| Here come the girls! 10 December
After chasing the leaders in the Mid-Lancs Cross Country League for so many years Kirsty Longley could be forgiven for actually giving up on winning this event but motherhood has given her an additional drive and dimension and she was irresistible at Chorley`s Astley Park. On an entertaining and diverse course she was never really troubled, could relax and enjoy the spectacle of seeing some talented runners struggling in her wake. This will be an enormous boost to her confidence as she is still some way of her optimimum training mileage. The back up team of Steph Swift(22) and Lauren Wilson(32) collected third spot and keep end of season medal prospects well and truly alive. Just to emphasise the female renaissance Rosie Johnson was second in the U15 Girls race with Katie Walker on ninth while elsewhere, in the Merseyside Schools, Morag Molyneux, a super-determined young lady, took a Year 7 race with style. The Liverpool Pembroke Sefton girls are looking good. Back at Chorley and not to be outdone, the U17 Men ran remarkably well with Warren Turner(2), only marginally off winning, plus Alistair Nelson(4) and Ryan Blackwell(6) to secure the team race. James Loftus(11), Dave Reece(17) and Rob Parkinson(22) were a useful fourth placed B squad.The U13 Boys collected third team with Jack Crook(7) scoring a rare victory over team mate Liam Bibby(10) and with Josh Forrest(20) and Michael Croft(34). Max Cotterill(40) and Joe Marshall(41) are edging forward. Chris Webber(24) cut a lone figure in the U15 Boys race. As for the U13 girls Charlotte Casselton(25) and Kate Croft(28) stuck purposefully to task. Early days yet but at U11 Megan Barnsley(6) and sister Alex(10) indicate there is more female talent developing further down the line. Results The senior men were engaged in the final Liverpool and District League match at Stadt Moers Park, Whiston. Significant absences seriously weakened the team but Junior Sean Kirkbride was clearly not intimidated by the numerous seasoned runners around him and took a useful 12th spot adding a searing finish. He will certainly progress as he gets more races under his belt. It was left to a band of veterans to complete the counting, Chris Pedder(25), Graham Cairns(26), Sammy Rashid(31), Tony Jackson(39) and Jeff Mason(53) to take fourth both on the day and overall. Robbie Wood(56), John Dobie(75) and Jamie Jackson(88) closed in. Results Charles Gains |
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| Amelia majestic at Sport City 4 December
The first open indoor meeting at Sport City, Manchester, saw LPS high jump star Amelia McLaughlin sail majestically over 1.70m and only narrowly fail by a whisker at 1.75m. Barely into the tough winter training schedule this is a truly astonishing performance that will reverberate around the athletic scene. Report Charles Gains |
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