Three medals for North East athletes
Jan 25 2010 by Les Venmore, The Journal
NORTH East athletes came home with three medals at Saturday’s Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships, held at Witton Park, Blackburn.
The region’s only gold came in the under-13 boys’ race, as North Eastern champion, Ben Spencer of Middlesbrough Mandale, fought off the challenge of Jack Crabtree of East Cheshire to win by four seconds. Thomas Goulding of Chester-le-Street finished seventh. Crabtree’s clubmate Bethany Donnelly did, however, defeat Birtley’s Lydia Turner to take the girls’ under-13 title. In the under-17 men’s race, Michael Priestley of North Shields Poly had to settle for third place behind 2009 silver medallist Sam Atkin of Lincoln Wellington. Mark Shaw of New Marske finished fourth and Cameron Boyek of Shildon seventh.
North Eastern champion Chris Smith finished fourth in the under-20 men’s race behind James Wilkinson, the pair helping Leeds City to the team title. Elswick’s Philip Hurst finished fifth. In the under-17 women’s race, Morpeth, led by Hannah Rank (28th), finished fourth.
In the senior men’s race, Steve Vernon of Stockport retained the title, while Leeds City won the team event for the sixth successive year.
The first North East athlete was Chris Sampson who finished 14th, helping Morpeth to a fifth team placing.
Hatti Dean of Hallamshire improved on her second placing in 2009 to win the senior women’s race. The Steeplechase international had won the race previously in 2007. Durham’s Rosie Smith finished sixth, with Mary Ferrier of Gateshead (ninth) and Tracy Laws of Chester-le-Street both gaining top ten placings. Hallamshire retained the team title, with Gateshead finishing sixth and Morpeth 7th.
Three records were broken at Saturday's local Park Run races. At Albert Park, Middlesbrough, Stephen Hepples, running in the Newham & Eassex Beagles colours, bettered the previous figures by five seconds.
At Newcastle Town Moor, Melissa Turner of Chester-le-Street broke the inaugural record by a massive 85 secs.
Another Chester-le-Street athlete, Angela Hunter, took eight secs off the women’s record at Sunderland.
