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13 December 2008 NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE - LEEK



Westwood, Leek is always the toughest of the North Staffs Cross Country League races - particularly for the younger competitors - but there was not a word of complaint from anyone after some excellent individual and team performances which also clinched a number of individual and team titles.

NB - if anyone did not pick up a team trophy on the day who should have done please let me know and I will get you one from the organisers. 

The U11 girls were first to start, and defending champion Sarah Griffiths made sure that she was always going to be in the frame. Just missing out on a 3rd league win this season she again showed what a consistently strong competitor she is with an excellent 2nd place, and a brilliant 2nd league title in a row. The other girls in the U11 group have shuffled their finishing positions all season, and this time it was the turn of Olivia Barnett to follow Sarah home with a great run in 6th. Very close behind Lydia Whiston and Monica Organisciak showed the club's strength in depth, whilst fast finisher Elizabeth Beech looks like someone to watch on the track next summer. As a result the U11 Girls team also won the league team title.

The U13s showed some strength in depth with an excellent 5th place from Jessica Heath leading the way. Lydia Beech recorded her best result of the season in 6th, and Maraid Nolan and new comer Natasha Clowes also ran strongly to bring the team home with 2nd place in the overall standings. 

Our two competitors in the U15 girls also ran really well, with Jessica Griffiths capping a consistently good season with a great 8th place in this race and 6th overall. Jade Heath was not far behind with an excellent 9th placing in this race. Overall, the girls continue to show great promise, despite us also focusing on the North Midlands League in these categories.

Robroy Gregory was top performer in the U11 boys with another excellent run. A real sign of improvement is not necessarily the finishing place but how far you finish behind the leader, and Robroy has been steadily moving closer to the leaders all season. After his win in the last race at Stafford Joel Mann might have been expected to have been in the frame here too, but 3 weeks off with a bad cold meant that he did brilliantly just to come out and finish. 3 finishers are needed to finish for a team prize and Joel made sure that he and his team mates would not go home disappointed as they finished 3rd overall. The 3rd member of the team, Ethan Wymess has also improved enormously and this was his best run of the season.

At U13 level a couple of our top competitors returned to local competition but found their match in new recruit Ashley Wyatt, as he, Corey Hallet-Blanch and MacCauley Snatch were involved in the most competitive race of the day. Along with Lindon Evans this must be the strongest U13 boys team from Stoke AC for some while, and the Staffs Championships in January will be some race. Another new recruit Liam Baggley was not far behind on his debut and also looks a very good prospect, as does Nick Stoddard who has had a superbly consistent season, and finished a brilliant 3rd overall in the individual standings. Callum Griffiths and George Steventon have also run well this year, and their placings helped to secure top spot overall for the U13 team.

Tom Guy showed that his stamina has definitely improved this winter with a strong run over the two laps of this testing course, although it might have been a much more interesting U15 boys race if Dave Sheldon, Alex Brecker and a couple of the other top Stoke competitors had not been laid low with illness. Having said that unsung hero Sam Botham continued his consistent season with a great run, after not realising it was over two laps on this occasion! Sam can be a top competitor if he really wants to, and 3rd place overall in the individual standings is a great reward for his commitment and hard work in training.

The U17 men's team results have also been effected by our efforts to involve the lads in National competition, but led by a best performance of the season so far from Nathan Ainsworth the guys showed that they can be very competitive in this league against the some of the strongest competition around. Joe Broome and Liam Hendricken also performed well and probably just need a bit more endurance to really shine in these races, as the team came home 2nd on the day. 

The senior men have again had an up and down season, and have not really been in a position to show our full strength at any stage. However we have had some great individual performances, and maybe with a couple of the other guys about to come back we can see a little light at the end of the tunnel.

International ultra distance runner Brian Cole has so far enjoyed his best season on the country, and his 2nd place here indicated that recovery from his 100k effort in early November is continuing well. Holding back a little in the early stages, Brian missed the break made by top Moorlands junior Matt Clowes, and he lost track of Clowes on the last lap amongst all the lapped competitors, but pronounced himself well chuffed with a clear 2nd.

