Winchester & District's women finished in twelfth team position at the South of England Cross Championships at London's Parliament Hill.

It was no mean achievement for the cathedral city club who were without their top marathon runner, Michaela McCallum.

In her absence Rachel Townend led the way in 25th place, followed by Natalie Coveney in 46th, Mandy Wilding 132nd and Fran Gay 176th, out of a 297-strong field.

The runners were led home by Bournemouth's Winchester born starlet Louise Damen, who won by nearly two minutes from Middlesex champion Julia Bleasdale - one of the biggest winning margins in the championships' history.

There was local success too in the under-20 women's race where the Isle of Wight's Bryony Frost added to her Hampshire senior title by taking the Southern junior crown. Her twin sister, Kathryn, was third.

Southampton City's Rebecca Gough finished just outside the under-15 girls' medals in fourth place, while two of Winchester's younger under-13 girls, Nicola Ferris and Hannah Vosser, did really well to finish the three-kilometre course in 79th and 96th respectively.

Winchester's Kathryn Bonham finished 58th out of 108 under-17 girls and under-13 boy Sam Bolton overtook many on the muddy downhill finish to place 175th under-13 boy in his very first South of England competition.

Three Winchester boys competed in the under-15 race - Jack Bolton 116th, Dan Hunt 134th and Andrew McPherson 149th. Daniel Leeham was 97th under-17 man.

Winchester's senior men were tenth out of 61 teams thanks to Phil Killingley 32nd, Ian Hardcastle 118th, Mike Gregory 129th, George Hyde 157th, Andy Woodcock 161st, Jeremy Braines 216th, Mike Davies 336th, Steve Goodwin 614th, Andy Tremain 693rd and Ken Hardcastle 730th.