north east athletes find going tough at loughborough

The North East Under 17 Men

Thirteen athletes from Morpeth Harriers were among the ranks who lined up to take part in the ten events at Saturday’s annual CAU Inter Counties Cross Country Championships.

North East Cross Country Team Managers Stewy Bell (Male) and Lynn Cooper (Female) were forced into having to make several last-minute changes to their respective squads taking part in the event, which was also the final leg of the UK Cross Challenge, held at Prestwold Hall, near Loughborough in Leicestershire.

Thankfully the ongoing threat of wintry showers throughout the previous couple of days had abated, and runners generally ran in sunny, dry conditions from the beginning, although there was evidence of a perhaps not unexpected slight chill in the air.

Throughout the course of the afternoon however the ground did begin to cut up rapidly, and by the time the final event was underway parts of the course became extremely tricky underfoot.

First up from the Morpeth contingent were the Under 20 Men, who no doubt had the best conditions for their 8k event.

Two club members were in the North East squad, who eventually finished just outside the medals in fourth team place behind winners Kent, with Berkshire second, and Yorkshire in third place.

James Tilley, and Matthew Walton, both having their first Inter Counties outings, were second and fourth counters, in a squad led home by Gateshead Harrier Josh Blevins, who was tenth.

For their part, Tilley and Walton finished thirty fourth and forty fourth respectively, excellent runs in a field of 159 finishers, who were all led home by Berkshire’s Luke Birdseye, who took the Individual Gold Medal, added to by a team Silver when team scores became known.

Next age group to face the Starter were the Under 13 Girls in their 3k event. In this event, the North East Counties claimed their only medals on the day, those being Bronze, behind winners Essex, and second placed Surrey.

Unfortunately there were no Morpeth Harriers in the area squad, who were led home by Birtley's Olivia Murphy, who finished seventh. Fellow Birtley athlete sisters Nell and Kitty Graham also had a share of the spoils, finishing twenty fourth and twenty seventh, along with Houghton’s Kathryn Pye (59th).

Catriona MacDonald was the only Morpeth Harrier in the Senior Women’s 8k event, finishing as second counter for a tenth-placed North East squad in 41st place. The squad were led home by North Shields Poly’s Charlotte Penfold, who finished 23rd. Winners of the Senior Women’s event were Surrey, with Leicester and Rutland second, and Yorkshire third.

Ollie Calvert was undoubtedly Morpeth Harriers and the region's best performer on the day, when he finished fourth in the Under 15 Boys 4k event, leading the North East to seventh team place, with club colleague Ollie Tomlinson also coming home as third counter in 49th place. Scotland West were winners of the Under 15 Boys Championship, with Yorkshire and Scotland East having a close battle for the Minor spoils.

The North East were well served by athletes from Morpeth Harriers in the Under 17 Men’s 6k event, with no fewer than five facing the starter.

Houghton’s Brandon Pye ran well to lead the squad home in seventh place, to fifth team place, with Will Devere-Owen, Liam Roche, and Joe Dixon completing the scoring counts in twelfth, 45th, and 50th places respectively. Other Morpeth Harriers competing in the Under 17 Men’s event were Bertie Marr, and Elliot Kelso, who finished in 74th and 123rd places.

Winners of the Under 17 Men’s Championship were Essex, just ahead of Scotland East, with Scotland West third.

The North East Under 20 Women finished just outside the medals in their 6k event, with Morpeth’s Millie Breese being the second counter home in 37th place. Yorkshire were clear winners of the Under 20 Women’s event, with Sussex and Greater Manchester on level points in second and third places, with the latter losing out on countback.

North East Men’s Team Manager Bell, was very much forced to restructure his Senior Men’s squad for their 10k event, and will be a little disappointed by his squad finishing as ninth team.
Sam Hancox was the only Morpeth Harrier in his final line-up. Hancox was fourth counter, finishing 86th.

Team winners of the Senior Men’s event were Leicester and Rutland, with Hampshire and Lancashire fighting a close battle for the Minor placings.

Ewan Line of Morpeth Harriers had his first taste of Inter Counties Cross Country in the Under 13 Boys 3k event, finishing in 122nd place, but only a few seconds outside a scoring count to a team which finished eighth behind winners Hertfordshire, second placed Derbyshire, and third placed Surrey.

The North East Under 15 Girls and Under 17 Women’s squads who finished 24th and 10th respectively did not feature any Morpeth Harriers in their line-ups. Winners of the Under 15 Girls team title were Yorkshire, with the minor placings going to Scotland West and Merseyside. The Under 17 Women’s team title went to Yorkshire, with Berkshire finishing second, just ahead of Greater Manchester.

The region has certainly had better days in this competition, but the athletes who turned out worked hard to give of their best, and those girls from Birtley AC could certainly return with smiles on their faces.