North Somerset make their mark

NORTH Somerset AC made their mark during the opening fixture of the Gloucester Cross Country League campaign at the Cotswold Farm Park.

In their league debut they took their illustrious opposition by surprise with an impressive first showing to finish as the most successful club of the day. Both the Under-15 girls and Under-15 boys teams finished in first place, with the Under-11 and Under-13 girls' teams both finishing second.

Jasmin Emery showed her class in the Under-11s field with a measured run to win her race and was ably supported by her team-mates Sofie Anderson and Alys Withers who herself finished fourth from 42 runners with a gutsy run.

Highly regarded Katie Grinyer led a strong Under-13s girls' team to within a whisker of winning their category, though she was a little disappointed with her own third place, having previously beaten both girls in front of her. Youngster Angharad Flower showed much promise, pushing Katie all the way for fourth position and will have sent out a message of intent for the season ahead.

The team's third scorer Ellie Parker was still feeling the effects of a heavy cold and did well to finish a credible ninth, with team-mates Chloe Buck, Cecilie Anderson and Holly Bradley finishing strongly in support from another large field of runners.

In his first outing of the season, Kody Mortimer finished fourth in a tough Under-13s boys' race with an impressive run. His more inexperienced team-mates Will Binnington, Aiden Smith and Corey Davis looked comfortable finishing close together midway through the field. These three should gain confidence from this their first competitive run and all could feature prominently throughout the season.

As should David Warnes and Tom Oddy, another two debutants in the boys' Under-11 category who finished fifth and 22nd respectively from 44 runners. David in particular looked as if he was running within himself and should expect to feature high up the order throughout the campaign.

The surprise package were the Under-15 girls' team who grafted really hard around the course with the three scorers Rosie Parsons (5), Catherine Hughes (7) and Lizzie Warnes (9) pushing each other all the way to comfortably take first place. Cecelia Bradley and Deanna Payne also ran well in a superb team effort, which overwhelmed endurance coach Steve Hollier.

Cameron Coetzee celebrated his recent 'Easy Runner Evening Post Athlete of the Month' award by leading the Under-15 boys' team to first place with his typically aggressive style of running. Calum Hannay was impressive in his first outing of the season, finishing a commendable sixth with Bradley Parker making his debut run over the longer distance and digging deep to make sure of the team prize.

This team performance bodes well for the season and with a few more athletes to come in the club could well be in with a chance of winning most of the age categories at their very first attempt.

NORTH Somerset Schools cross-country championships:

Intermediate boys: Luke Jacobs (Broadoak); Cameron Coetzee (Gordano); Dan Bagnall (Nailsea); Ben Maliphant (Gordano); Nick Golledge (Gordano); Adam James (Nailsea); Craig Smith (Clevedon); James Douglas (Gordano); Dan Blackall (Clevedon): Ben Choriton (Clevedon); James Webb (Churchill); Dan Sandick (Priory); Jacob Hood (Backwell); Scott Morgan (Gordano); Gavin Curtis (St Kaths); Toby Hodder (Backwell); Jake Fisher (Priory); Jordan Payne (Churchill); Ben Howlett (Clevedon); Josh Summers (Nailsea); Josh Hullah (Sidcot); Conor Taylor (Nailsea); Joe Reames (Priory); Joel Seager (Sidcot); Mike Perkins (St Kaths); Conor Bryant (Gordano); Kieron Rawling (St Kaths); Matt Chandler (St Kaths); James Payne (Backwell); Tom McHale (Backwell); Luke Hobden (Backwell); Sam Wilkins (Backwell); Ali Griffiths (Priory); Jack Williams (St Kaths); Owen Seager (Sidcot); Josh King (Churchill); Ted Fowler (Churchill); Jason Cox (Nailsea); Chris Beech (Churchill).

Team score: Gordano 19; Clevedon 45; Nailsea 51; Priory 84; Backwell 86; St Kaths 93; Churchill 101, Sidnot 124. Senior boys: Jonny Tam; Sam Ellis; Tom Williams; Jamie Hayward, Jack Porter; Alistair Peachey.

Intermediate girls: Abbie Johnstone (SK); Kathryn Hughes (Churchill); Hayley James (Backwell); Sophie Feboul (Clevedon); Olivia Smith (Sidcot); Sophie Juleff (Churchill); Olivia Barton (Gordano); Kate Warren (Priory); Helena Brown (Gordano); Noelle Finch (Gordano); Daniellle Appleford (Gordano); Sammy Evans (Priory); Sophie Hicks (Gordano); Kate Mansbridge (Priory); Hannah Mead (Backwell); Kate Watkins (Priory); Emma Smith (Backwell); Annabelle Semence (Backwelll); India Thomas (Gordano); Marjorie Newnham (Backwell); Hannah Pegler (Clevedon); Sarah Hill (Backwell); Adele Pegram (Clevedon); Sophie Millard (Clevedon); Kathryn Shaw (Churchill); Jasmine Stockham (Churchill); Libby Coates (Sidcot); Lucy Haygreen (Churchill); Chloe Williams (Churchill).

Senior girls: Alice Cook (Backwell); Emma Hopkins (Gordano); Amy Izzard (Churchill); Grace Burdge (Churchill).

Team results: Gordano 37; Priory 50; Backwell 53; Churchill 59; Clevedon 72.

NSSSP cross-country finals at Blaise Castle:

Boys' team results: St Josephs 70; Grove 90; St Nicks 93; Uphill 101; St Peters 102; Northleaze 106; Portishead 107; Backwell 110; Mead Vale 114; Flax Bourton 153; St Marks 174; Castlebatch 184; Churchill 276.

Girls' team results: High Down 45; Flax Bourton 70; Uphill Girls 105; St Marks 106; Portishead 115; Mary Elton 118; Churchill 130; St Nicks 162; Backwell 171;

Mead Vale 173; St Georges 186; Northleaze 197; Castlebatch 246.

Top 10 boys: Alex Camm (Backwell); David Warnes (St Josephs); Taylor Cook (Mead Vale); Joe Hyfford (St Josephs); Tom Adam (St Marks); Alex Walder (Flax Bourton); Sam Iles (Grove); Ed Moss (Northleaze); Sam Dangerfield (High Down); Rhys Talbot (St Nicks).

Top 10 girls: Jasmin Emery (Flax Bourton); Alys Withers (High Down); Emily Watkins (St Georges); Millie Dadds (Uphill); Harriet Emery (Flax Bourton); Ada'ora Chigbo (High Down); Desni Darch (Locking); Caitlin Hartmann; Bethany Fisher (St Marks); Jessie Dadds (Uphill).