
The Bournemouth AC girls were representing club and county and the South West Cross Country Championships
Several Bournemouth AC members headed over to RNAS Merryfield for the 2025 South West Cross Country Championships, determined to make their mark against some of the finest athletes in the region. They were mostly athletes from the Junior divisions, coached by Simon Hearn and Simon Saunders.
The two Simons put a lot of work in on the training ground preparing the youngsters for big events like the South West Cross Country Championships so they look forward to seeing those under their stewardship flourishing on the big stage.
Riley Austin and Isaac May are two promising and talented products from the BAC academy and there are a number of them in the Under 15 Girls division, with the O’Brien sisters Clodagh and Albha, Constance King and Jessica Long.
Perhaps one of Bournemouth AC’s brightest prospects, Ellie Taylor, was featuring in the Under 13 Girls race and, likely to be the star of the show from a BAC perspective was Isabel Cherrett in the Under 17 Women’s race.
Isabel finished third in the South West Cross Country Championships last year so she’d already shown he had what it takes to be a contender. In fact, RNAS Merryfield was a happy place for her last year as she went on to win the South West Schools’ Championship there a month later. She also won the Dorset Schools’ Championships on home turf at Kings Park and won a Hampshire League Cross Country race there as well when Bournemouth AC hosted it at the end of November.
She also had some sensational successes on the track, winning the South West School’s Championships 3000 metres and the Dorset Country Schools’ Championship 1500 metres. She’d also cut her parkrun PB down to 17:24 and was 2nd female in her first ever 10k road race at Round the Lakes.
The way she’d been progressing throughout the year, there was always a good chance she would better her position from last year at the South West Cross Country Championships and she did just that. Completing the 4.4km distance in a remarkable time of 17 minutes 55 seconds, Isabel was first to line, becoming Under 17 Girls South West Cross Country Champion.
It was a fantastic achievement for Isabel and very well deserved after all the hard work she puts in in training, with her dad Phil guiding her along the path to success. She was seven seconds ahead of Olivia Steel from Exeter Harriers, with another Dorset runner, Matilda Bengtsson of Poole AC taking third in 18:20. It was a double gold medal for Isabel as Dorset won the County Team competition as well which made it an even sweeter victory for Isabel.
Featuring in the Under 17 Men’s race, Isaac May came 31st in the South West Cross Country Championships last year. He’d progressed well over the course of the year though and ended 2024 with an excellent 16:27 parkrun.
In that sort of form it would be interesting to see what he could produce at RNAS Merryfield this year. The course for his race was 5.4km and Isaac completed it in 20:26 which put him in 18th place. That was a good result given that its all the best runners from Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire involved. Charlie Collins of Poole AC finished third and Dorset were third in the County Team competition so Isaac got a bronze medal for that.
Proving to be a very accomplished cross country runner, Riley Austin topped the standings in the Wessex Cross Country League, winning two of the races and finishing 4th in the other. He also did well in the Hampshire Cross Country League, winning one of the Kings Park ones and finishing 9th in the other and 4th at Prospect Park. His 5k best was a 17:28 which he recorded at the Run Bournemouth Supernova.
In the Under 15 Boys race at the South West Cross Country Championships, Riley raced to a 14th place finish, completing the 3.2km course in 12 minutes 10 seconds. It was a terrific performance from Riley and he helped Dorset on to a third place finish in the County Team competition.
Jacob Taylor was another Bournemouth AC member featuring in the Under 15 Boys race and he finished 29th in a time of 12:42. Jacob had a good campaign in the Wessex Cross Country League as well finishing 4th, 5th and 6th in his races and has a best parkrun time of 18:22. Theo Cobley of Poole AC finished fifth in that race recording a time of 11:46.
Out of the four Bournemouth AC representatives in the Under 15 Girls race, it was Clodagh O’Brien who finished highest up. She managed 17th place in 13:39 for the 3.2km course and was third Dorset runner.
Constance King wasn’t far behind though, getting to the line in 13:53 which put her in 22nd place. Albha O’Brien was the next Dorset girl in, clocking a time of 14:19 which put her in 30th place.
Jessica Long came in in 34th place recording a time of 14:42 and Bournemouth AC finished third in the Club Team competition behind Team Bath and Exeter Harriers. Dorset were third in the County Team competition meaning Clodagh and Constance got two bronze medals each as they were two of the four scorers for the Inter Counties. Jemima Chetford of Poole AC was one of the other ones and she finished 6th in 13:12.
Coming into it off the back of a brilliant 2024, Ellie Taylor definitely had the potential to go well in the Under 13 Girls race. She won all her Wessex Cross Country League races last season and also finished runner up in both the Dorset Country Schools Championships and Dorset County Championship 1500 metre events. She’d also nailed a new PB of 19:51 in the Run Bournemouth Supernova 5k.
Putting in a magnificent performance at the South West Cross Country Championships, Ellie completed the 2.79km course in 11 minutes 29 seconds which put her in 7th place. She was only 14 seconds behind the winner as well and was first Dorset runner.
The Dorset team ended up finishing second in the Inter County competition which meant Ellie was rewarded with a silver medal for her efforts. Abigail Moors of Poole AC finished 9th in 11:43.
In the Under 13 Boys race, Aiden Blagden finished 37th in a time of 12 minutes 10 seconds. The course for his race was 1.75 miles and Aiden came away with an average pace of 6:56 per mile. Running in that same race, Edward King completed the course in exactly 13 minutes which put him in 47th place.
Joseph Preston of Poole Runners was third in the Under 13 Boys race in a time of 10:08, with Charlie Harrison of Poole AC taking 4th in 10:17.
There was also Bournemouth AC representation in the Senior Women’s race from Kirsty Drewett and she finished 61st in a time of 41:02. Former BAC member Erin Wells was in the race as well and she did brilliantly to finish 8th overall and third out of the Under 20 Women in a time of 29:19. She would have taken home a bronze medal for that.
Rosie Hamilton-James of Westbury Harriers was the winner of the Senior Women’s race in a time of 27:11 on a course that was 7.13km. Her teammate Freya Bradley was second but she was an Under 20 Woman so effectively, they both won.
Jack Millar of Bristol & West was the winner of the Senior Men’s race in a time of 23:11, with his teammate Felix McGrath taking second in 23:38. Amazingly, Bristol & West had four men in the top seven. Owain Jones was first M40 and 4th overall in 24 minutes exactly. Dillon Millard of Taunton AC was first Under 20 Man in 24:10.
The Under 11 Boys and Girls raced together and Louis Robinett of Poole Runners won that race in a time of 7:03. Poole AC member Imogen Beisley was first girl in the race, getting over the line in 7:49 which put her a second ahead of her nearest rival. She was 6th overall in the combined standings.
Both Simon Hearn and Simon Saunders were really proud of the achievements of their athletes and the commitment that they showed. No fewer than 17 junior athletes from Bournemouth AC have been selected to represent Dorset at the Inter County Cross Country Championships in March which is a real testament to the coaching and the development at the club. It also means there are many bright prospects at the club who will in time, get their time to shine.