9th December 2006	NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE - LEEK
	A strong turnout from Stoke AC athletes saw them capture a number of individual and team titles at the end of another excellent North Staffs Cross Country season. Anyone who though that the switch from Westwood high School to Leek High School would result in less testing course soon found out that this one was not only undulating, but also soft underfoot - and definitely a true test of strength. In the first race Sarah Griffiths yet again led the way for the U11 girls with a great 6th place. She led newcomer Aoife Swords and Lydia Beech to an excellent 2nd team place on the day, and 3rd overall. The U13 girls saw Grace Mahony also run very well, supported by Jessica Griffiths and Jade Heath, to lead the team to 2nd place on the day and 2nd team overall. In the U15 girls, top UK U15 Kate Holt, put in her only appearance in the league this season, and she duly not only demolished the girls field, but also left the U13 boys behind with a comfortable win. Claire Capper also ran well for 7th Two other members of Alan Morris's strong squad also finished 1st and 2nd in the U17 women. An easy win for Heather Holt was followed not far behind by Helen Capper in 2nd. In the senior women, Michelle Ross found the conditions really tough on her road legs, and succumbed to an outstanding run from Vale Royal junior Stevie Stockton. Michelle was still well ahead of the other local women though. This was the Stoke girls only showing in the League this season and gave just a hint of the real strength of this side of the club that we don't often see at this level... The City of Stoke boys dominated the team standings, but mostly missed out on individual medals because they went to a Schools Inter-counties event instead of running at Stafford Common. Coach George Cooper always gives priority to Schools athletics and cross country participation because it helps to keep the number of young athletes competing at school higher than would otherwise be the case, and this helps us in the longer run.  The U11 boys were led home by commanding runs from Greg Smalley and Connor Bradbury in first and second. These were just the first of the Stoke boys to show what might have been individually, if they had not attended the Schools Inter Counties event. However 9 year old Macauley Snutch put in another brilliant run for 5th place and he claimed 3rd overall in his very first winter in the sport. Helped by strong season long performances from Callum Griffiths and Robbie Gregory the U11 boys won the overall team title. Tom Guy ran another perfect tactical race to lead home the U13 boys for the 3rd time in 3 races, but still missed out on an individual title. Kris Washington who has another year to go in this age-group was very close behind in 4th. Both these boys missed out on individual placings, but an overall league team win was based on great runs from Alex Brecker and Luke Kinch, whose epic battles with each other continue to help them both improve with each race. The U15 boys saw the return of the Stoke 'pack' and this time Jake Guest definitely did not want 2nd. Battling the clear winner of the 2 previous fixtures, Buxton's Kyle Fowler all the way, they actually dead heated for 1st - unfortunately no photo finish at the North Staffs! Mike Harding in 3rd continued to show that he is one of the most talented lads around as he stayed close to the leaders. 800m runner Josh Kinch definitely did not enjoy the mud and hills, but continues to improve on the country and will surprise a few after Christmas as he finished a comfortable 4th. Mark Shallcross also ran well and with a little more confidence could soon be battling it out with the leaders. The rest of the lads all improved on their positions from previous fixtures. All these lads are coached by George Cooper at Northwood - if you want to beat them, join them! Unfortunately our strength in depth in the younger age-groups is not currently matched at U17 level. However Rob Cook did run much better than at any of the previous fixtures and has a lot of potential. The senior men may have sown up the league title at the 1st fixture, but they still needed to finish 6 in each race - not at all easy for a team as small as Stoke's. A increasing list of injuries and illness did not help, and I nearly had to find my shorts again! The 7 who ran duly obliged, although they had to play second fiddle to some excellent Staffs Moorlands' performances in their 'home' fixture. This is not to say that the Stoke runners who were there did not give it a go... An amazing run from Gavin Walters in 3rd showed just a bit more of what potential he has if he actually does some serious training, as he finished close behind league champion Phil Bradshaw. However both were more than a minute behind a typically brilliant run from fell running International Simon Bailey.  