Manchester League Fixtures:
Match 1- 14/10/2017 – Heaton Park, Manchester (no under 11′s)
Match 2 – 11/11/2017 – Boggart Hole Clough, Manchester
Match 3 – 02/12/2017 – University playing fields, Wythenshawe
Match 4 – 13/01/2018 – Woodbank Park, Stockport
Match 5 – 10/02/2018 – Wythenshawe Park, Manchester
Match 1- 14/10/2017 – Heaton Park, Manchester (no under 11′s)
The cross country season is back! The first fixture took place at Heaton Park in rather warm conditions, with just patches of mud in places for runners to negotiate. The under 13 boys team finished 7th with James McGraw 23rd, James Harney 25th and Patrick Lee 34th. The under 13 girls team finished 8th with Matilda Brynes 13th, Libby Kilbourne 19th and Imogen Gush 52nd. The under 15 girls finished in 9th place with Rose Barlow 23rd, Jessica Willcock 25th and Darcy Winrow 42nd. Keenan Owen had a great run to win the under 17 men’s race with team-mates Jack Blodwell in 18th and Callum Brierley 23rd making up the team which finished a solid 4th overall.
The senior women’s team finished 9th overall with Hayley Simpson 20th, Bethany McManus 28th, Sally Teague 69th and Angela Oldham 87th overall and 1st lady 65. Joe Steward had a brilliant run to finish 2nd in the senior men’s race with Mussie Kassa finishing a fantastic 11th place and 1st under 20Â in his first senior cross country race. Joe Hudak 28th, Scott Matthews 41st, Gavin Browne 55th and Ian Fraser 95th made up the team which finished in 4th place overall.
Photo: Coach Shirley Steward with her under 13 boys team!
Match 2 – 11/11/2017 – Boggart Hole Clough, Manchester
The second race of the series took place at a very tough and muddy Boggart Hole Clough. It was the first race for the under 11’s age group, and a great start for Luke Carrington who had a magnificent run winning the race by 4 seconds in a tight finish. The team finished a creditable 5th with Cole Wright 20th and Finnan Docherty 34th making up the team. The under 11 girls team also finished a solid 5th with good performances from Madeline Stout 10th, Emily Bowker 11th and Darcy Slattery 14th. The under 13 boys team finished in 8th place overall with James Harney 20th, Niall Owen 27th and James McGraw 28th. The under 13 girls team were also 8th with Matilda Brynes 11th, Libby Kilbourne 29th and May Mannion 33rd. The under 15 girls team finished strong 5th with Megan Lewis 9th, Rose Barlow 12th and Darcy Winrow 26th. The under 17 men’s team finihsed in 6th place with Jack Blodwell 14th, Callum Brierley 21st and Jacob Taylor 22nd.
The senior women’s team finished in 12th place overall with good runs from Beth McManus 30th, Hayley Simpson 34th, Sally Teague 71st and Angela Oldham 117th who also won the vet 65 category. The senior men’s team finished in 17th place overall with Joe Hudak 25th, Gavin Browne 46th, Ian Fraser 100th, Tim Greenald 119th, Michael Stansfield 150th and Dennis Thomas 260th. Well done to all who took part!
Photos below, top left the under 11 boys and girls, top right Luke Carrington with his 1st place prize and bottom some of the under 13 girls team.
  
Match 3 – 02/12/2017 – University playing fields, Wythenshawe
Match 3 took place at a relatively flat, fast University playing fields with a good turnout again from ECH athletes. Luke Carrington ran well to grab another victory in the under 11 boys race with Cole Wright and Edward Rankin making up the team in 13th and 18th place respectively to give them a brilliant 3rd place team finish. Good performances in the under 11 girls race with Madeline Stout 7th, Emily Bowker 11th and Darcy Slattery 15th which was good enough for 4th in the team event. The under 13 boys team finished a respectable 7th with James Harney 12th, Niall Owen 31st and James McGraw 34th. The under 13 girls team also finished in 7th with Madilda Brynes 9th, Libby Kilbourne 18th and May Mannion 46th. The under 15 girls team finished in 9th place with Megan Lewis 11th, Rose Barlow 21st and Darcy Winrow 41st making up the team.
