Witton Park in Blackburn hosts a strong well-represented area championships with Leeds winning both senior team titles on Saturday

Joe Steward and Phillipa Williams took the two senior titles on courses that ran to their advertised distances. More than 500 runners started the senior men’s event but less than 300 toed the line in the women’s event.

Senior men
Steward, who had won the Greater Manchester title earlier in the month, was never a certain winner as Carl Avery kept the competition honest but eventual third-placer Cameron Bell was left to defend against Leeds’ Graham Rush who led the Yorkshire outfit to another team title.

The 26-year-old Steward has raced sparingly in the last couple of years but took second spot in the 2020 Northern event before silvers in both the BUCS and English National championships before the pandemic struck.

Before that he ran for UK in both the 2019 World Mountain running and the 2017 European championships.
Leeds were comfortable team winners as Sale and Hallamshire were well beaten.

1 J Steward (Salf) 36:17; 2 C Avery (Morp) 36:26; 3 C Bell (Hallam) 36:59; 4 G Rush (Leeds) 37:06; 5 D Barratt (Salf) 37:09; 6 D Haworth (Mat) 37:23; 7 G Thomlinson (Chorl) 37:24; 8 M Wharton (Hali) 37:23; 9 D Bebbington (B’burn) 37:35; 10 N Martin (Sale) 37:36; 11 E Bovingdon (Leeds 37:41; 12 L Taylor (Leeds) 37:42; 13 A Lawton (Sale) 37:45; 14 J Adkin (Keswick) 37:51; 15 E De Mello (Hallam) 38:03; 16 P Robertson (Sale) 38:17; 17 A Ediker (C’field) 38:19; 18 B Fish (B’burn) 38:19; 19 P Winkler (Morp) 38:20; 20 G Chalmers (Leeds) 38:21; 21 J Battrick (Kesw) 38:22; 22 M Grieve (Leeds) 38:22; 23 G Jayasuriya (M;boro) 38:23; 24 J Woodcock-Shaw (Leeds) 38:26; 25 G Cunliffe (R’dale) 38:28; 26 G Kashi (Sale) 38:30; 27 T Cornthwaite (Salf) 38:33; 28 C Livesey (Salf) 38:41; 29 J Douglas (Border) 38:45; 30 E Smales (Roth) 38:45

TEAM: 1 Leeds 93; 2 Sale 155; 3 Hallamshire 170; 4 Salford 213; 5 Keswick 279; 6 Morpeth 303; 7 Liverpool 389; 8 Blackburn 464; 9 Horwich RMI 532; 10 Rossendale 600.

Senior Women
Phillipa Williams won the Yorkshire-county title earlier in January and was sixth in the 2020 Northern event at Bedale in 2020 but, historically has confined most of her racing to parkruns.

However, her Hallamshire club were beaten to the team title by a resurgent Leeds City who had a further three non-scorers in close order.

Williams won comfortably by more than 150 metres from Philippa Stone who was 11th in last year’s English National.

Hallamshire also turned out the 2009 English National champion, Hattie Dean, but the now 40-year-old Hattie Archer, was 11th here. She was second in this race back in 2017 and a 2010 European steeplechase fourth placer and team scorer in the  European and World Cross championships.

Women:
1 P Williams (Hallam) 27:11; 2 P Stone (M’boro) 27:52; 3 S Adkin (A’side) 27:57; 4 L McNeill (Hallam) 27:59; 5 J Elgood (Leeds) 28:11; 6 S Tarver (Wirral) 28:26; 7 G Malir (Leeds) 28:28; 8 E Curran (Leeds) 28:42; 9 R Jones (Salf) 28:52; 10 A Petitt (Vale R) 28:56; 11 H Archer (Hallam) 29:02; 12 C McKnepsley (Border) 29:17; 13 K Lowry (Warr) 29:32; 14 K Walshaw (H’firth) 29:42; 15 A Leake (Leeds) 30:04; 16 R Harrison (Linc W) 30;11; 17 H Cowley (Chesh D) 30:13; 18 E Bell (Leeds) 30:18; 19 C MacDonald (Morp) 30:20; 20 M Taylor (Roth) 30;22; 21 K Moulds (ale R) 30:27; 22 A Pearse (Steel) 30;27; 23 E McLeod (Roth) 30:38; 24 S Pyke Penny L) 30:40; 25 H Townsend (Leeds) 30:44; 26 J Morgan (Liv) 30:44; 27 E Luker (Leeds) 30:46; 28 S Dufour-Jackson (Vale R) 30:53; 29 C Slack (Hallam) 30:55; 30 E Renondeau (Vale R) 30:59
TEAM: 1 Leeds 35; 2 Hallamshire 45; 3 Vale Royal 89; 4 Rotherham 166; 5 Holmfirth 200; 6 Liverpool 210; 7 N Shields P 219; 8 Border 246; 9 Steel City 269; 10 Bury 278

