Stockport Harriers set the bar for 2020’s North of England Cross-Country

3 Feb 2020 09:59

Published by: Scott Callan

Stockport Harriers set out on a journey up to Bedale for the North of England Cross-Country Championships which saw some outstanding performances amongst all age groups.

Stockport's U13 golden girls set the standard by winning the team prize and being crowned the Northern XC Champions 2020. With over 200 other young and ambitious runners, our Stockport girls ruled the race from the start. Freya Murdoch (10.15) was the 1^st harrier to over the line, taking 3rd place. Next was Sophie Ellwood (10.33) in 12^th place. Saffron Meade (10.44) closely tailed behind, rushing through the line in 19^th position. Sealing the win, Niamh Mackintosh (10.53) joined her fellow teammates in 27^th, and helped lift the well-deserved champion's shield.

With a smaller turn out from the Stockport U13 boys, athletes William Bailey (09.53) and Ben Sturgess (11.16) both prevailed and placed 16^th and 126^th in another highly competitive race. Likewise, the U15 girls solo athlete, Libby Martin, represented Stockport Harriers in a race of 180. Her effort put her in 155^th place with a time of 19.12.

Over to the U15 boys race; Stockport's Finley Mayoh (13.59), after a hard fought battle, managed to move his way up into the top 10 placing 9^th overall. This was followed by Frederick Bailey (16.52) placing 149^th overall.

There was another strong turnout from the Harriers U17 girls, seeing Alice Davies (19.47) come across the line first in 38^th place. Up next was Esther Hulley (21.04) in 74^th position. This was closely followed by athlete Lauren Burgess (21.21) who managed to take the 79^th spot. And finally, Megan Phillips (21.47) finished the team off in 85^th place, making them 6^th team overall.

Another solo runner representing Stockport Harriers was Lucas Parker in the Junior men's race who managed to place 15^th overall with a brilliant time of 27.47.

Another busy race saw the Senior Women taking on the course with over 350 runners. Mollie Williams was the first Stockport woman to cross the line, putting her in 21^st place overall with a time of 31.37. This was followed by Stockport's Jenny Knass (36.13) taking 98^th position. In the Senior Mens race, Akkeal Chambers managed to squeeze into the top 50, placing 49^th overall with a time of 46.05. David Maher (54.59) was next to follow, taking 268^th position. Trailing behind, Nathen Mayoh (56.13) was next to speed across the finish in 314^th place. Joining the rest of his teammates at the finish, Stockport’s Steve Shaughnessy took 367^th place with a brilliant time of 58.34.