 The triumphant U20 Men's team of Ralph Robson, Joe Dixon and Elliot Kelso Finishing third himself, Joe Dixon led Morpeth’s Under 20 Junior Men’s team to a comprehensive victory at the Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships in Cheshire on Saturday. Held in the idyllic pastoral setting of Tatton Park, just outside Knutsford, the calm and sunny conditions provided a remarkable contrast to the previous day’s stormy weather with the going largely good under foot for the hundreds of runners from across the North who turned out. As expected, local vests from clubs across the North West were predominant, along with many from Yorkshire - notably Leeds City AC and Sheffield’s Hallamshire Harriers - but there was also a reasonable smattering of runners of all ages from the North East who had made the 500-mile return journey to be part of what is the largest cross country meeting in the North. Joe formed part of a small leading group at the front of his field, with Biruk Aduna Kebede of Clayton le Moors making a break at the start of the second lap over the 7.90 kilometre course and the Morpeth runner the only athlete trying to stay in touch. With Kebede clearly in very good form and extending his lead over the last two kilometres to win by over 20 seconds, it became a battle for the Silver medal, with Dixon fighting hard with Skyrac AC’s Abdimajid Darood in the last hundred metres and only losing out by a narrow two-second margin in the run in. Joe was backed up by a strong Morpeth squad, some of whom like him had been winners in the Under 17s at Blackburn then at Sedgefield in the U20s last year, with Elliot Kelso coming in 10th, Ralph Robson 13th and Bertie Marr 15th. With three to count for the team, Bertie unfortunately missed out this time but the miserly team count of only 26 points provided a massive winning margin. The Junior Men’s success was certainly the highlight for the club, but there were some other good performances in the earlier races. In their first taste of racing at this level, Heidi Wilkinson placed 40th in the Under 13 Girls with team mate Zoe Tomlinson 73rd, while in the U/13 Boys, run over the same 3.15km distance, Mason Gaylor, coming in 18th, looked fearless as he posted a top twenty finish in a field of well over 100 runners. Mason was supported by Jack Dhawar in 69th and Jacob Thompson 112th, the three runners again proudly wearing their blue and white vests as they had done in the Northern Road Relays in Blackburn some months ago. Faye Heatley and Emma Tomlinson both ran well in the U/15 Girls, with Faye first back for the club in 67th and Emma 97th, while Emma and Zoe’s older brother Oliver had an excellent run in the U/17s to come back in 27th place and Tabitha Robson placed 28th in the Junior Women’s race. Last race of the day, the Senior Men’s over the day’s longest, three lap distance of 11.75 strength sapping kilometres, also saw the biggest field of just short of four hundred. Won by City of York’s Angus McMillan in 35 minutes and 37 seconds, Morpeth’s Phil Winkler had one of his best ever efforts for the club, the ex Duchess High School pupil having an outstanding run to place 7th in 36:37, and up to 5th at one point. Sam Hancox was 55th in 39:30 and Matthew Briggs 88th in 40:54, both athletes still working their way back to their best form. Struck by late injuries and withdrawals however, for the first time in a long time Morpeth failed to field a full six for the team count with only Sunderland Harriers registering for the North East and no complete teams either from Gateshead, Tyne Bridge or NSP. Sunderland vests were also out in the force in the penultimate Senior Women’s race, won by Hallamshire Harrier Lauren Hayes, with Morpeth disappointingly not represented after their strong showing in the North Easterns. Again, Sunderland Harriers turned out in force for a strong showing. Leeds City AC were winners in both Men’s and Women’s Senior fixtures. Well done to all 16 club members who turned out and represented the club so well, but it has to be said that after such strong showings in the North Eastern Championships, this felt disappointingly like one step forward, two steps back.  Emma Tomlinson  Oliver Tomlinson  Morpeth's U13 team still smiling after the race  Senior men Phil Winkler, Sam Hancox and Matthew Briggs Comments are closed.
|
Archives
February 2026
|
