Despite Icy cold conditions, around 41 brave young athletes from Morpeth Harriers battled their way round Temple Park, South Shields, on Tuesday 16th January 2018, when competing in the 2018 renewal of the Northumberland Schools Cross Country Championships. Most of them were representing East Northumberland, with some lining up for North Northumberland, Tynedale, and Newcastle Schools. The club provided seven medallists on the day, plus they will have no less than twenty-seven athletes going through to compete at the forthcoming Northern Inter Counties Schools Competition on Saturday 3rd February at Barnard Castle, the final stepping stone before the English Schools Championships, scheduled to be held at Temple Newsham, near Leeds, on Saturday 17th March 2018. Rory Leonard (Senior Boys), and Holly Peck (Intermediate Girls), representing East Northumberland, both secured well earned Gold Medals, being the major highlights of the clubs’ athletes’ performances. Leonard won with just over a minute to spare over his more Senior club colleague Kieran Hedley (Newcastle), with another fellow Morpeth Harrier Taylor Glover (East) coming home in third place to secure a Bronze medal, and a superb one, two, three of medals for the club. Not far behind Glover, and having a superb run of his own was club colleague Matthew Waterfield, (East) who finished fifth. Other Morpeth Harriers competing in the Senior Boys event were Liam Marsh (East) (12th), Joe Ramshaw (Newcastle) (13th), Matthew Briggs (East) (14th), and Alex Cunningham (East) (15th), who also all qualified to run at the Inter Counties. Holly Peck, who is certainly maintaining an excellent run of form, won the Intermediate Girls event, and a much-prized Gold medal, with 49 seconds to spare over Tynedale’s Susannah Fielding, who just outpaced area colleague Hannah Tumla, for the Silver medal. It was also Peck’s fourth successive Northumberland Schools Cross Country victory, having previously won the Minor Girls, Junior Girls (twice), and this Intermediate Girls Championship. Finishing fourth just outside the medals was Morpeth Harrier Lily Heaton, who is certainly showing a welcome return to form. She will also join Peck in Northumberland’s Inter Counties squad, along with Kirsty Duffin (East), who finished fourteenth. The Intermediate Boys event saw the club provide another two on the day medallists in Ross Charlton (East) and Daniel Melling (Newcastle), who respectively secured Silver and Bronze medals. Charlton and Melling will also be joined at the forthcoming Inter Counties competition by Daniel Dixon (East), who is just in the early stages of a competitive comeback following illness over Christmas. Dixon finished fourth, and they will also be joined two other Morpeth Harriers in the shape of Tom Balsdon (East) (8th), and Brad Brown (East), who ran well to finish fifteenth. Other Morpeth Harriers in action in the Intermediate Boys event were, James Gilholme (North) (21st), Andrew Hudspith (Newcastle) (24th), William Donaldson (Newcastle) (33rd), Sam Bradley (East) (39th), and Cameron Walker (East) (40th). No fewer than five Morpeth Harriers qualified from the Junior Boys event,
including Euan Duffin (East), who won himself a well-earned Silver medal, just missing out on the Gold by sixteen seconds to Newcastle’s Ethan McGlen, who runs for Gateshead Harriers. Other prominent club finishers were Dylan Davies (East) (6th), Sam Tate (East) (9th), Dylan Gooding (East) (15th), and Ben Waterfield (East) (16th). Although he was outside the qualifiers, Jonny Kidd (East) is gradually showing better form, as he ran well to finish 27th in a field of 61, that also included fellow Morpeth Harrier Callum Rowell (North), who finished 51st. An excellent run saw Morpeth Harrier Gracie Hufton (East) finish just outside the medals, when finishing a well earned fourth in the Senior Girls event. Club colleague Kay Errington (Newcastle) will also be joining her in the Inter Counties competition after finishing eleventh. A trio of Morpeth Harriers progressed to the Inter Counties following excellent respective runs in the Minor Boys event. Bertie Marr (North) finished seventh, and not far ahead of Joseph Hudspith (Newcastle) (9th), and Ryan Davies (East) (10th). Other Morpeth Harriers in action in the Minor Boys event were Dylan Walker (East) (24th), and Harry Jackson (North) (46th). Morpeth Harriers had six athletes in action in the Junior Girls event. They were led home by Rhiannon Hedley (North), who finished twelfth, and will line up in the Inter Counties. Other club performances came from Rebecca Bradley (East), who only just missed out on an Inter Counties place by a whisker when finishing seventeenth, Orla Callaghan (East) (27th), Laura Melling (Newcastle) (40th), Mia Belton (Tynedale) (48th), and Faye Archibold (North) (53rd). Producing a personal best performance of 70m28s,
