HALF of the British senior women’s team for this Sunday’s European Cross Country Championships consists of runners from Aldershot, Farnham & District AC.

Emelia Gorecka, who won last month’s trial at Liverpool, will lead a sextet that also includes Lily Partridge and Steph Twell.

Amy Griffiths and Phily Bowden comprise a third of the under-23 team, while Jack Rowe (U23 men) and Niamh Brown (U20 women) will also be competing in Samorin, Slovakia.

Another AFD athlete, Luke Prior, just missed selection after finishing tenth in the U20 men’s race. He gained some consolation by winning the senior event at last Saturday’s Hampshire Cross Country League meeting at Popham Airfield, near Basingstoke.

It was a men’s one-two-three for AFD in this third match of the series, with Prior (30mins 09secs) being followed home by Gus Cockle (30-17) and Alex Pointon (30-21), giving their club an easy team victory.

Another winner for AFD was Luke van Oudtshoorn in the U17 men’s race. He recorded 15mins 14secs and with Marcus Shantry (15-43) finishing third and then Elliot Pocock, Jack Johnson and Charlie Kershaw bunched together in seventh, eighth and ninth, AFD were again team winners.

Dylan Spencer (12-21) finished first in the U15 boys’ race and again there was solid packing by AFD as Ryan Martin, Harry Hyde and Michael Gar came third, fourth and fifth, giving their side the team honours.

Ethan Scott won the U13 boys’ event, with Rudi Morrell in second place. AFD were team victors, as were the U15 and U13 girls.

Ruby Horton, Alice Garner and Charlie Parsons came fourth, fifth and seventh in the U15 race, while Kiki Webb (fourth), Charlotte Borgars (seventh) and Jessica Hayward (12th) finished well up in the U13s.