superb day across all age groups – commitment, depth and quality on display throughout.