BUCS 2025

Alongside Varsity, BUCS XC is one of the biggest races in the university calendar, so OUCCC turned out in full force to prove that we are one of the best teams in the UK. Held in Cardiff, this BUCS was the opposite of Leeds 2024, with the flat and fast course seemingly more like an American XC. Surprisingly for Wales, the rain held off for what was to become a very memorable day.

The day got off to a flying start with the Women’s B team showing that Oxford were a force to be reckoned with. The flat and fast course may have differed from Shotover, but this didn’t faze the team, most of whom were grateful for a break from the UK mud. The depth and strength of OUCCC Women was clear to see, with 17 runners putting on an exceptional show to come an overall team 4th. The team was led by Beth Rawlinson in 13th, with Anika Schwarze-Chintapatla close behind in 20th.

As with the women’s B race, the Men’s B race was a chance to show off our much-acclaimed depth. The OUCCC charge was spearheaded by Chris Parker in 6th place, closely followed by Ethan McColgan in 10th, Jared Martin in 12th, and Jack Johnson in 14th. These four combined to bring home a brilliant team bronze.  A swarm of dark blue vests packed in behind to round out 6 in the top 25, and 15 in the top 100, with some brilliant runs further back as well. It should be noted that our first runner Chris arrived at Bute Park without his vest, but was saved by the very convenient hotel location, allowing a trip back during the warmup. The evidence is clear that this must give a performance advantage and the entire teams has resolved to do it next year. A special mention also has to go to Alex Poulston, who pulled off a stunning 17th place finish, despite a routine trip to Bridge 36 hours before and a significant lack of an alcohol taper.

Inspired by the rest of OUCCC, the Women’s A team lined up a few hours later to cement OUCCC as one of the best teams in the UK. Facing some fierce opposition, they kept their cool and the team rallied together and finished an impressive 4th, just 4 points behind bronze. Laia Casajoana-Guardia (10th), Rebecca Flaherty (11th) and Charlotte Buckley (13th) showed that Matt’s training in how to pack for Varsity paid off, while Jemima Ridley brought the team home in 32nd.

The final race of the day was the much-anticipated Men’s A race. After a silver medal last year and a sweep of the top 6 at Blues varsity in December, the team’s hopes for this race were extremely high, with some talks of a two-way showdown solely between Oxford and Birmingham for the gold. The team started out very strong, with all 6 dark blue vests right up in the lead pack in the early stages. Our very own Olympian, Jared Ward, did much of the front running and held on strong for an excellent 4th place. He was followed by Matthew Kearney in 8th, Joe Morrow in 21st, and Alex Gruen in 23rd to make up the scoring positions. Tom Wood and Nick Whittaker came in close behind in 28th and 36th respectively. With 2 in the top 10, and all 4 scorers in the top 25, this was an extremely strong performance which was rewarded with our second bronze medal of the day.  Chapeau fellas!

Across the whole event, Oxford was one of the only 4 teams to finish on the podium and with two 3rd and two 4th team positions. This was a day to celebrate, and the celebrations were done in style due to 2 for 1 cocktails at dinner, followed up by an after party in the Cardiff SU which was a great way to let loose with all the other university teams and celebrate the success of the day (though some took the celebrations slightly too far judging by the state of their hotel room in the morning…). Overall, it was an amazing weekend away and a triumph for OUCCC.