Age Category Wins for Ethan and Bryn in the Opening Red Rose Cross Country Fixture

A total of 36 Bury AC members competed at the opening meeting of the Red Rose Cross Country League on Saturday. The dry, flat course and the warm sunshine made it a welcome start to the cross country season but the athletes are under no illusions that tougher conditions lie ahead. The standout performance in a Bury vest came from 12 year old Ethan Statham in the under 13 boys race where he literally ran away from the field crossing the finish line about 100 meters clear of his nearest rival. With Chester Theakstone in 10^th and Ronan Parker in 27^th the team placed fourth overall. The under 13 girls also gave an good showing with Isla Taylor taking a superb 2^nd, Myla Bryan in 10^th and Niamh Murray 12^th the team placed second. Other finishers were Nina Boodhun 19^th, Penelope Greenhalgh 31^st and Scarlett Hudson 32^nd.

Ethan Statham Striding to Victory

Lucy Dent ran strongly to take 2^nd in the under 15 girls race with Ella Straffon-Finch in 10^th. The under 11s boys team took third place with Max Worsley having an excellent run in 4^th, supported by Jacob McGuiness in 9^th and Finley McCallum in 20^th. Finley Alldred, Hamish Simpson and Toby Adkins grouped well in 23^rd, 34^th and 25^th respectively. The under 11 girls also placed third with Lila Metcalfe 10^th, Evelyn McDonald 17^th and Lottie Grundy 23^rd. Holly Hobson, making her club debut, placed 34^th.

Under 17 Emma Stansfield, in her first race for Bury, took an excellent 3^rd in her race which was incorporated into the senior women’s race. Scoring for the senior women’s team, who placed third, were Rachel Marshall in an excellent 2^nd, Sinead Burns 16^th, Lizzi Cheshire 23^rd and Bev McAuley 30^th. The other finishers were Susan Wheeldon-Gorst 52^nd, Afroditi Kalambouka 65^th and Sarah Withers 89^th.

The senior mens race was the final event of the day and that saw Byrn Lawrence make his cross country debut for the club. Running as an under 20 he placed a superb 3^rd overall, but was first finisher in his age category. Declan Tattersall had a great run to take 14^th with the other scorers being Paul Johnston 18^th and Ed Hunt 25^th. Bury’s other competitors were Matt Finch 45^th, Anthony Hallahan 49^th, Craig Sykes 57^th and team manager Ian Warrington 67^th.  Numbers were down slightly due to Sunday’s Manchester Half Marathon.