Despite losing all four Varsity matches, there were a number of positive performances from the Cambridge team on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Wilberforce Road Athletics Track. The Light Blues got off to the best possible start, with pre-competition favourites Tom Parker and Alverstones captain Jacob Lange dominating the hammer throw. Having recorded first and second place finishes against Harvard and Yale in the Trans-Atlantic Series, and third and fourth place finishes at the recent BUCS Championships, the result was beyond any doubt even before the first throw. True to form, Lange recorded a best of 58.25m, while Parker threw a best of 62.24m. The success in the hammer was matched in discus as Angus Lockhart threw 40.86m – just managing to better the Blues standard of 40.75m.

Caroline Hilley enjoyed an afternoon of great personal success as she stormed to victory in both of the women’s hurdle events as well as the 400m. Hilley retained her title in the 400m hurdles as she recorded a time of 61.67 seconds – setting a new Varsity record in the process – bettering a time set back in 2003 and beating Oxford’s Kate Kennedy by almost two seconds. Hilley put in an equally commanding performance in the 100m hurdles, beating out her nearest competitor by almost five meters and setting another Varsity match record in the process. 

Perhaps the most dramatic contest of the entire Varsity match was the women’s 5000m. With temperatures picking up in the early afternoon, Rebecca Moore put in an incredibly assertive performance, despite the unfavourable conditions to ensure another Light Blue success on the track. Elizabeth Apsley of the Hare and Hounds ran an admirable race, and spent a vast majority of the race in a fascinating duel with the two Oxford athletes. It looked as if she was set to finish in second place but was overtaken with only 200m remaining to finish in an agonising third place. It was a similar story in the women's 2000m steeplechase as Priya Crosby, despite being in the lead for the vast majority of the race, was overtaken on the last lap as Oxford secured a match record of their own while Crosby finished second.

There was further Light Blue success in the field with Chloe Billingham managing to achieve Blues standard in the women’s pole vault with a vault of 3.40m – falling just short of the match record. Elsewhere in the women’s pole vault, Becky Martin was victorious for the Alligators to ensure victory for Cambridge in both the 1sts and 2nds.

On an otherwise disappointing afternoon on the track for the men’s teams, Kaesi Opara emerged victorious from both of the sprint events. His winning time of 10.96 in the 100m put him just outside Blues standard, however he managed it in the 200m with a time of 22.03. Both of the sprints were incredibly well contested, with only a photo finish in the 100m confirming Opara’s victory.

The London Marathon: a true feat of human endurance

Undoubtedly the most surprising performance for CUAC came from Gunther Klobe in the men’s high jump. Despite not having competed in the event in over a decade, and with a personal best set at the age of fourteen, the German PhD student managed a final height of 1.85m – only ten centimetres shy of Blues standard, and ten centimetres better than his nearest competitor from Oxford. Ethan Sorrell claimed overall victory, bettering Klobe’s height by five centimetres to secure a first and second place finish for the Light Blues.

Despite the individual successes, this must go down as a disappointing afternoon for CUAC. Injuries to men’s and women’s captains Josh Evans and Maxine Meju undoubtedly played a part, and while the score line undoubtedly flatters the Dark Blues, the fact that Oxford managed to record their greatest margin of victory since 1999 will not sit well with the Light Blues.

Women’s Blues: 

Hephzibah Adeosun, Amrita Panesar, Caroline Johnson, Caroline Hilley, Laura Suggitt, Emily Ruane, Kate Curran, Niamh Bridson-Hubbard, Rebecca Moore, Elizabeth Apsley, Alice Flint, Laura Andrews, Yanna Raykov, Priya Crosby, Lauren Major, Anni Bates, Katherine Prutz, Chloe Rixon, Stephanie Sinclair, Chloe Billingham, Imi Mulliner, Fiona Brown, Emmaline Okafor, Bridget Fryer, Clare Pacini, Ellie Lane, Maxine Meju (C), Daisy Irving-Hyman, Laura Cook, Catriona Marriott

Men’s Blues:

William Morris, Kaesi Opara, Sam Day, Ciaran Flaherty, Rasmus Kisel, Sebastian Cheli, Phillip Crout, James Coxon, Bijan Mazaheri, William Ryle-Hodges, Elliot Baines, Luke Smith, Tom Marino, Tom Kearns, Paul Pruzina, Ethan Sorrell, Emmanuel Gbegli, Callum Court, Freddy Bunbury, Angus Lockhart, Christoph Klein, Tom Parker, Jacob Lange, Justas Dauparas, Henry Rudd, Ife Adepegba

Women’s 2nds (Alligators): 

Tiwa Adebayo, Rachel Grewcock, Catriona Marriott, Katie Blackett, Rhiannon Philps, Felicity Williams-Sarl, Ella Witts, Nadia Bates, Rachel Longstaff, Becca Frake, Ruby Woolfe, Laura Cook, Fran Hamilton, Alexia Wilson, Alex Burchill, Amy Radford, Hannah Morton, Lea Wenger, Anne-Marie Bowring, Freya Hufton, Madi Farey, Becky Martin, Olivia Rowe, Yasmin Shah, Lucy Hart, Laragh Harvey-Kelly, Coral Bays-Muchmore

Men’s 2nds (Alverstone’s):

Ife Adepegba, Baven Balendran, Ming Wang-Koh, James Tufnell, Joe Burton, Al Taylor, Iain Davies, Liam Emmet, George Gathercole, MacGreggor Cox, Jonathan Escalante Phillips, David Wilson, Jack Wickham, Sam Charlwood, Gareth Goh, Paul Hodgson, Peter Townsend, Demos Christou, Gunther Klobe, Douglas Buisson, Daniel Stanley, Josh Wilcox, Adam Rochussen, Robin Croft, Reuben Shiels, Martin Croft, Will Parrott