Newton Aycliffe

The NYSD cross country race at Whitby saw the debut of Under-13 athlete James Askew, who won the club's best newcomer award recently on presentation night.

James ran marvelously in his first race on the mud to finish a creditable 15th in a time of 12 mins 38 secs. Another winner at the presentation night was most improved athlete Rachel Scholey who ran well in the Senior Ladies race finishing in 28th place.

Sue Milburn continued her current good form to finish 12th, despite taking a massive tumble. Pat Edwards ran well to finish in 35th place. In the Under-13 girls race Jessica Scholey finished in 34th place for her 14 mins.

In the Senior Men's event over the 5.5 mile distance Peter Milburn finished in 34th place for 34 mins, ahead of Dave Middleton who was 117th in 43 mins.

The Dewsbury 10k road race saw five runners turning out for Newton Aycliffe. Ian Monkman continuing his current good form to finish in 33 mins, ahead of Mike O'Sullivan who weighed in with a personal best time of 40 mins 46 secs, with Brent Morfoot only 12 secs behind, Dave McKenzie managed a fine 46 mins and Rachel Scholey also running a PB for 48 mins 30 secs.

The Farringdon Harrier League cross-country proved to be really tough going with only Colin Gibson running 41 mins and Dave Middleton 48 mins our only combatants on the day.

The Northern Cross Country Championships run at Allestree Park, Derby proved to be very demanding, with again only two runners making the long journey. Ian Monkman had a magnificent outing to finish 69th in a time of 43 mins, ahead of Dave Middleton who managed 60 mins over the 7.5 mile distance.

Shildon

At the fifth North Yorkshire and South Durham Cross Country fixture held at Huntcliffe School Saltburn, the Under-13 boys team kept up their excellent form by easily winning the team event with four runners in the first five places.

Warren Roberts (8.58) led for most of the way on a very tough course just to be caught close home by Khalil Thompson (8.57) with Andrew Thompson (9.06) third and Anthony Brown (9.22) in fifth place. These results puts the Shildon lads back on top of the league with one remaining fixture at Newton Aycliffe next month.

In the Under-15 Boys race Jalal Thompson was first back in eighth in 12.09, followed by Ross Carpenter in 12th in 12.35, then Anthony Forth in 15th in 12.50 and finally Matthew Hewitson 17th in 13.01 the team finished in third place overall.

Natalie Owens, who is preparing for the National Championships at Bristol next week, came home in 12th place in the Inter-Senior Veterans event in a time of 20.48, newcomer Kevin Russell had an excellent run in the Under-17 Boys event to finish in third place in a time of 23.32 with teammate Peter Gray in 12th place in a time of 28.43.

In the Senior Men's Race first back for the Club was Paul Best, then Stephen Brown followed by Bob Davison, Chris Griffith, Victor Sayers and finally John Hewitson. The same day at the Chester-le-Street Road races Scott Elwood finished in 29th place in a time of 36.26 with Ray Halton 40th in a time of 44.37, the winner was Bob Hand of Durham City Harriers. In the Ladies race Myra McMenamin was 11th in 24.34 and Julie Ingram 13th in 25.56 the winner was Alyson Dixon of Sunderland Harriers.

l Anyone interested in middle distance or sprints the club hold their training sessions at the Stadium 2000, on Mondays, Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Anyone requiring more information on the club should contact the Secretary Neil Stockey on (01388) 776083.

Darlington Harriers

The fifth NYSD cross country fixture took place at Saltburn on Sunday, February 17.

Results - Senior women: B Taylor third in 19.04; Philippa Smith 37th 25.58.

Senior men: Ben Wilson led the men's team home in 42nd place in 37.16; Ron Read 54th in 38.13; Steve Hutchinson 58th 38.57; Jack Mason 71st 39.59; Paul Smith 76th 40.41; Ian Barnes 86th 42.09; first male vet 60, Dave Cottam was forced to withdraw through injury.

U13 girls: Emma Clifford 26th 12.29.

U15 boys: Ryan Moss 13th 12.43; Theo Panayi 22nd 13.46. The final meeting is at Newton Aycliffe on March 3.

l The Harriers train at Eastbourne sports complex on Tuesday and Thursday 6.15pm to 8pm, contact John Brant on (01325) 257672 for further information.

Quakers

SEVEN members of the club represented County Durham at the recent school's inter-county match held at the King James first School in Bishop Auckland. Outstanding performances from Abigail Wilson, Alex Snook and Julia Orr saw them achieve selection for the team that will go forward to the English School's Cross Country Championships which is to be held in Chelmsford.

Junior girls (Years 8 & 9): Abigail Wilson sixth, Alex Snook 11th, Jessica Hudson 27th, Anna Tunstall 49th.

Intermediate Girls (Years 10 & 11): Julia Orr 3rd.

Intermediate Boys (Years 10 & 11): Lewis Moses 19th (selected as first reserve) Richard Moss 23rd.

Abigail Wilson, Julia Orr and Lewis Moses were selected to represent the North-East at the recent Reebok Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships, which were held at Wollaton Park. In the U13 Girls race Abigail Wilson, despite being spiked and consequently suffering a fall, bravely continued to finish 156th in a time of 13:59 with the North-East team finishing in ninth place overall. Julia Orr, competing in the U15 girls event, had an excellent run to cross the line 25th (second counter for the North-East) with a time of 16:17 in a race which saw 283 finishers and the North-East take the second team position. The Under-15 Boys race saw Lewis Moses put in one of his best performances to-date, with over 300 in the race Moses finished 42nd in a time of 16:24 and was third counter for the North-East which finished in third place overall.

The local heat of the Sports Hall Athletics Competition held at Thornaby Pavilion saw five junior members in action.

Under 13-girls: Stephanie Millar: 2 Lap Sprint, sixth heat, Standing Triple Jump 3.34m. Helen Scott: 2 Lap Sprint, fifth in heat, Vertical Jump fifth, 36cm, Speed Bounce 48 in 20 secs.

Under-15 Boys: Simon Farmer: 2 Lap Sprint, second in heat, sixth in final. Shot Putt fourth, 7.37m. Andrew Sutton: 2 Lap Sprint, fourth in heat, fourth in final. Shot Putt first, 10.13m, Standing Triple Jump second, 6.93m. Matthew Sutton: 4 Lap Race (final), first, Speed Bounce firs, 52 in 20 secs, Standing Long Jump second, 2.12m.

The penultimate meeting in the North Yorkshire & South Durham Cross Country League was held on a windy course at Huntcliffe School in Saltburn. The demanding course saw some first class performances from the club's members.

Under-13 Girls: Helen Scott 17th, 11:40, Rachel Carter 33rd, 14:13.

Under-15 Girls: Julia Orr 2nd, 12:40, Alex Snook 7th, 13:28.

Under-15 Boys: Luke Kelton 2nd, 11:02, Lewis Moses 3rd, 11:02, Alan Carter 17th, 13:01, Simon Farmer 19th, 13:19, Michael Bond 21st, 13:26, Simon Carter 23rd, 14:07 (first team).

Senior Men: Carl Bedford 43rd (sixth Under 20) 37:22, Wayne Bramley 53rd, 38:06, Steven Snook 64th, 39:13, Rob McSherry 75th, 40:27, Dave McLachlan 88th, 42:38, Dave Giblin 89th, 42:42. (12th Team)