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2016 BUCS National Championships

The University of Bristol hosted this weekend's British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Orienteering Championships with over 200 athletes representing 28 Universities in the individual and relay competitions and joining together for a dinner and social evening last night.

The event kicked off with the individual competition that was held in the Forest of Dean yesterday afternoon. Despite drizzly and breezy conditions, a buzz of anticipation rushed about the assembly area with many of the experienced athletes eager to test themselves on the course and those less experienced feeling slightly nervous but enthusiastic about the challenge ahead.

The wet and muddy underfoot conditions added to the physical test that included 415m of climb over 10.5km in the men’s A race, 260m of climb over 7.3km in the women’s A/men’s B and 115m over 4.4km in the open race.

Sasha Chepelin of the University of Edinburgh came out victorious in the men’s A race with an impressive finishing time of 58:52. Kris Jones, University of Ulster finished a close 2nd just 0.13 seconds behind with last year’s champion, Jonny Crickmore, Herriot Watt University, 3rd in 60:33.

A delighted Sasha said:

 “I had good preparation of geeking with EUOC [Edinburgh University Orienteering Club] and a taper that went really well. My plan was to go hard from the start line and hopefully form some kind of train to push me right until the end. However, I spent the first two thirds of the course alone and was beginning to flag towards the spectator [control] but then the train formed with Jonny storming at the front; eager to get away from me before the finish. This pushed me into the end very nicely with a very tight finish against Kris’s time. It’s fair to say this result was not expected, and that it would not have happened without the support from EUOC or if the race preparation hadn’t gone so perfectly as planned. I’m very excited about the upcoming season now.”

The women’s A race was just as tight as defending champion, Charlotte Watson also of the University of Edinburgh, got the edge over team mate, Zoe Harding. Charlotte’s time of 54:05 was just 0:15 ahead of Zoe’s. Rebecca Harding of Lancaster University finished 3rd in 57:06. The fastest women’s time of the day on this course was guest runner Jo Shepherd who crossed the finish line in a stunning 51:30. Lucy Butt also made a guest appearance and impressed the crowds with 55:08.

Today the competition moved to Copper’s Hill near to Gloucester for the relay events. The courses consisted of two loops joined with a run through the arena that kept the crowds entertained throughout. The University of Sheffield were defending champions in the men’s race and the University of Edinburgh were title holders in the women’s.

The men’s race went off first and the first leg finished with Kris Jones handing over to Dave Schorah (guest team) in first. Next in was Daniel Stansfield of University of Edinburgh with Matthew Elkington of University of Sheffield on his shoulder. Will Rigg of Herriot Watt came back in 4th but the second leg saw Jonny Crickmore of Herriot Watt move into the lead. Meanwhile, Oliver Williams of Sheffield overhauled Edinburgh’s Andrew Barr and Dave Schorah and so it was all to play for on the last leg. William Gardner went out for Sheffield and 80 seconds later, individual men’s winner, Sasha Chepelin, set off on the chase. The run-through had the crowd buzzing as Sasha and Will came through neck and neck and waited anxiously to see them appear over the brow of the final hill. It was the Edinburgh supporters that were cheering first as Sasha came in, with his team mates joining him to cross the line in first. Will never gave up as he also sprinted for the line but Sheffield had to settle for silver on this occasion. Sheffield’s B team that consisted of Nathan Lawson, Joe Woodley and Adam Potter came home for 3rd place.

After the race, a pragmatic Will Gardner commented:

“I’ve had an inconsistent autumn and winter due to injury and so I have to be pleased with how I have performed this weekend but I couldn’t hold Sasha off. He’s flying. I didn’t give up but it wasn’t good enough today.”

Sasha Chepelin said:

 

“We knew things would be tough, especially with such a distinct age gap compared to our rivals. However, three very solid runs meant that we could pip Sheffield to the finish line and surpass all expectations to take home the trophy. It was a great team effort and the boys played their roles perfectly to put me out in such a great chasing position. Although my legs were tired, they still somehow worked well enough to take home another very satisfying win.”

The women’s race was also an inspiring competition to watch. Katie Reynolds, of Edinburgh ‘A’ came through the run through with a big lead and as their second leg runner, Zoe Harding, waited for the change-over, Helen Ockenden, of Cambridge, made an appearance followed by Fay Walsh of Edinburgh ‘C’. Katie had made a big mistake in the final loop that cost her the lead and she came back in 3rd along with Natalie Beadle of Oxford (4th) and Beth Hanson of Edinburgh ‘B’ (5th). Sarah Jones was on the second leg for the Edinburgh ‘B’ team and then worked her way to the front for the final change over. Zoe Harding handed over to individual champion, Charlotte Watson, who brought the Edinburgh ‘A’ team safely home for the win with Jenny Ricketts bringing the ‘B’ team in for second. Sheffield claimed third with their team of Katrina Hemingway, Tamsin Moran and Alice Rigby.

After a very successful weekend for the University of Edinburgh, coach, Mark Nixon said:

“I’m absolutely delighted for the team. It’s been a fantastic weekend with strong performances across the board. Our girls dealt with the pressure of being favourites excellently and dominated the results as expected. Our young guys excelled to get the golds ahead of a very strong Sheffield team. I wouldn’t have predicted us taking home all four golds. It’s an awesome set of results. The team atmosphere was great to be a part of, with each and every one of our runners giving it their best. I’m so happy for our medal winners and exceedingly thankful to Bristol University, BOK and NGOC for putting on another fantastic BUCS Championships.”

 

 

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