CARYS ROBERTS and Dave Alexander were crowned county cross country champions at Birchwood Forest Park.

The West Cheshire Athletic Club duo grabbed individual gold medals at the annual Cheshire AA Championships.

Roberts posted a winning time of 13 minutes 26 seconds to secure the under 13 girls title, six seconds clear of her nearest rival and was supported by club mates Jessica Lark (11th in 15:16), Martha Willetts (16th in 16:03), Aimee Phillips (18th in 16:14), and Megan White (31st in 18:53), to earn the team third spot.

Alexander bagged a gold medal in his over 50 men’s age group with a time of 39:02, backed up by team mates Mark Davies (sixth over-40 man in 40:59), Richard Hayes (third over-45 man in 42:19), and Andrew Clague (third over-50 man in 42:39), to earn second spot in the veteran men’s team event.

Ruby Phillips (second in 9:05), Cerys Rowlands (third in 9:07), Eleanor Williams (16th in 9:37), Lottie Blake (23rd in 10:26), and Ingrid Tait (31st in 11:16), secured second place in the under 11 girls team event.

Dave Dentith (fourth in 30:45), Rory Willson (eighth in 33:58), and Curtis Rodway (ninth in 34:53) combined to secure under 20 men’s team gold medals.

Issy Clarke posted 21:25 for third spot in the under 20 women’s race, ahead of Beth McMahon (sixth in 24:09).

Sion Roberts was third in the under 17 men’s race in 17:23, ahead of Paul Morrison (13th in 19:18), Harvey Tegg (14th in 19:26), Matthew Douglass (20:09) to earn fourth team spot.

Jamie Richardson (fourth in 14:50), Sammy Hollins (15th in 16:03), Isaac Tait (16th in 16:22), and Joseph Hancock (17th in 16:56) combined to earn fourth team spot in the under 15 boys event, and Lily Moorhouse was seventh in the under 17 ladies race in 25:22.

Sophie Grainger (seventh in 17:02), Lucia Pyne (13th in 18:00), and Abigail Cartwright (18th in 20:4) posted fourth spot in the under 15 girls team event.

Luke Parker (eighth in 13:51), Dan Willetts (12th in 14:07), Reece Munro (26th in 15:15), and Louis Tegg (30th in 15:54) combined to earn fifth team spot in the under 13 boys age group.

Neil Hershaw (fourth over-50 man in 43:13), Phil Woodley (43:28), Andy Carter (10th over-45 man in 44:32), John Parlevliet (15th over-40 man in 45:28), and Barry Thomas (59:12) secured fifth spot in the men’s team event.

Joshua Oates (27th in 10:02), Oliver Mallon (31st in 10:50), and Bryn Thomas (32nd in 10:54) earned eighth team spot in the under 11 boys race.

Ellie Robinson (fifth over-45 lady in 38:32), Claire Harris (38:40), Claire Williams (sixth over-45 lady in 40:12), Clare Mallon (11th over-45 lady in 42:53), Ellen McMahon (43:24), Angela Tegg (14th over-45 lady in 44:13), and Hannah Moorhouse (16th over-45 lady in 48:20) earned fifth spot in the veteran women’s team event and 10th place in the women’s team event.

IMOGEN PUGHE clocked a new under 15 girls 600m personal best of 1:42.88 and added 8.32 seconds in the 60m at the Manchester Indoor Open Meeting.

The West Cheshire AC youngster was joined at the event by Jake Gibson who posted 7.88 in the Under 20 men’s 60m and 25.22 seconds for the 200m, while Uzezi Onomerike clocked 26.39 seconds in the Under 15 boys 200m and 8.05 for 60m.

Stephanie Jones posted 27.62 in the Under 15 girls 200m and long jumped 4.69m, while Jodi Bemand clocked 29.37 in the Under 15 girls 200m and 10.15 in the 60m hurdles, and Joseph Morrison rounded the Under 23 men’s 600m in 1:23.59.

FIXTURES this weekend include the North Wales Cross Country League fourth round at Northop, on Saturday (2pm start), and the Manchester Cross Country League fourth round, at Heaton Park, on Saturday (12 noon start), while the Northern Indoor Under 17s, Under 20s, and Senior Championships take place on Saturday and Sunday at Sheffield.

ENTRIES are now being accepted for the Essar Chester Spring Five Miles Road Race being held on Wednesday, April 10, from Cheshire County Sports Club, Upton, Chester. The Link for online entries is: https://wcac.niftyentries.com/Essar-Chester-Spring-512

ENTRIES are being accepted for the Northern Indoor Athletics Championships being held at Sheffield. Entries close on January 18 for the under 13 and under 15 championships being held on February 3. Further details can be found at: https://www.northernathletics.org.uk/

ENTRIES are also now being accepted for the England Athletics Indoor Championships being held at Sheffield, on this link.

