Manchester XC league - Match 1, Woodbank Park, Stockport : 10th October
Saturday 10th October saw the first match of the Manchester area cross country league which was held at Woodbank Park, Stockport.
Charlie Roberts led the under 13 boys team home in 15th place in a time of 13.30, followed by Michael Brussels who finished in 20th place in 14.04. Ben Toole finished 26th in 14.37 and Lewis Turner competed over cross country for the first time, he finished in 31st place in a time of 15.07. Liam Houghton completed the 3.5km course in 32nd place in a time of 15.08. The boys team finished 6th overall!
Also in this race was the under 13 girls, this saw Amber Escoffery lead the girls home in 34th place in 16.09 followed by Alyx Bridge who completed the race in 41st place in 16.48.
For the under 15 girls 4.5km race, Lucy Price finished in 40th place in a time of 22.51 and Chloe Orrick completed the race in 42nd place in 25.24.
The under 17 men saw Anthony Walker finish in 18th place in 25.21 followed by Joseph Walker who completed the race in 19th place in 26.13. Leon Hill competed in his first cross country and covered the distance of 6.5km in 23rd place in 29.06. The boys team finished 5th overall.
The senior ladies race saw Maddie Williams cover the distance of 8.5km to finish in 78th place in 40.55.
Representing the senior men; Greg Williams covered the distance of 9.5km in 120th place in 36.43, Jamie White finished 152nd in 37.50 and Ian Costello finished in 227th place in 40.13. Also Ian Hayburn completed the race in 251st place in 40.53 and Ian Roberts finished in 342nd place in 44.15.
Well done to all who took part, hope to see complete teams at the next match which is at Sherdley Park on Saturday 7th November!!!
HELPERS NEEDED!!!
Team managers: Ian and Helena.
Official of the year: Roger McCall
Roger McCall was nominated by Karen and Antony Young for Official of the Year.
Roger has been heavily involved in NW athletics for many years and for the last few has been an ever present at competitions throughout the north.
This year several coaches started along the officials' pathway and started to appreciate exactly what this entails.
Throughout 2015 Roger has been mentoring several coaches and has ensured that they are not only competent but also confident enough to officiate any event to club league standard.
Roger lives over 20 miles away from St Helens and doesn't have any relatives competing for the club. Despite this, he is an ever- present at all of our league meetings as one of our nominated officials.
As well as covering "our" events he regularly wanders off and fills in gaps by helping other clubs with theirs.
He also advises the local leagues on optimising their competitions to make them more efficient and enjoyable.
Roger contributes so much to athletics and anyone who has worked or volunteered along side him would agree.
Halton Sports Person of the year
Darren Scott has capped off a fantastic year by winning the award for Halton Sports Person of the year. Congratulations from your friends at Sutton.