Morpeth Harrier Karl Taylor finished an excellent fifth in a very competitive Brass Monkey Half Marathon, organised by York Knavesmire Harriers on Sunday 14th January 2018. The event was won by Jamie Parkinson of Thames Hare and Hounds, in 67m12s. Second, third and fourth paces in front of Taylor, went to Sam Stead of Keswick (68m29s), Tom Charlton of Tyne Bridge Harriers (69m22s), and Lewis Gamble Thompson of New Marske Harriers (69m41s). On the second day of the combined Northern Athletics Senior/Under 20/ Under 17 Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at Sheffield Arena held over Saturday and Sunday 13th & 14th January 2018,
Morpeth Harriers Under 17 Throws specialist Andrew Knight, earned himself an excellent Gold Medal in the Shot Putt, with a winning Putt of 14.65m, which saw him win by a 77cm margin over Wakefield’s Aran Thomas, who is the current Yorkshire Outdoor Champion. Fellow North-East athlete James Wordsworth of North Shields Poly took the Bronze medal with a best of 13.81m. A personal best performance of 12.14m, earned Morpeth Harrier Ethan Stephenson a Silver Medal in the Under 17 Men’s Triple Jump, at the first day of the Championships. Stephenson also finished sixth in the Long Jump with figures of 5.75m. The annual Durham Cathedral Relays were held for the second occasion at the Graham Sports Centre at Maiden Castle on Sunday 14th January 2018. Morpeth Harriers had a total of nine full teams and three incomplete teams in action in the three events on offer, successfully striking Gold twice, in the Veteran Men’s Over 35 and Over 55 age groups. All races were run on a two-lap course, covering a total distance of three kilometres. Their A team finished second to Durham University, just losing out by sixteen seconds. It was a very close battle between the Morpeth A and B teams, with only two seconds dividing them. As Durham University confirmed their victory, a huge battle for supremacy had developed between the chasing Morpeth A and B squad members Lewis Timmins and George Lowry. With 200m remaining Lowry had gained the upper hand, however Timmins rallied to regain second spot, as he posted a time of 9m03s, which was fifth fastest overall, Lowry meanwhile had the second equal fastest time of 8m54s. Earlier legs in the A team had been posted by Sam Hancox (9m17s), and Thomas Straughan (9m10s). The earlier legs in the B team came from Joe Armstrong (9m04s), and Alistair Douglass (9m34s). Andrew Lawrence (9m45s), Richard Castledine (10m09s), and Thomas Innes (10m19s) saw the Morpeth Senior Men’s C team finish ninth overall. Dean Lonsdale ran a very respectable 10m09s as a lone representative in a Morpeth Senior Men’s D team. The club had no fewer than four complete teams in the Veteran Men’s event, which also incorporated the North-East Masters Championship. Their A Team, who were in the Over 35 age category, won by a thirty-three second margin from Sunderland Harriers, with excellent runs by Andrew Hebden (10m05s), John Butters (9m31s), and Chris Smith (9m18s). Smith’s time was the fastest of the day, with Butters being third fastest. The Morpeth B team, who were third in the Over 45 Men’s category, were eighth overall, courtesy of Rob Hancox (10m40s), Graeme Thorpe (10m48s), and Fergus Bates (10m29s). Phil Walker (10m44s), Mike Winter (11m33s) and Paul Waterston (11m15s), saw the Morpeth C team through to 14th overall, and were 6th Over 45 Veteran Men’s team. Morpeth had more winners with their Over 55 Men’s A team, who were tenth overall, courtesy of Neil McAnany (10m47s), David Nicholson (11m05s), and Tim Miley (10m52s). Paul Bellingham (11m31s), and Peter Scaife (12m37s), lined up in an incomplete Morpeth Over 55 Men’s A team. In the Women’s event, the club had two complete teams,
and the A team finished second to a very strong North Shields Poly outfit courtesy of Alison Brown (12m04s), Helen King (12m03s), and Jane Hodgson (10m29s). Hodgson’s time, which was truly outstanding, was equal fastest to Charlotte Penfold of leading club North Shields Poly, who had won by an 89 second margin. The Morpeth Women’s B team comprising of Veteran athletes Helen Bruce(13m49s), Sue Smith (13m26s), and Lindsay Turnbull (13m16s), finished 22nd overall, and were ninth Over 35 Veteran Women’s squad. Pam Woodcock (14m46s), and Lesley Chapman (14m46s), ran for an incomplete Women’s C team. A brand-new trophy, namely “The Tony Ward Trophy,” was presented
to its first recipient at the Morpeth Harriers clubhouse last Monday night (8th January). The trophy, which had been donated to the club by Tony’s family, in memory of a loving father, and a long serving member of the club, who had also, as well as being a competitor, had been a coach who had guided, and had been very instrumental in the running careers of some of the clubs’ top young athletes. Sadly, Tony passed away in April 2017, and is very sorely missed by all who knew him. The first recipient of the trophy was Kieran Hedley, judged as the clubs’ best young performer at the recently held North Eastern Cross-Country Championships at Redcar Racecourse. Kieran had won the Under 20 Men’s Championship, and the trophy will be presented on an annual basis, to mark the best young achievement for the club at future championships. It was a very close judgement, with a few other athletes also under consideration, and Kieran is pictured above proudly receiving his award in memory of a man he knew and admired. |
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