Congratulations to first-time winners Angela Tegg and Andy Carter, who both finished well clear to win the WCAC Endurance League for 2018. Previous winners Ellie Robinson and Andrew Clague finished clear runners-up, with Clare Mallon also clear in third in the women’s category and Dave Alexander edging Peter Smith for third in the men’s league. See middle of the road running page for tables.

Thanks to John Driscoll, who undertakes the onerous task of compiling the league tables each month, as well as having devised the handicap system against which bonus points are gained. John will soon be writing some observations and a proposal to communicate to the senior endurance runners and others who might be interested – watch this space for more detail.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best wishes to all members, family and friends of West Cheshire AC for 2019 and many thanks to everyone who helped make the Essar Chester Round The Walls Race and Club Christmas Fun Morning such a success.

LAST CHANCE TO ENTER THE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS!

Any club members interested in running in the Northern and National Cross-country Championships should follow this link for more information. If you are sure that you want to run, please email your details to Dave Alexander (his address is in the article).

THIS WEEKEND

58 Club members are entered in this Saturday’s Cheshire AA Cross Country Championships being held at Birchwood Forest Park, Warrington, WA3 6BU, and West Cheshire AC is providing 11 of the 19 officials needed for the event to take place.

Best wishes to all our athletes and officials.

CLUB AWARDS EVENING TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Tickets are now being sold for the Annual Club Awards Evening being held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Chester, on Saturday, 2nd February. The link to buy tickets is here.

The Club is appealing to all members to donate raffle prizes for the Awards Evening. If anyone can provide a raffle prize they should contact Mark Duffey or Dennis Wall at Club Training Sessions.

INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ENTRIES REMINDER

Entries are now being accepted for the Northern Indoor Athletics Championships being held at Sheffield. Entries close on January 18 for the under 13 and under 15 championships being held on February 3. Further details can be found here.

Entries are also now being accepted for the England Athletics Indoor Championships being held at Sheffield, on this link.

PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

All parents of youngsters attending track training sessions are reminded to collect their sons and daughters from the track – not from the car park. The Club wants to ensure everyone stays safe and that every youngster safely leaves every track training session.

CLUB KIT

Anyone wanting to purchase club vests (£17) and/or hoodies (£12) is reminded that parents Vikki Brett and Joanne Lark will sell club kit at the EPSV Track Office AFTER Tuesday night training sessions.

Payment can be made by cash or by cheque (made payable to West Cheshire AC).

URGENT HELP NEEDED

The Club needs urgent help, support, and assistance from parents during Tuesday evening training sessions at the Ellesmere Port Sports Village Athletics Track (6.30pm-8pm).

The club currently has a waiting list for under 11s, and this situation can only be resolved by asking parents to volunteer on a rota basis at Tuesday night training sessions.

PARENTS who can help should contact Dennis Wall on 07968643038 or email [email protected]

WINTER WORKSHOPS

Take a look at this link for a number of forthcoming athlete and coaching workshops.

INVITATION TO OBTAIN TRACK AND FIELD CERTIFICATE

All Club members are being invited to support our club by completing the Track & Field Online Management Course to help West Cheshire AC look after the Ellesmere Port Sports Village Athletics Track. Further details can be found here.

PHYSIO SUPPORT

Club member Heather McLintock is a qualified physiotherapist and offers substantial discounted prices for West Cheshire AC members on production of their membership card. Heather can be contacted on 01244 381350 or 07885 462487.

WEEKLY PRESS REPORT

This week’s press reports can be found here and here

FIXTURES

Saturday, January 5: Cheshire AA Cross-country Championships, at Birchwood Forest Park, Warrington, (11.30am):

Sunday, January 6: Sale Harriers Indoor Open Track & Field Meeting, SportCity, Manchester (10am).

Saturday, January 12: Manchester Area Cross Country League, at Heaton Park, (12 noon)

Saturday, January 12: North Wales Cross-country League, at Northop, (2pm)

Saturday/Sunday, January 12/13: Northern Indoor Under 17/Under 20 & Senior Track & Field Championships (Sheffield)

Saturday, January 19: Twin Piers 10k Road Race, Colwyn Bay (1pm)

Sunday, January 20: North West Sportshall League Finals, at Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes.

Sunday, January 20: Essar Four Villages Half Marathon, Helsby (10.30am):

Saturday, January 26: Northern Cross-country Championships, Pontefract, (10.30am):

Sunday, January 27: Borders Road Running League, Tattenhall (11am)