Crunch Time in Blackburn

WEST CHESHIRE Athletic Club`s seniors are aiming to wrap up their campaign on a high note this weekend.

The Ellesmere Port Sports Village-based outfit need to finish above Kingston Upon Hull AC in this Saturday`s final Northern Track and Field League match to retain their Division One status.

West Cheshire are experiencing their first-ever season in the top division and currently lie in fifth place on the same number of league points as Kingston Upon Hull, but trail their Humberside rivals by 21 match points after three rounds.

The purple-vested club boosted their hopes of survival by finishing third when they hosted the third round last month at Ellesmere Port.

Team managers Jenny Manning and David McKay are planning to see all the hard work so far this season pay dividends when Saturday`s match comes under starter`s orders at Blackburn`s Witton Park.

Alice McMahon will be aiming to build on her good form after clocking 12.45 seconds in the fastest 100m first round heat at Bedford last weekend in the England Athletics Track and Field Championships.

McMahon will be backed up in the short sprints by Georgia Barlow, in a squad that will include the club`s most recent England international debutant, Sophie Percival, who won the javelin competition for her country at the Welsh Under 20 International in Cardiff.

Percival will be backed up by Emily Ball in the throws, Richard Farley who clocked a new 400m personal best of 52.96 seconds at Trafford last week, and other versatile members to feature will include Alan Littler, Ethan Milligan, Alex Kearns, Mark Hearn, and mother and daughter, Debra and Danielle Erskine.

ANDY CARTER won the over 45 men`s prize at the North Wales Half Marathon staged at Conwy.

The West Cheshire race ace clocked one hour 43 minutes 42 seconds for 36th position overall, ahead of club mate, Neil Carter, who posted 1:47 for first place in his over-55 age group, and Niamh Lewis who posted 1:58:09 for fifth spot in the senior ladies race.

KEELY SMITH and Clare Mallon represented West Cheshire AC at the Helena Tipping 10k Road Race at Wrexham.

Smith finished fourth lady in 43:17, and Mallon achieved second position in her over-40 age group with a time of 48:43.

JOSEPH MORRISON of West Cheshire AC won the Ellesmere Port 5k parkrun with a new personal best time of 18:52.

He was backed up on the Whitby Park course by third lady Rosemary Rogers (24:28), Ben Mustafa (25:05), Paul Morrison (25:40), and Jack Brett (new pb of 25:41).

ETHAN GREENLAND, of West Cheshire, finished third with a time of 18:17 at the Delamere 5k parkrun, ahead of Ethan Butler (21:18), and Ellie Finn (27:10).

JOHN PARLEVLIET, of West Cheshire, clocked a new personal best of 19:31 at the Chester 5k parkrun for fourth spot, ahead of clubmate Joe Foy who posted a new personal best of 20:11 for fifth position.

Bob Benson achieved a new personal best of 20:48, ahead of Steve Hillier in a new pb of 21:20; Harvey Tegg (22:16), Louis Tegg (22:56), Julian Tegg (22:58), Peter Smith (23:48), Tony Kennedy (24:06), Anne-Marie Tait (26:04), and Brian Beattie (27:19).

ENTRIES are now being accepted for this year`s Guilden Sutton Six 10k Road Race being organised by West Cheshire Athletic Club on Sunday, September 18.

The main 10k race starts at 11am and there is a 1.5 mile fun run which starts at 12.15pm, and the link for entries is: https://wcac.niftyentries.com/SuttonSix

WEST CHESHIRE AC will host the second round of the Borders Road Running League on Sunday, November 6.

The full list of dates and host clubs is: October 9 (Eryri Harriers); November 6 (West Cheshire); December 4 (Birkenhead); January 22 (Deeside); March 12 (Wirral); April 9 (Helsby); April 26 (Wrexham).

FIXTURES for this season`s North Staffs Cross Country League series have been released.

Round One on Saturday, October 1, will be held at Knights Grange, Winsford, and the second round will be staged at Park Hall Country Park, on Saturday, October 29; while round three is at Keele University on Saturday, November 19; and the final round is at Stafford Common on Saturday, December 17.