Author: Helena McGoldrick

Saturday 10^th March saw the UK Inter Counties, held at Loughborough. Charlie Roberts and Joseph Byrne were selected to represent Merseyside for the first time. The boys made up the under 15 boys team with Charlie finishing 276^th in 22.37 and Joseph in 284^th in 23.05. Matt Crehan was selected to compete in the senior men’s cross country and finished in the top 100!

Despite it being Mothering Sunday, 6 athletes travelled to East Cheshire to compete in an open cross country, two of which competed for the club for their first time.

Poppy Ward and Luke Wilson ran in their first under 9 races. Poppy finished 31^st in the girls race and Luke finished 27^th in the boys.

For the under 11 girls, Daisy Ward finished 21^st. The club had a team in the under 11 boys; this consisted of Gabriel Mullen, Will Vose and Liam Johnson. Gabriel led the boys home in 6^th place, followed by Will in 17^th and Liam in 25^th, meaning the team finished 5^th overall!

Saturday 24^th February saw the English National Cross Country Championships, held at Parliament Hill, London.

Four of the young athletes competed at National level for the first time. Rhys Hopkins competed in the under 13 boys 3km race, finishing in 208^th in a field of 570. Sam Mawdsley also went in this race, he finished 563^rd.

Representing the under 15 boys, Joseph Byrne and Michael Duffy ran in their first National; Joseph finished 285^th whilst Michael finished in 495^th. Also in the under 15 boys 4.5km race; Charlie Roberts was 263^rd and Michael Brussels was 328^th. The boys team finished 46^th overall!

Saturday 10^th February 2018, saw the final Manchester Area Cross Country of the 2017/18 season. 16 athletes travelled to Wythenshawe Park, despite miserable cross country conditions.

Gemma Connolly won the ladies 8.2km race in a time of 34.44 and the under 15 boys team finished 3^rd overall. This team consisted of Charlie Roberts, Joseph Byrne and Michael Brussels. Charlie finished in 8th place in 18.04, shortly followed by Joseph in 17th in 19.03 and Michael 25th in 20.10. Alyx Bridge also went in the under 15’s 4.5km, she finished in 16th place in 22.27.

Gabriel Mullen and Will Vose competed in the under 11’s cross country. Gabriel finished 14th in 10.41 and Will: 37th in 12.23. Daisy Ward and Chloe Leigh went in the under 11’s 2.4km too; they finished 42nd and 55th.

For the under 13 boys, Rhys Hopkins finished 11th in 13.33 whilst Michael Dobson finished in 21st in 14.08. Hollie Brussels completed the 3.3km race in 56th, Lucy Bridge 59th, Jessica Bairstow 61st and Charlotte Cochran 63rd.

Ian White competed in the senior men’s 9.9km in 294th in a time of 55.49.

Well done to everyone who competed for the club!

Team Manager – Helena.

Saturday 27^th January saw the Northern Cross Country Championships held at Harewood House, Leeds. Ten athletes represented St Helens Sutton AC in true cross country conditions.

Jessica Bairstow competed in her first Northern championship. She went in the under 13 girls 3km race, finishing 230^th in 16.23.

For the under 13 boys 3km; Michael Dobson finished 77^th in 12.16 and Rhys Hopkins finished 86^th in 12.20.

Charlie Roberts went in the under 15 boys 4km, finishing 102^nd in 16.10 whilst Joe Byrne finished 136^th in 16.51.

The senior ladies covered the distance of 8km. Gemma Connolly finished in 22^nd in 33.10 and Rachel McGoldrick finished 186^th in 41.07.

Three senior men took part in the 12km cross country. Jake Healy finished in 421^st place in 54.21, Ian Roberts finished 453^rd in 55.11 and Ray Vose completed the race in 666^th place in 1.04.24.

Well done to everyone who took part!

Team manager: Helena

Saturday 13th January saw the fourth Manchester Area Cross Country League, held at Woodbank Park, Stockport. In ideal cross country conditions, 18 athletes turned out for St Helens Sutton AC.

The under 11 boys ran with the under 11 girls, covering the distance of 2.4km. Joseph Colley led the boys team home in 28^th place in 12.48, closely followed by Will Vose who finished in 30^th place in 13.00. Liam Johnson brought the boys team home in 33^rd place in 13.06. Packed together nicely, the boy’s team were placed 8^th overall- well done boys!

For the girl’s team: Daisy Ward finished in 35^th place in 13.30. Next in for the girls was Poppy Handley-Hicking who finished in 46^th place in 14.04 and Chloe Leigh who finished 56^th in 14.51. With such performances, the girls finished 15^th as a team.

Running in the under 13’s 3.1km cross country, Michael Dobson led the boy’s team home in 18^th place in 12.59, followed by Rhys Hopkins in 20^th (13.06) and Sam Mawdsley in 65^th place in 16.52, meaning that the team finished 12^th overall.

Jessica Bairstow represented the girls, she finished in 74^th place in a time of 17.41.

Next up… the under 15 boys and girls 4.2km. Led home by Charlie Roberts in 17^th place in 16.44, the team finished 5^th overall. The team also consisted of Joe Byrne and Michael Brussels; Joe finishing in 22^nd in 17.27 and Michael finishing 29^th in 17.45. Completing the boys team, Michael Duffy finished in 36^th place in 21.42.

Solo under 15 girl, Alyx Bridge completed the cross country course in 24^th place in 21.18.

