Red Rose smells sweet for Bury

THIS meeting was the last league event of the season and Bury Athletic Club were well in the hunt for several individual as well as team trophies.

Individual awards are based on the athlete's best three results, while the team awards require a team to finish in each of the four meetings.

UNDER 13 BOYS: Ross Little has been outstanding this season and his performances in the previous three meetings ensured that he had already won the individual title.

However there was still the team trophy to win and Louis Szymanski was also pushing hard for the silver individual medal.

Louis was well motivated and he quickly hit the front, followed by Horwich's Simon Rashleigh, Ross, and a guest runner from City of Norwich.

The two Bury members and Simon Rashleigh gradually pulled away from the rest of the field and this time it was Louis who won, with Ross third, and only four seconds between these three. Another who moved gradually through the field was Adam Cheshire.

Adam has given good support to the team throughout the winter and his finishing place of fifth ensured another team win, the overall team trophy, as well as finishing him in overall sixth position, behind Ross first and Louis second.

The other two finishers in this age group were the ever present and reliable Jack Barton, and Mark Campbell.

Jack made an important contribution to the team performances, finishing as fourth team member twice and performing well at each of the four meetings. Mark finished in 17th position.

UNDER 13 GIRLS: Andrea Baker has been most consistent in her Red Rose performances, and her third fourth place finish out of four races, was enough to ensure she finished fourth overall.

She was well supported by her teammates. Alix McDermott gave another strong and positive performance to finish 56 seconds behind Andrea, and by the consistent Nicola Quick who has improved in each race.

Alix finished 14th, Nicola 19th and the team a well-deserved third place on the day, behind a strong winning Rossendale team.

UNDER 15 BOYS: With Josh Cole not competing, it was left to Nick Lamont to finish just two seconds ahead of Chris Marsh, 15th and 16th positions.

UNDER 15 GIRLS: Amanda Barton, and Holly "I don't do mud" Chapman were the only two likely runners for the club.

However, just before the start the well wrapped up and sun tanned Laura Evans decided that she would change her mind, and rather than spectate, she would enter the race.

The key part of her racing attire, her hair clip, proved difficult to locate at first, but once found, and correctly positioned, it proved an effective replacement for those famous brightly coloured hats that she used to wear!

She ran in tracksters and it was more a training run for Laura, but her class shone through as she finished over a minute and a half in front of the second placed girl.

Further back the ever-present Amanda Barton was again enjoying the race, and finished well in 12th place.

As for Holly Chapman, well again she amazed everybody by finishing the race with hardly any mud on her! But make no mistake, Holly is running better each race.

She has improved her position in each of the four meetings and her hurdling technique to avoid those patches of mud lacks nothing!

The team finished in third position on the day, with Amanda 8th and Holly 11th in the overall league positions

UNDER 17 MEN: James Dagg did not start the second of his two laps, but his overall league position remains fourth due to his previous three races.

So it was left to Jamie Bennett to finish in 12th place on the day and 13th overall.

UNDER 17 WOMEN: Another set of excellent individual performances, coupled with a determined team effort, resulted in two individual medals and the club being the first to win the new team shield.

This was the target set by coach Geoff Little, and that was what this group of women achieved.

At Bolton, as at all the other three meetings, it was a shared team effort. The only one to run all four races has been Jessica Simons, and three wins show her ability and aptitude.

The rest of the time the team effort has been shared around. Natasha McDonald was absent, and Liz Cheshire was watching, but they had four running and required three finishers to complete the team.

Jessica Simons started off as she meant to finish, at the front, and she was never challenged in that position. By comparison Cheryl Sullivan was just off the chasing pack on the first lap, but she had worked her way to that second place by the finishing line.

Further back the two Mels were enjoying the race. Mel Monks kept an even pace throughout the race and finished in sixth place, followed by Mel Haslam who just kept smiling at everybody as she finished in 10th place.

Winning team again and overall team winners, just watch this team party at the presentation night!

SENIOR MEN: With only Neil Coe able to complete the three races necessary for an individual overall placing, it was pleasing to see three more of the clubs senior members running.

Luke Harreld had already run in the league, but for Pete Bates and David Archer this was their first cross-country of the winter, mainly due to niggling injuries.

Neil had a good race, but was not pleased with his performance. In a race with quality runners at the front end Neil did well to finish ninth, and overall his position was seventh.

Luke Harreld again showed determination as he out sprinted two rivals to the finish, and 24th place. Luke finished 19th overall, but was second in his age category.

Pete Bates as usual started easily, and then wound up the pace progressively on each of the five laps, to finish 43rd. David Archer, despite finishing 61st was still sixth in his age category.

Yet again the accolade of the league will go to Mark Aspinall. Last year he became the first senior man to win both the individual senior man, and the veteran men trophies.

This year he retained both these of these trophies, a remarkable achievement, and one made more difficult by the continual enlargement of the league. Can he make it three in a row?