U20 men:
There was a local winner in the junior men’s race as Matthew Ramsden came good for Blackburn with a 50-metre win over Leeds’ Jenson Connell, after improving from seventh last year but was also 7th in the 2022 Inter-counties.

He added the title just two weeks after taking the area’s indoor 3000m title in 8:36.99.

1 M Ramsden (B’burn) 24:34; 2 J Connell (Leeds) 24:47; 3 F Grant (C’field) 25:18; 4 T Spencer (C’field) 25:30; 5 E Wheelwright (Salf) 25:32; 6 J Wilson (Vale R) 25:33; 7 S Gilson (Roth) 25:34; 8 R Serif (Vale R) 25:48; 9 F Proffitt (Traff) 25:55; 10 T Shaw (York) 25:56
TEAM: 1 Salford 44; 2 Wirral 46; 3 Vale R 58; 4 Blackburn 86; 5 Rotherham 80; 6 Trafford 95

Under-20 women
Ella Greenway improved from second last year to take the title and did so by around 40 metres from Libby Huxley. The Cleethorpes runner had won the Humberside championships earlier this month after placing fourth in the European Under-18 Championship 800m in Jerusalem.

Late in 2021 Greenway was selected for the British under-20 team in the Euro Cross.

1 E Greenway (Clee) 22:16; 2 L Huxley (Preston) 22:26; 3 E Whittaker (H’gate) 22;48; 4 E Gibbins (Ilk) 23:03; 5 I Barwell (Linc W) 23:06; 6 G Roberts (Vale R) 23:07; 7 P Carcas (Salf) 23:10; 8 E Platt (E Chesh) 23:17; 9 H Weedall (Vale R) 23:41; 10 H Waugh (NSP) 23:50
TEAM: 1 Vale Royal 38; 2 Salford 43; 3 Sale 53; 4 E Cheshire & T 86

Under-17 men:
The tightest finish of the day saw Liam McCay just get home ahead of Joe Dixon with Brandon Pye not too far down in third.

The English Schools 3000m champion was fourth in this event last year before placing sixth in the English National but this was the Liverpool runner’s first outing since the beginning of November.

In both races then, Dixon was also behind his rival.

1 L McCay (Liv) 20:03; 2 J Dixon (Morp) 20:04; 3 B Pye (Houghton) 20;10; 4 J Hughes (Roth) 20:28; 5 A Poulston (Wirral) 20:32; 6 F Meredith (Traff) 20:32; 7 S Hughes (Roth) 20:34; 8 E Bushfield (Der) 20;36; 9 W De Vere-Owen (Morp) 20:39; 10 J Ormrod (Ross) 20;40
TEAM: 1 Morpeth 38; 2 Wirral 109; 3 Trafford 113; 4 Salford 116; 5 Rotherham 148; 6 Vale Royal 176

Under-17 women
It was also close in the under-17 women’s event but Amelie Lane had a few yards to spare over second placed Charlotte Dillon with Lottie Langdon and Evie Thompson both close.

Lane has been third in the Yorkshire championships for the past two years and, after being ninth in this event last year, this was her best ever race victory.

Dillon won the North East title in December and headed Lane in the 2022 Northern.

1 A Lane (Wharf) 20:44; 2 C Dillon (Durham) 20:48; 3 L Langan (York) 20:53; 4 E Thomson (Roth) 20:58; 5 F Murdock (Stock) 21:44; 6 D Clough (Traff) 21:36; 7 S Roiditis (Salf) 21;37; 8 A Clough (Traff) 21:44; 9 G Bell (Leven V) 21:52; 10 P Old (Elsw) 21;59
TEAM: 1 Trafford 83; 2 Derby 95; 3 Salford 109; 4 Wirral 140; 5 NSP 193; 6 Sale 206

Under-15 boys
George Wilson gave minor club Cleethorpes their second individual victory but Oliver Calvert and Matthew Clark were only just headed in the dash for the line.

