The Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships.
Once again, the club’s younger age groups delivered Sale Harriers’ greatest success at the Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships in Leigh, with many of them winning selection to represent Gtr. Manchester at the Inter-County championships in March ’26. A huge round of applause, therefore to:
U13 Boys:
Last year’s champions returned to the podium, claiming an excellentteam silver medal. ARTHUR O’HARE also produced a superb performance to win individual silver. Well done, Arthur!
U13 Girls:
The U13 girls matched last year’s achievement by retaining their team silver medals, thanks to strong performances from FLORENCE CONNOLLY, ERIN SOWERBY-CROSS and MIA BRADLEY.
U15 Boys:
A big clap on the back to GEORGE HORSFALL, OLIVER HOWELL, and LENNY ALVES. They always represent their section admirably and deserve their bronze medals.
U15 Girls:
For the 3rd consecutive year, the club’s U15 girls were the undisputed stars of the championship! Their dominance continued with BEA SOPER retaining her U15 Title (adding to her double U13 championships). With similarly talented MEGAN BOYER winning the silver medal & MADELINE APPLEBY the bronze – they had a clean sweep of U15 individual medals. This trio easily retained their Gtr. Manchester title for the 3rd year running. Crossing the line in rapid procession behind them were ROBYN HEYWOOD-YOUNG, ISLA ANDERSON & CAITLIN WETTERS. They also retained their ‘B’ team silver medals. Within seconds of them crossing the line, followed AMBER KHAN, BRIDGET FLYNN & EVE DOWLING. They narrowly missed out on repeating last year’s remarkable clean sweep of team Gold, Silver and Bronze.
U17 Boys & U17 Girls:
ISOBEL HALL, PHOEBE CARROLL & CHARLOTTE UNDERWOOD lit a light of hope by winning team silver medals, their section’s best result since 2021. Whilst their colleague boys weren’t among the medals, CONOR Mc MANUS, MATT CULLEN-BROWN and MASSEY CUNNINGHAM are laying strong foundations for the future through their commitment and performances.
U20 Women & Men:
After four years of competitive battles between Sale and Salford, the U20 women emerged as champions. This was thanks to SOPHIE ARMITAGE and the addition of talented sisters, NORA & NOUF ALDUAIJ, newcomers from Kuwait, alongside her. The U20 men did not field a team.
SENIOR WOMEN:
LUCY ARMITAGE was once again the standout performer, continuing her outstanding year across track, road, and cross country. She retained her Greater Manchester individual title with an emphatic two-minute winning margin. With her colleagues, MEGAN TUCKER and ANOUSKA BROOKE also running very well, they came very close to stopping Salford H &AC from retaining the title.
SENIOR MEN:
For the 2nd consecutive year the men did not complete a team with several of the club’s leading athletes opting to compete at the Stockport ’10’ and Telford 10k. Had they chosen to challenge the three-time champions Salford Harriers & AC, the resulting battle would have been a thrilling contest—ideal preparation for the Northern and National Cross Country Championships and potentially enough to see Sale Harriers crowned Greater Manchester’s top club with nine sets of team medals.
MERSEYSIDE
Congratulations to PHIL ROBERTSON who won the Merseyside XC Title at the championships held at Sherdley Park, St. Helens. Hailing from West Kirby, this victory mark’s Phil’s 3rd senior title and he also has two silver medals under his belt. As one who’s also never been out of the top five finishers in this championship and taken part in every championship except one since 2012, he surely goes down in the annals of Merseyside’s XC championships as one of its most successful ever competitors. This was also his first race in four months following his marriage in August. Congratulations on both counts, Phil.
LANCASHIRE
Congratulations to NICOLA MOYNIHAN who also had a great day at the Lancashire Cross Country Championships. A middle distance specialist competing on a tough course at Townley Park, Burnley, Nicola did brilliantly to finish 6thin the senior race, a result that earned her selection for the Lancashire team at the Inter-County Championships in March 2026. She was especially pleased that her friend Bethany Reid, from Trafford, won the senior title, kicking in with just 100m to go. Nicola also has an impressive record in this championship! She’s competed in all 14 Championships since first taking part as an 11-year-old. Her 6thplace finish ranks among her best ever performance.
Report by Fechin McCormick
