By Alex Donald
Jake Heyward triumphed in a high-quality meeting in Spain to lay down a marker ahead of the European Cross Country Championship trials.
The Cardiff AAC runner won the junior men’s race at the Cross De Atapuerca in Burgos, the first event on the IAAF Permit Meeting Series.
Heyward saw off a strong field in a great weekend for Wales’ promising athletes with Wrexham’s Matt Willis winning the under20 race in Milton Keynes on Saturday.
The duo are set to line-up against each other at the European trials in Liverpool on November 24.
“I’m happy with my run,” said Heyward, who was third in the race last year.
“The atmosphere was great and this sets me up for the Euro Trials in two weeks time’.
‘It was pretty windy so the pace wasn’t that quick and I felt good on the last lap so I pushed on.”
Heyward, who clocked 18 minutes 17 seconds over the 6000m course, said: “Overall it was a great experience on the IAAF circuit’.
Heyward, the European 1500m champion, announced his arrival on the cross country circuit last year competing at the European Cross Country Championships and in finishing seventh at the Great Edinburgh International in January.
He won the Cardiff Cross Challenge last month and in Burgos came home eight seconds ahead of fellow Brit Rory Leonard, the Inter Counties champion.
Spain’s Ouassin Oumaiz was the third athlete home 11 secs behind Heyward and a great scalp for the British duo.
Willis followed up Heyward’s victory in the opening round of the Cross Challenge in Cardiff by taking the second round in Milton Keynes.
The North Walian eased away from his rivals late on in difficult conditions to win 10 seconds from Zakariya Mahamed after crossing the finish line in 16 minutes 50 seconds.
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Cardiff’s Charlotte Arter was the first of the ‘home countries’ athletes to finish amongst a world class field in the senior women’s race in a credible ninth place and as the first non-African finisher at the International season opener.
This will offer a confidence boost for the European 10,000m Cup bronze medallist who started her season in Spain following injury through the late part of the summer.
The race was won by Teferi Sembere of Ethiopia ahead of Kenyan duo Chelimo Kipkemboi and Norath Tanui.
Sembere is a multiple Ethiopian champion on the track and a World silver medallist at 5,000m and on the Country.
Jenny Nesbitt and Beth Kidger were the next Welsh athlete’s home in 20th and 36th places respectively with 2015 U20 World Mountain Running Championship Bronze medallist, Bronwen Jenkinson in 56th place.
Dan Nash was the first Welshman home in 51st place with Cardiff AAC club mate James Hunt 63rd.
The Welsh team missed six-time Welsh champ Dewi Griffiths who had to pull out of the fixture following a bout of food poisoning earlier in the week.