morpeth well represented at inter-counties cross country

Sam Hancox in action at Wollaton Hall

Ten Morpeth Harriers had the distinction of representing the North East at the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Nottingham.
 
A series of races across the age groups that pits the best runners from across the country against each other as a measure of each area’s strengths, this year’s fixture was held in the splendid parklands of Wollaton Hall, with the North East represented by athletes from clubs right across the region, including not just those in Northumberland but also North and South Tyneside, Newcastle, County Durham and Cleveland.
 
In what has already been a break through season for both, Under 13s Heidi Wilkinson and Mason Gaylor both gained selection for the area, with Heidi finishing 63rd but second team counter in the Girls and Mason 96th but just missing out on the team count for the Boys. The U/13 Girls finished 11th of forty teams, and the U/13 Boys 5th of forty-one.
 
Oliver Tomlinson ran in the U/17s race, coming back 104th in a field of nearly three hundred where once again the NE team showed strongly, finishing 6th overall. There was no club involvement in the U/17 Girls, who finished back in 21st, the area’s most disappointing result.
 
Like Oliver, Tabitha Robson was the club’s sole representative in the U/20s, where she finished 102nd and the NE 5th, Houghton’s Charlotte Dillon coming in 3rd place overall.
 
The U/15 Boys had another disappointing showing, with a 16th place, but the  U/15 Girls in contrast came 4th with New Marske’s Gabrielle Pinder 2nd overall.
 
The club’s largest contingent was in the Junior U/20 Men, where club members Joe Dixon, Elliot Kelso and Bertie Marr all gained selection. Joe had a strong run as first NE counter to come home in 20th and lead the team to 9th place. Elliot was 31st and second team counter, with Bertie 144th.
 
The penultimate race of the day, the Senior Women, saw one of the region’s best performances as the six to count team placed 4th.  Holly Lawrence, in her first Inter Counties since moving to the area, was 88th and fourth team counter, with all six of the NE counters inside the top one hundred, including Birtley’s Lydia Turner in 7th and TBH’s Lucy Storey 8th.
 
Last race of the day, the Senior Men’s, saw competitors having to deal with temperatures that had risen to a balmy 19 degrees. This time Morpeth had two representatives in another strong team showing, with Phil Winkler 24th and second team counter and Sam Hancox 100th but narrowly missing the team count. Led home by Houghton Harrier Cameron Allan, 3rd overall here, the NE finished, like their women, in 4th place.
 
Teams from the South were big winners overall with Surrey a dominant force who won several races, but the North East can pride itself once again that its area’s representatives gave their customary strong showing.
 
Full results here: MYLAPS Sporthive Event Results