Seb Duffy has been an excellent recruit this winter, and he did just enough in 3rd to make sure that he took the individual title in Alex Derricott's absence. With concentration on the championship races and the Birmingham League in the New Year I am sure we will see further improvement from a talented young athlete. Also enjoying a great season is Steve Bazell who only just lost out on 4th place in the last couple of hundred metres as he finished a strong 7th here, and thus ensured an excellent 2nd place in the overall individual standings. Steve is one of our very best team men and always gives 110%.

Although we currently have a number of absent men who are proven top 10 performers it may be that our next big push comes from the relative novices and younger guys now coming through. 21 year old Dave Lee ran an absolute stormer here for 20th, and we will have to revise our estimations of quite how far Dave can go after such a massive improvement from 49th in the first fixture. I reckon that Dave could be consistently top 20 next winter.

I saved Adrian's legs by easing round for 32nd, and but for stitch on the last lap would have probably been looking for a top 25 finish... Although well down on the start of the season, I know there is a lot left in the tank once I can run freely again. U20 Rob Cook was our next counter in an excellent 41st, his best result at this level, and he looked much more comfortable in this race and afterwards than he has done before, so he is definitely moving the right way. Congratulations also to Rob for his 2nd place overall in the U20 individual standings - showing great determination and team loyalty to complete all 4 fixtures in his debut season at senior level.

Also rapidly improving was our last finisher Ant Faulkner - up to 49th from 116th at Park Hall and 71st at Stafford Common. This is Ant's first season in running, let alone at cross country, and he is now beating some very experienced competitors. Like Dave and Rob he could be a top 20 regular in the next year or two. So, only 7 finishers in the senior men again, but what we lack in quantity we definitely make up for with quality!

And finally, I would like to congratulate local rivals Staffs Moorlands on their comprehensive men's overall league team win. I know how hard it actually is to get teams out race after race, no matter how many senior men you have as members, so well done Cindy et al. 

John Danahay

Full results on the North Staffs Cross Country League Website: www.nsccl.co.uk

U11 Girls Team 1st - 16 points
2. Sarah Griffiths (1st overall)
6. Olivia Barnett (8th overall)
8. Lydia Whiston (9th overall)
9. Monica Organisciak (5th= overall)
15. Elizabeth Beech
 

U13 Girls - Team 2nd - 20 points
5. Jessica Heath
6. Lydia Beech (8th overall)
8. Maraid Nolan (7th overall)
13. Natasha Clowes


U15 Girls
8. Jessica Griffiths (6th overall)
9. Jade Heath


U11 Boys - Team 3rd - 40 points 
10. Robroy Gregory (7th overall)
13. Joel Mann (4th= overall)
17. Ethan Wymess


U13 Boys - Team 1st - 6 points 
1. Ashley Wyatt
2. Corey Hallet-Blanch
3. MacCauley Snutch
6. Liam Baggley
8. Nick Stoddard (3rd overall)
17. Callum Griffiths (10th overall)
21. George Steventon


U15 Boys -
1. Tom Guy
3. Sam Botham (3rd overall)


U17 Men - Team  2nd - 20 points 
3. Nathan Ainsworth
7. Joe Broome
10. Liam Hendricken


Jun, Sen & Vet Men - Team 2nd - 105 pts 
2. Brian Cole
3. Seb Duffy (1st overall)
7. Steve Bazell (2nd overall)
20. Dave Lee
32. John Danahay (M45)
41. Rob Cook (U20) (2nd U20 overall)
49. Ant Faulkner
Team 1st overall
8.30
9.14
9.18
9.19
9.57


Team 2nd overall
8.39
8.56
9.08
9.16



15.25
15.51


Team 3rd overall
8.36
9.07
9.23


Team 1st overall
12.25
12.28
12.31
13.03
13.22
14.56
17.08



20.49
23.53



21.54
22.53
24.05


Team 2nd overall
31.19
31.54
32.08
35.05
35.44
36.55
37.24