A big turnout in the senior women’s race with 299 finishers overall, the team finishing in 20th place overall with good performances from Beth McManus 26th, Sally Teague 61st, Angela Oldham 109th (1st lady 65) and Andrea Edwards 174th overall. Again a big turnout for the senior men’s race with 416 finishers on the day. The ECHÂ team finished in 35th place with Joe Hudak 19th, Dennis Thomas 184th, Darren Smith 207th, Paul O’Neill 283rd, James Hartshorne 294th and Derek Hughes 308th overall making up the team. Well done to all who took part on the day, see below link for full results and a pictures (left under 11 athletes on the start line and Luke Carrington right on his way to victory)
Match 4 – 13/01/2018 – Woodbank Park, Stockport
The penultimate match of the series took place at Stockport’s Woodbank Park, in rather good conditions, just a few muddy patches, and one very steep hill on each lap to negotiate. The day started with a win for ECH in the under 11 boys race with Luke Carrington having a fantastic race managing to take the win even when finishing with only one spike on!! The under 13 boys team finished in 9th place overall with good performances from James Harney 26th, James McGraw 31st and Niall Owen 41st. The under 13 girls team finished a very respectable 7th overall with Libby Kilbourne having an excellent race to finish in 7th place followed by Matilda Byrnes 16th and Man Mannion 35th making up the team. The under 15 girls team performed well finishing a superb 5th in the team standings with solid runs from Rose Barlow 11th, Megan Lewis 15th and Jessica Willcock 22nd. A strong run from Abby O’Neil in the under 17 women’s race coming home in a brilliant 4th place overall.
The senior women’s team finished a very respectable 8th place overall with Hayley Simpson 10th, Bethany McManus 14th, Sally Teague 49th and Angela Oldham 82nd (1st vet 65) making up the team. Mussie Kassa had another impressive run in the senior men’s race finishing in 6th place overall and 1st under 20 helping the team to 12th overall. Joe Hudak was next home in a solid 19th place, followed by Gavin Browne 56th, Michael Stansfield 102nd, Tim Greenald 142nd and Daniel Bamber 210th. Well done to all who took part, only one race left in the series!
See below photo’s and more at www.darkstarphotos.com
Match 5 – 10/02/2018 – Wythenshawe Park, Manchester
The final race of the series took place at a very wet and muddy Wythenshawe Park, well done to all who took part in proper cross country conditions. Luke Carrington ran well in the under 11 boys race finishing 2nd, with teammates Finnan Docherty 21st and Joe Taylor 28th helping the team to a solid 5th place finish. The under 11 girls team finished in 7th place with good performances from Emily Bowker 10th, Darcy Slattery 27th and Erin Lord 37th. The under 13 boys team finished 6th packing will with James Harney 23rd, James McGraw 24th and Kane Grant 30th. The under 13 girls finished an impressive 4th with great runs from Libby Kilbourne 5th, Matilda Brynes 9th and Man Mannion 28th. The under 15 girls team finished a fantastic 3rd place overall with excellent runs from Rose Barlow 5th, Megan Lewis 7th and Darcy Winrow 22nd. Abby O’Neill ran well in the under 17 women’s race to finish a brilliant 3rd place.
The senior women’s team finished 28th overall with Hayley Simpson first back for ECH in a very respectable 15th position closely followed by Bethany McManus in 21st place. Lisa Kennedy and Lucy Davidson ran well to finish 234th and 237th respectively. The senior men finished in 13th place in the team event with Joe Hudak having a great run to finish 15th, closely followed by Gavin Browne in 20th place. Michael Stansfield 93rd, Ian Fraser 103rd, Dennis Thomas 151st and Paul O’Neill 232nd overall made up the team.
Series Results
Well done to all of the below who competed 4 out of the 5 races to complete the series (3 out 4 for under 11′s).
Under 11 boys
Luke Carrington 1st
Finnan Docherty 23rd
Joe Harney 47th
Under 11 girls
Emily Bowker 11th
Darcy Slattery 16th
Erin Lord =40th
Under 13 boys
James Harney 18th
James McGraw 23rd
Kane Grant 31st
Zach Conboy 40th
Under 13 girls
Matilda Brynes 8th
Libby Kilbourne =9th
May Mannion 31st
Imogen Gush 43rd
Aliesha Smith 49th
Leigha Manser 50th
Ellen LeesHill 59th
Under 15 girls
Megan Lewis =6th
Rose Barlow 8th
Darcy Winrow 20th
Under 17 men
Jacob Taylor =11th
Jacob Brierley =11th
Under 17 women
Abby O’Neill 4th
Senior women
Hayley Simpson =10th
Bethany McManus 13th
Sally Teague 39th
Angela Oldham 66th – 1st Lady 65
Lisa Kennedy 151st
Lucy Davidson =155th
Senior men
Joe Hudak 5th
Gavin Browne 20th
Michael Stansfield 53rd
Dennis Thomas =85th
Darren Smith =113th
Paul O’Neill 153rd
James Hartshorne 160th
Derek Hughes 162nd
Richard Vink 175th