Sawyer wins race in second cross country league
He clocked 14:22 to win the U13 boys' 4km race.
Benoni Northerns Athletic Club (BNAC) junior athlete Rhys Sawyer notched his first win of the season when he led the Benoni charge at the second CGA cross-country league meeting at the Kagiso Sports Complex in Krugersdorp on May 17.
Sawyer took full advantage of the fast and flat course as the race to the ASA cross country championships in September took shape.
The runner shook off the rust from the opening league, clocking a season’s best 14:22 to win the U13 boys’ 4km race. The Farrarmere Primary learner bettered his 15:34 from the first league meeting at the Kwa Thema Stadium on May 3, when he finished 10th, by 01:12 in one of his best performances in the discipline.
Sinethemba Bila of Warriors of the West (WOW) was 12 seconds off the pace as he crossed the line in 14:34 for second place. Tlotlisang Sello, also of WOW, crossed the line seven seconds behind Bila to complete the top three.
Sawyer’s Northerns teammate, Joshua Broughton, clocked 14:46 to finish fifth in the race, while Kaden Price was ninth in the U10 boys’ 2km race in 08:05.
Roger Hickley was 10th in the veteran men (45-49) 8km race. He completed four laps of the course in 34:16.
Girls
Chelsea van Dyk showed her class when she dominated the senior, youth and junior women’s 2km race. She completed the one-lap race in a blistering 06:49, beating training partner Chemenè Mentz from Helpmekaar Kollege by 15 seconds.
Jordan-Lee Longstaff chalked 57 seconds off her 09:50 from the opening league after clocking an improved 08:53 to finish eighth in the youth women’s race.
The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) U18 and U20 champs-bound Jade Doran was first in the U16 4km. She crossed the line in 14:47, bettering her 16:30 from the first league by 01:43. Emma Hickley of the Benoni Harriers was seventh in the U15 4km event in 16:18.
Dominique Broughton bettered her 09:00 from the opening league by 34 seconds to finish the U9 2km third in 08:26. Ava Kay Brits was fourth in the U8 1km in 06:05.
Kayla Botha finished the U12 3km race in 12:16, chalking 22 seconds off her 12:38 from the previous league when she crossed the line in sixth place. Teeghan Sawyer was ninth in the U13 3km race in 13:40.
The Benoni High Athletic Club’s (BHAC) veteran Tracy Bosman was eighth in the veteran women (45 to 49) race. She completed the two-lap race in 20:58.
The third league is at the Dobsonville Sports Complex on May 31.
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