Ethan, Heidi and Lucy at the English Schools XC Champs

Three of Bury AC’s younger members had been selected to represent Greater Manchester Schools in the prestigious English Schools Athletics Association Cross Country Championships, held at Sefton Park in Liverpool on Saturday.  All three were in the first year of their respective competition age groups and competing against athletes at least a year older as a consequence. First to race, in the junior boys category, was Ethan Statham. Having qualified as fifth counter Ethan had his work cut out to try and work through the huge field from his position in the starting pen. He ran well to place 111^th in the huge field and was the county’s fifth counter.

Ethan Driving For The Line

Next to race was Heidi Wilkinson in the junior girls race. She was fourth in the pen and she produced a characteristically strong run to finish 155^th and was fifth Greater Manchester counter.  The final Bury AC competitor was Lucy Dent in the intermediate girls race where she was eighth in the starting pen, giving her a lot of work to do to try and work her way through the field. She placed a very creditable 192^nd as the eighth counter. All three youngsters were a credit to the club and coach Geoff Little.

Heidi Battling It Out

Lucy Pushing Through The Field

Caitlyn Johnston was also racing on Saturday, but down in Leicester at the super-fast Podium 5k race where she smashed her PB with a 17.37 clocking to finish just outside the top 50 in the stellar field.

Bury AC hosted the Lancaster Cup on Saturday, a universities event that saw athletes from nine universities competing at the Market Street track in sunny and dry conditions. Bury’s Matthew Lowe, a student at Lancaster University who was part of the organisers for the event, competed in the 5000m where he placed second in 16.00.12.

Sinead Taylor competed in the Cheshire Spring Half Marathon on Sunday. She produced an excellent run to take second place in 1:22.56, knocking over 4 minutes off her previous best for the distance in the race that winds through the country lanes around Knutsford..

The club also had two competitors in the final Manchester Indoors competition of the season on Sunday. Agatha Wragg won her under 17s 300m heat in 44.98, a new best time for the distance on an indoor track. Laila Musvamhiri placed second in her heat of the under 17s 60m sprint in a time of 8.98, just outside her best for the distance.