We are pleased to announce a strong team of 16 athletes who will be competing in the Loto Cross Cup in Diest, Belgium.
The Cross Cup competition, usually held in January or February, was founded in 1941 as a men’s only competition before a women’s competition was introduced in 1977. England have been represented in the Cup for the past two seasons, as it has historically drawn top athletes from Europe and Africa. The team has had a variety of successes, including wins in all age groups at various Cross Cup venues.
The following players will take on the winding, multi-lap course.
senior men
Jack Miller (Bristol & West/The Thames Hare and the Hound, David Bedwell) – A solid cross-country runner, Jack performed very well on the 10km course at the London International, finishing 7th.th I finished a fantastic 3rd place at the Midland Cross Country the following weekend.
Sam Mills (Exeter) – Fresh from the junior ranks, Sam has had a very successful career to date on both the athletics and national arenas. He has finished 4th and 5th at the European Cross Country Championships for the past two years.
Jack Gray (Cambridge & Coleridge, Mark Weill) – Back to Diest, Jack finished 7th last year. A prolific racer across the country and roads, Jack had a great winter last year, finishing second in the British National Cross Country, and recently ran a new 10km personal best in Valencia (28 minutes 36 seconds). did.
Alfie Manthorpe (Sheffield & Dearne, John Wood) – Alfie finished 44th at the European Cross Country Championships in December, winning GB Best. Alfie has had a great winter so far and recently came 10th in the London International Cross Country.
senior woman
Megan Gadsby (Norwich City/St Mary’s University, Mick Woods) – Megan finished eighth in the Under-23s at the Liverpool European Trials in November and recently finished fourth in Southern Cross Country. This followed a second place in the 2023 National U20 Cross Country.
Jessica Gibbon (read AC) – Jessica recently won the Southern Cross Country after finishing 12th at the London International.
Philippa Stone (Middlesbrough/Durham University, Martin Peever) – Philippa returned to Diest 12 months after finishing 4th in February last year. She recently placed 4th at the Northern Cross Country Championships.
Sophie Tarver (Wirral, Bill Foster) -Sophie finished 6th at the National Cross Country Champion and Inter-County Cross Country Champion last season and recently placed 3rd at the Northern Cross Country. Sophie competed in Diest two years ago and finished 8th.
U20 boys
Quinn Mielle Ingram (Radley, Wendy Mielle Ingram) – Quinn has made great strides this year, building on her eight-year performance.th Winning the British National Cross Country Championships. He recently made his England debut at El Goibar in Spain, finishing fourth.
William Lovejohns (Pool AC, Mark Polley) – William, who finished fifth in the 1500m at last year’s Commonwealth Youth Games, has a super performance in 2023. So far this year he has finished third at the South of England Cross Country Championships.
Jake Stevens (Invicta East Kent, Donald Carter) – Jake made his debut for England at the Home International, where he finished fifth and helped the team take first place.
Mark Ruby (Pool AC, Mark Polley) – Love Johns’ clubmate Mark finished last year’s cross country season with a strong 17th place finish in the English Schools. He has made great progress this winter, finishing 11th at the Cardiff Cross Challenge and fourth at the recent Home Counties International.
U20 girls
India Burwell (Lincoln Wellington, Rob Lewis) – Indian athlete makes England cross country debut. She has had a great cross country season, finishing 8th overall in Liverpool (6th in the U20s) and recently 4th in the London Cross Challenge.
Amelie Lane (Wharfedale Harriers, Sally Maria) – Amelie, who also made her England debut, finished seventh in the London Cross Challenge this month and was most recently crowned Northern U20 Cross Country Champion.
Beth Rogers (Ilkley, Sally Maria) – Beth is another U20 player to make her England cross-country debut after finishing 13th overall (9th U20) with Liverpool. A week later she was runner-up in the English Schools Cross Country Cup Final. Beth also represented England as an U17 in the British and Irish Mountain Running Championships in September 2022.
Lizzie Wellstead (Colchester Harriers) – Lizzie has made great strides as an U20 athlete this year and is doing great in cross country this season. Lizzy represented GB at the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels, where she achieved a creditable 13th place as she was third scorer on the U20 women’s gold medal winning team.
support staff
- Senior Male – Eamonn Martin
- Senior Woman – Sue Lam
- Junior Boys – Keith Holt
- Junior Women – Joe Newcombe