History-making bronze medal for Cambridge & Coleridge AC men's team at ERRA National Road Relays
Mark Vile has described Cambridge & Coleridge AC senior men’s team’s bronze medal in the ERRA National Road Relays as a “massive day for the club”.
It was one of a number of accolades scooped by C&C at Sutton Park, with silver for the under-17 boys’ team, bronze for the under-13 boys and fastest legs in their respective competitions for OJ Parmenter and Marc Scott adding to their haul.
“Our senior men finished third which is amazing and makes us the third best club in the country, which is remarkable really,” said C&C coach Vile. “It was a great result for the club. We think it’s the first [national] medal for the club for the men.”
The senior men’s team was led off by team captain Jonathan Escalante-Phillips, whose split was the eighth quickest on the day and placed C&C second. James Dunce, Jack Gray and Joe Smith helped keep them in the top six.
Scott is the partner of fellow C&C athlete Holly Archer and although based in the US, has joined the club to race for them when he is in the UK and was last week competing at the World Athletics Championships in Doha.
He ran the fastest split in the men’s race, of 16min 46sec, taking the team to fourth and closer to the medals before handing over to Thomas Keen, who raced into the top three as C&C finished third in 1hr 45min 37sec.
The under-17s won the silver medal.
Parmenter was on the first leg for C&C and ran the fastest time of the day in the age group, 11.47, to earn an individual medal.
He passed on to Tom Bridger (12.30) who maintained first place and then, in an exciting sprint finish for silver and bronze, Will Newcombe (12.18) earned C&C second place in 36.35.
Liam Conway led off the under-13 boys and put them in second place in his first National Road Relays, Matthew Smith kept them in third on the second leg and passed on to Cosmo Benyan to bring them home for the bronze medal in 41.38, with the team having not been out of the top three all race.
“It’s a great performance and something Mark and I have been looking towards for the last seven years, bringing the juniors through to compete as seniors,” said Ric Park, C&C coach and team manager.
“It’s the story of how things have evolved over the years, from winning junior medals to winning at seniors.
“The lineage is as strong as ever as they have won medals all the way through.”
C&C’s senior women’s team of Archer, Lucy Dowsett, Zoe MacDonald and Suzie Reid also earned a top-10 finish, taking eighth in 1:01.32.
