Cann-do attitude gives Jacob a Sussex cross-country title

Conditions were tough for Cann and Co / Picture: Karen Cox

Horsham Blue Star were well-represented at the Sussex cross country championships at Bexhill - and Jacob Cann came away a champion.

The event was held in very inclement weather, with rain sweeping across the course all day and quickly making the conditions difficult for not only the athletes but also for officials, marshals and spectators.

Cann lined up in the Senior Men’s race, run over 10k, during what is proving a good winter season for him.

The race started with Cann at the front of a group of six athletes who continued to extend their lead over the rest of the field on the first two of the five laps.

The third lap saw Cann and Tomer Tarragano from Brighton begin to pull away from the chasing runners and they stayed locked together over the next lap and a half.

Then Cann pulled away to win in an impressive 33min 40sec to become the first Blue Star winner of the Senior Men’s race since 2005.

This win was just reward for all the hard work he has put in over the years and especially since going to university.

Bradley Burke also had a good run to finish in an excellent 8th position running 36.34 and Luke Triccas, although he found the conditions tough, finished in a good 24th place (39.29).

The team was completed by David Maclean 92nd (49.25), Chris Lee 100th (52.38) and Stewart Mackman 107th (55.22).

The Under-17 men’s race, run over 5k, saw Charlie Ferris continue his improvement this winter by finishing in 7th place running 19.25, with Ed Cox in the same age group finishing 23rd (22.20).

In the Under 20 women’s race, which being the last race of the afternoon saw underfoot conditions at their worst, saw Issy Hayes finish 4th, running 39.53 for the 8k race. Ash Williams finished 9th in the Under-20 men’s race, also over 8km, running 32.24.

The Under-15 boys’ team of Tom Wood 38th (17.11), Tom Hays 46th (18.08) and Henry Davison 51st (18.39) finished 15th, while in the Under-13 girls’ race of 3km, Izzy Wheeler had a good run to finish 13th (14.46), with Isabella Jestico in 30th in 16.50. In the Under-11 boys, Jacob Potts finished 19th running 9.37 for the 1.6km race.

In the Surrey Cross Country Championships, at Denbies, Annabel Morton was an excellent 5th in the Senior Women’s event (33.19) while Alex Smith in the Under-15 boys finished 35th (17.35).

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