Royal Marine Brian Cole was supposed to be having a rest and not racing after 4 races in 4 weeks, but after a last minute recall due to our lack of numbers he proved that he is getting fitter every week. Running a training session in a race is not always a good idea, but Brian showed how it can be done - 15th to 5th on the 4th lap and a few shell shocked fellow competitors later... Not far behind Andy Allen battled his way round to 7th and yet again proved what an amazingly consistent cross country runner he is, with an great 2nd place overall in the league. And we all know he is 40 even if the League constitution doesn't recognise it... Top official veteran in the league though was also ours - former international Mark Kinch showed that he is really getting some strength back now as he pulled through for 13th and a well deserved M40 title. Pete Benyon ran despite being unwell and we know how much better he can go, but he was never going to stop, and he will bounce back. Last team counter Steve Bazell was another who has been feeling under the weather recently, but he ran strongly in the latter stages to make sure that we were not too far away from Staffs Moorlands despite our lack of strength on the day. Adrian Thiemicke is the team's 'rock' - and yet again made sure that we were never going to finish 1 man short - thanks Adrian. I nearly forgot to mention an outstanding performance from the league's new U20 champion Carl Shubotham who finished in his highest ever position of 8th on this toughest of courses. Although Carl runs for Staffs University in this league, he is actually a full Stoke AC member, but again we are happy to support Staffs University to increase student participation, even though we would have won the team race easily today with his inclusion in our own squad. Overall this was another excellent season with some record low team scores in the North Staffs League by a revitalised Stoke team. This was also the club's 4th senior men's title on the trot! We just need a little more strength in depth to really show what difference being a Stoke AC athlete makes - with excellent coaching from the likes of Harry Harvey, Alan Morris, George Cooper and Steve Shubotham - why not join us to find out what you can really do? On a last note don't forget Steve Shubotham's excellent senior men's team management -  It takes a fantastic effort to get 6 out in each race from such a small squad! John Danahay Full results at: www.nsccl.co.uk Photos from Brian Dale at http://racephotos.topcities.com/  U11 Girls - Team 2nd= 25 points 6. Sarah Griffiths - 4th Overall 9. Aoife Swords 10. Lydia Beech - 6th Overall 11. Jessica Heath 14. Elizabeth Beech 15. Melissa Harding U13 Girls - Team 2nd - 38 points 9. Grace Mahony 14. Jessica Griffiths - 7th Overall 15. Jade Heath U15 Girls - No Team 1. Kate Holt 7. Claire Capper U17 Women - No Team 1. Heather Holt 2. Helen Capper Jun, Sen & Vet Women - No Team 2. Michelle Ross 15. Clare Booker U11 Boys - Team 1st - 8 points  1. Greg Smalley 2. Connor Bradbury 5. Macauley Snutch - 3rd Overall 14. Callum Griffiths - 6th Overall 16. John Gosling 17. Robbie Gregory - 8th Overall 22. Jordan Hutchinson 23. George Steventon - 10th Overall 27. Jake Holdcroft U13 Boys - Team 1st - 11 points  1. Tom Guy 4. Kristan Washington 6. Alex Brecker - 4th Overall 7. Luke Kinch - 6th Overall 11. Jake Corbishley U15 Boys - Team 1st - 8 points 1. Jake Guest 3. Mike Harding 4. Josh Kinch 5. Mark Shallcross 7. Joe Broome 11. Matt Scragg 12. Jack Ross 14. Rob Wilson U17 Men - No Team 8. Rob Cook 13. Mike Shallcross Jun, Sen & Vet Men - Team 2nd - 61 points 3. Gavin Walters 5. Brian Cole 7. Andy Allen (M40) - 2nd Man Overall 13. Mark Kinch (M40) - 1st M40 Overall 15. Pete Benyon - 4th Man Overall 18.Steve Bazell 90. Adrian Thiemicke (M40) Team 3rd Overall 11.20 11.51 11.55 12.02 12.58 13.06 Team 2nd Overall 10.54 12.25 12.33 14.39 17.20 18.02 18.24 22.08 26.20 Team 1st Overall 9.24 9.53 10.23 11.34 11.46 11.55 12.49 12.49 13.39 Team 1st Overall 14.48 14.53 16.01 16.15 17.17 16.12 16.30 16.48 17.01 17.28 18.17 18.32 18.48 23.22 27.33 Team 1st Overall 38.34 39.01 39.26 40.06 40.27 40.54 49.22