Bulawayo to take lean squad to cross country champs

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO will take a lean squad of 11 athletes to the National Cross-Country Championships that will be held in Kwekwe on February 9.

Bulawayo, who are the defending cross-country champions, held their final selection for the provincial team at Mpopoma Park yesterday.

Veteran runner Trust Chidomaya of ZRP Fairbridge made the team. Chidomaya will double up as the provincial coach and will be assisted by Untibile Maphosa of Super Stars Athletics Club.

Manuel Mpofu, the Bulawayo Athletics Board (Bab) chairman, said they were taking a team largely made up of novices with potential.

He said instead of taking a team made up of six athletes per category, they’d taken the province’s “best runners” to save resources and effectively compete.

“Last year we successfully defended our title when we hosted the National Cross-Country Championships. This time around it won’t be possible to challenge for the top position because we are taking a development squad. We picked the best runners to go and compete based on their times. Instead of just picking the top six, we had qualification times which were met by 11 athletes in all categories,” said Mpofu.

Athletes that managed to run under 35 minutes qualifying time for 8km in the junior women’s category (Under-20) are City Meats’ Faith Nyathi, who posted 34 minutes 37.28 seconds and Yvonne Mutare of Ihlosi Athletics Club, who finished in 34 minutes 45.48 seconds.

The junior men’s qualifying time was 32 minutes. Michael Chimhuka of ZRP Fairbridge ran the race in 29 minutes 57.02 seconds, Sparrows’ Freedom Banda posted 31 minutes 06.00 seconds and Disciple Ncube of Ihlosi Athletics Club clocked 32 minutes 40.38 seconds.

The senior men’s qualifying time for the 10km race was pegged between 32 and 35 minutes. ZRP Fairbridge’s Ngonidzashe Ncube had the best time of 32 minutes 53.73 seconds followed by Danford Mlilo’s 34 minutes 10.23 seconds. Mlilo runs for Sparrows.

Xolani Ncube, an independent runner, made it in 34 minutes 30.46 seconds, with Sparrows’ Dumo Mkhwananzi running 34 minutes 38.50 seconds, while Thando Maphosa also from Sparrows booked a place in the senior men’s team with a time of 35 minutes.

Bulawayo will not have any representatives in the senior women’s category as prospective runners Qeqeshile Moyo of Super Stars and ZRP Fairbridge’s Faith Sanyika failed to complete the 10km in under 45 minutes.
— @ZililoR