The calm before the storm meant that fine weather and good underfoot conditions faced the young athletes from Trafford who competed in the final Manchester Area Cross Country League of the season at Heaton Park.

 

Evan Lewis achieved his highest finish of the season (13th) in the Under 11 Boys race and will hopefully take this good form forward to the Under 13 age group next year.  Further down the field, twins Joe and Barney Watson had their own family battle, with Barney being a close winner. In the Under 11 Girls race, Ursula Bailey made a promising Trafford debut in 23rd place, closely followed by Sophie Norman in 26th.

 

Jay Hutchinson continued his good form with a best ever 12th in the Under 13 Boys event. Close behind were James Walton (14th) and Josh Watson (15th). Also running  were Owen Reekie 34th and Zack Watson 40th. This gave them 3rd team place. In a large field in the Under 13 Girls race, Daisy Atkiss had a great run to come in 20th, supported by Martha McCormack 46th, Fay Lewis 57th and Darcy Durance 65th. 

 

The Under 15 Boys race saw the usual close race between Ned Silvey 15th and Charlie Atkiss 18th. Following them home were Sonny Wilson 29th, Joseph Daly 32nd and Zeno Mackay 38th.  Olivia Russell came an excellent 7th in the girls race, supported by Freya Griffiths 15th, Lila Wainwright 19th and Amy Nunn 34th, the team only one point away from 3rd place.

 

Trafford's only 2 athletes in the Under 17 Men's race were Jack McNicol in a solid 7th and Joe Bentall 17th. Rebecca Young, reliable as usual, was 9th in the girls race.

 

Our only athlete at Under 20 Men's level was Harry Sinclair who finished 1st on the day and secured an excellent 1st overall in the league.

 

No race this Saturday, but many of the athletes will be travelling to Nottingham the following Saturday (22nd Feb) to run in the largest and most prestigious event of the season, the National Cross Country Championships.

 

Senior Men (Jeff Prest)