TEESSIDER Rob Cole made it three wins out of five to retain his North Yorkshire and South Durham senior men's title at Richmond.

Cole, who left Middlesbrough Mandale last year to join British Athletics League Division One outfit Newham and Essex Beagles, runs second claim for New Marske Harriers in his local cross country league and he scored a runaway victory in the final meeting, clocking 29 mins 5 secs for the tricky 8.6km course as he beat Loftus veteran John Hunter - who won the over-40 title - by 59 seconds.

Cole had only been beaten by Scarborough Harrier Daniel Agustus, who won at Hartlepool and Loftus, but did not compete in enough races to challenge for the championship.

One victory and three seconds earned the junior men's title for Middlesbrough Mandale's Andrew Wiles, who beat Alec Duffield by nine points, though the Loftus athlete counted from one race fewer.

Hartlepool Burn Road's Karl Edwards counted five victories to win the over-50 crown, while Redcar's David Bell had four wins out of five to take the over-60 title.

Middlesbrough and Cleveland's Carolyn Summersgill won the final two meetings to beat clubmate Johanna Jackson by one point for the women's championship.

The women's veteran title went to Loftus AC's Nicola Kent, who won one of her five races. Darlington's Alison Raw won all of her three races but was 13 points behind the winner.

Only two athletes maintained an unbeaten record in their five races during the season - Nestle Rowntrees's Sarah Tunstall (U20) and Vicky Needham (U17). Shildon's North-East champion Kate Avery won her three races in the U15 section.

Final scores - Senior men: 1 R Cole (New Marske) 73 pts; 2 G Dunn (Thirsk) 62; 3 D Middlemass (Loftus) 58. Team: Loftus. Vet 1: J Hunter (Loftus) 50. Vet 2: K Edwards (HBR) 50; V 3: D Bell (Redcar) 48.

Junior men: 1 A Wiles (Middlesbrough Mandale) 44; 2 A Duffield (Loftus) 35; 3= J Rafferty (Midd Man) & J Taylor (Midd Man) 29.

U17 men: 1 A Mitchell (Midd Man) 44; 2 J Kraft (Scarborough) 38; 3 K Thompson (Shildon) 30.

U15 boys: 1 J Lazenby (Middlesbrough & Cleveland) 37; 2 R Moody (Midd Man) 37; 3 T Murphy (M&C) 33.

U13 boys: 1 D Collins (Scar) 48; 2= R Pearse (NM) & M Scott (Richmond & Zetland) 38.

Senior women: 1 C Summersgill (M&C) 44; 2 J Jackson (M&C) 43; 3 D Richardson (Quakers) 43. Team: Nestle Rowntrees. Vet 1: N Kent (Loftus) 43. Vet 2 H Halliday (R&Z) 45.

U20 women: 1 S Tunstall (NR) 50; 2 A Snook (Shildon) 43; 3 A Owen (Loftus) 40.

U17 women: 1 V Needham (NR) 50; 2 S Gray (Scar) 46; 3 L Roche (M&C) 31.

U15 girls: 1 J Russon (NM) 45; 2 A Bridgeman (Scar) 41; 3 K Avery (Shildon) 30.

U13 girls: 1 M Winzer (R&Z) 45; 2 E Harper (Scar) 40; 3 G Rodgers (Loftus) 34.