COUNTY SCHOOLS RACES

A big weekend of school's cross-country started on Friday at Longford Park with the Gtr.Manchester Catholic Schools Championships. Local School Loreto Grammar, with a dominant girl's team had individual and team victories in each age-group. Beth Barlow won the year 7 girl's race from a trio of Sale Harriers with Claudia Cowan 2^nd, Frankie-Hacker-Davis 3^rd and Mairead Power 4^th. Sale had Ciara Lydon and Nina Rawlings 1^st and 2^nd in the junior girl's race whilst Caitlin Thomas won the intermediate race by the narrowest of margins. Sale Harriers also had two individual winners with Anthony Bruton (year 7 boys) and Christy O'Brien (Junior Boys).

On Saturday, Longford Park was also the venue for the Gtr. Manchester Schools Championships. Competition was fierce as the first eight in each age-group gained selection to represent the County in the English Schools Championships. Members of Sale Harriers were to the fore in all the age-groups.  Olivia Green finished 3^rd in the minor girl's race with Francesca Brint 4^th and Claudia Cowan 5^th. In the boy's race Anthony Bruton was 7^th with Harry Brown 16^th and Luke Mc Kendry 23^rd. Sale showed incredible depth in the junior girl's race with Ciara Lydon 3^rd, Catherine Podmore 4^th Flora Whyte 7^th, Amie Pratt 8^th, Hannah Simeen 10^th, Georgia Plant 12^th and Alice Bruce 16^th in a race won by Harriet Knowles-Jones of Loreto Grammar. In the boy's race Ewan Gilchrist had his best ever race to finish 4^th In the intermediate girl's race, Megan Davis won her 3^rd cross-country title whilst Rachel Hibbert ran a fantastic race to finish 4^th with Imani Modahl 10^th, Caithlin Thomas 13^th and Hannah Christy 17. The Trafford schools team won the entire girl's team titles as had Loreto Grammar on Friday. Alex Burchill finished runner-up in the senior boy's event with Chris Mc Gahan in bronze medal position. In the girl's event Misha Nayak-Oliver made her first county schools team by finishing 8^th.

Ryan Moore, on the crest of a wave with recent fantastic race results, added the senior Lancashire Schools title to his treasure trove. In the Derbyshire Schools, Adam Roden finished 4th  and would have been among the medallists had  he not got stomach cramp with the cold. On this occasion, he beat the lad in the Northern who won it.