In the senior ladies 8.4km race, Gemma Connolly finished 2^nd in a time of 34.27 whilst Rachel McGoldrick finished 59^th in 41.28.

Ian Roberts was the only senior man competing for the club in the 10.4km cross country, however, he finished in 249^th place in a time of 51.11.

Well done to everyone who competed!

Next league match: Saturday 13th February @ Wythenshawe Park!

Team Manager: Helena

Saturday 2nd December 2017 saw the third Manchester Area Cross Country League, held at Kenworthy Woods, Wythenshawe.

There were 15 athletes for the club including the under 11 boys and girls.

Gabriel Mullen led the team home. He finished 8th in 7.20, whilst Liam Johnson finished 27th in 8.20. Joseph Collier finished 33rd in 8.25 and Will Vose finished 38th in 8.32, meaning the boy’s placed 5th overall! Under 11 girl, Daisy Ward was in the same race, she finished 34th in 8.30.

For the under 13 boys and girls; Rhys Hopkins finished 15th in a time of 11.07 whilst Michael Dobson finished 26th in 11.40. Lucy Bridge finished 73rd in 14.00 and Jessica Bairstow finished 82nd in a time of 14.44.

In the under 15 boys, Charlie Roberts finished 14th in 14.33 and Joe Byrne finished in 28th place in 15.35. Also in this race were the under 15 girls, this race saw Alyx Bridge finish 35th in 18.18.

Gemma Connolly went in the senior ladies race finishing 5th overall in 31.15 and for the senior men; Ian Roberts completed the race in 221st in a time of 43.38 and Andy O’Connor finished 334th in 48.26!

Well done to everyone who competed!

Next Match: Saturday 13th January 2018 at Woodbank Park, Stockport!

Team manager: Helena

The second Manchester Area Cross Country League took place on Saturday 11th November, at Boggart Hole Clough. There were 26 athletes representing St Helens Sutton, which was the biggest turn out for a long time!

For the juniors; Will Vose, Sam Mawdsley, Charlotte Cochran, Grace Westhails and Rebecca Cartwright all competed in their first cross country race, whilst Craig Brighton represented the senior men for the first time!

Running in the under 11 boys 2,000m, Gabriel Mullen led the team home in 7th place in 8.15, followed by Joe Colley who finished in 31st place in 9.12. Liam Johnson finished 40th in 9.28 and Will Vose finished 55th in 10.10, meaning the team finished 8th overall.

The under 11 girls also ran 2,000m, in this race, Daisy Ward finished 46th in 9.52 and Chloe Leigh finished 69th in 10.45.

The under 13 boys 3,000m race saw Rhys Hopkins finish 16th in a time of 12.07, whilst Michael Dobson finished 31st in 12.40 and Sam Mawdsley, 56th in 16.27. Overall the boys finished 10th.

There were 2 teams for the under 13 girls, the first team, which consisted of Hollie Brussels, Lucy Bridge and Jessica Bairstow, finished 21st. Hollie finished the 3,000m course in 57th in 14.38, whilst Lucy was 61st in 14.42 and Jessica 89th in 16.52. The second team for the girls included Charlotte Cochran, Grace Westhails and Rebecca Cartwright, this team finished 24th. Charlotte was 90th in 17.01, whilst Grace was 91st in 17.07 and Rebecca 92nd in 17.10.

Charlie Roberts went in the under 15 boys 4,400m race, finishing 17th in 17.02. Michael Brussels finished 24th in 17.33 whilst Joe Byrne finished 27th in 18.14. Bringing the boy’s team home, Michael Duffy finished in 43rd place in 21.01 meaning that they finished 6th overall.

Representing the under 15 girls, Alyx Bridge completed the 4,400m course in 33rd place in 21.37.

For the senior ladies 8,000m race, Gemma Connolly finished 5th overall in a time of 32.15 and Rachel McGoldrick finished in 101st place in 39.56.

In the senior men’s 9,600m race, Craig Brighton finished 98th in 38.30, Ian Roberts 302nd in 45.23, Andy O’Connor 405th in 50.52 and Ray Vose 419th in 51.43.

Well done to all athletes who competed for the club and a big thank you to Chris Dempsey who helped officiate!

The next league match is to be held at Kenworthy Woods (M23 0BD) on Saturday 2nd December!

Team Manager – Helena.

Saturday 21st October saw the Northern Cross Country Relays, held at Graves Park, Sheffield.

Saturday 14th October saw ten St Helens Sutton AC athletes compete in the first cross country of the 2017/18 season, held at Heston Park Manchester.
Three athletes competed in their first ever cross country for the club, including Jessica Bairstow, Rhys Hopkins and Michael Duffy.
For the under 13 boys, Rhys was first home, finishing in 13:27, in 22nd place, shortly followed by Michael Dobson who completed the 3.28km course in 13:46 in 30th. Also in this race were the under 13 girls; Hollie Brussels ran 15:29 to finish in 37th place and Jessica Bairstow finished in 20:34 in 82nd place.
Charlie Roberts led the under 15 boys team home, he finished in 19:57 in 16th position. Michael Brussels ran 21:42 and finished in 34th whilst Michael Duffy finished the 4.97km race in 26:12 in 41st.
Coming back from injury; Gemma Connolly finished 3rd in the senior ladies 8.49km cross country. Gemma finished in 34:51.
Representing the senior men in the 9.84km race, Ian Roberts finished 249th in a time of 47:36 whereas Ian White finished in 296th place in 49:45.

Team Manager – Helena.