Wilson has proved himself a fine competitor this winter after his fifth spot in this event last year. A second place in the Cardiff leg of the UK cross Challenge was followed by a win in the Milton Keynes round of that event, where Calvert was third. Wilson has also dominated his age group in Lincolnshire events for more than a year.

1 G Wilson (Clee) 14:48; O Calvert (Morp) 14:41; 3 M Clark (Preston) 14:52; 4 J Marwood (Warr) 14:58; 5 E Grime (Salf) 15:07; 6 J Sanderson (Settle) 15:13; 7 J Brown (M’boro) 15:17; 8 O Kewley (Liv) 15:28; 9 J Hutchinson (Traff) 15:31; 10 T Hooper (Wharf) 15:32
TEAM: 1 Keighley & Craven 66; 2 Trafford 75; 3 Rotherham 149; 4 Liverpool 167; 5 Sale 191; 6 Salford 205

Under-15 girls
The Rotherham par of Isabella Waugh and Grace Igoe dominated the front of the field and, with two more in the top ten the black vested girls comfortably took team gold.

Waugh, the English National champion last year also took third in the Inter-counties and English Schools events, while Igoe had to make do with second here after winning the event last year.

1 I Waugh (Roth) 16:44; 2 G Igoe (Roth) 16:47; 3 H Cross (Liv) 16:58; 4 I Wharton (Warr) 17:16; 5 E Whitworth (Linc W) 17:17; 6 E Heavey (Warr) 17:32; 7 D Slattery (Salf) 17:34; 8 K Battle (Roth) 17:35; 9 N Robinson (Harr) 17:39; 10 G Turner (Roth) 17;46
TEAM: 1 Rotherham 21; 2 Salford 81; 3 Warrington 122; 4 Keighley & C 191; 5 Trafford 216; 6 Preston 267

Under-13 boys
Thomas Thake had one of the biggest margins of victory but had to wait a long time for the other three members of his Hallamshire team to close in before they were able to celebrate a narrow victory in a high scoring team competition.

It was William Martin who was able to join in the team celebrations despite his lowly 73rd place as Preston were beaten by 11 points.

1 T Thake (Hallam) 10:53; 2 A White (Traff) 11:17; 3 W Delamare (S’port W) 11:25; 4 J Baranowski (B’burn) 11;42; 5 M Phelan (Wirr) 11;44; 6 C Still (S’port W) 11;48; 7 N Williamson (NE Project) 11:57; 8 O Blake (Der) 12:02; 9 B Birkett (St Helen’s S) 12:03; 10 R Steel (Darl) 12:06
TEAM: 1 Hallamshire 118; 2 Preston 129; 3Blackburn 140; 4 Rotherham 143; 5 Sale 163; 6 Wirral 206

Under-13 girls
Birtley dominated, just as they did in the Northern Athletics cross-country relays at Sheffield back in October, as Olivia Murphy led them home.

Twins Kitty and Nell Graham were headed by Rotherham’s Myra Schofield in third and fourth but the long wait for fourth scorer Niamh Phillipson’s 28th place was well worth it and another team gold was theirs.

The 50-metre victory by Murphy was a good one as Schofield had been second in the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Liverpool.

1 O Murphy (Birtley) 12;18; 2 M Schofield (Roth) 12:31; 3 K Graham (Birtley) 12;36; 4 N Graham (Birtley) 12:41; 5 O McManus (sale) 12:44; 6 B Buckley (K&C) 12:46; 7 P Boyle (Leven V) 12;48; 8 S Harrison (Hali) 12;48; 9 A Keefe (York) 12;50; 10 I Pastor (Wirral) 12;50
TEAM: 1 Birtley 36; 2 Sale 64; 3 Liverpool 90; 4 Halifax 184; 5 Blackburn 204; 6 Chorley 213

For coverage from the other English area cross-country championships, CLICK HERE