Athletics: Opponents felled by Forrester in Belfast

Jan 10 2008 by Philip Thomas, Liverpool Daily Post

DAVID FORRESTER (St Helens- Sutton) underlined his position as one of the country’s leading cross country runners by winning the UK Challenge junior race at Belfast, adding to the victory he scored in the November event staged at Sefton Park.

In Forrester’s absence Adam Peers (Liverpool) won the Merseyside Junior title at Sherdley Park, St Helens, Danny Griffiths (St Helens- Sutton) and Tom Madden (Wirral) taking the minor places.

The senior race was won by Liverpool’s Richard Burney ahead of SouthportWaterloo’s Rob Berry and Hywel Care (Woodford Green). Burney, Mark Keeley, Robert Dewhirst, James Meldrum, Luke Reddy and Simon McKevitt earned the team title for Liverpool.

Berry’s team, with Steve Wilkinson and David Hamilton in the top 20, took the silver medals ahead of Wirral who were led by eighth-placed John Hunt. Hunt was edged out of the veterans’ award by Bernie Murphy (LPS) although the Ormskirk outfit failed to finish a team in any race during the afternoon.

SouthportWaterloo won their third successive women’s team title, despite Liverpool’s Jenny Clague winning the race and the pairing of Sarah Jackson and Marina Ali finishing in the top five. Once Katherine Upton dropped out it was down to backmarker Tracy Fearon to close in for silver medals.

Second placed Amanda Crook, veteran Sue Cooper, Tracy Peters and Kath Faloon gave the Sandgrounders their victory with the St Helens- Sutton quartet of Julia Eccleston, Karen Jarvis, Eleanor Reynolds and Christine Dickinson taking bronze.

It was an excellent day for Wirral AC for whom Duckers, Gawne, Seymour and Egan took the Under-17 team prize, Charlotte O’Connell, Rachel Hannah, Georgetta Busetto and Gemma Lawlor won the combined junior/Under-17 award, O’Connell taking the individual junior title.

Ben Costello would have won the Under-15 Boys’ race had he not gone off course but there was enough depth in the Bebington outfit to clinch the team win ahead of St Helens- Sutton.

The Duckers family provided half of Wirral’s Under-15 Girls’ team which produced a sparkling win ahead of Liverpool.

There were wins for Mike Jeffers (Wirral), and a double for the Sandgrounders’ Rhea Ellis and Harry Boyd with Rachel Linney, Beth Tynan and Jack Christie claiming individual awards for Liverpool.

In the Cheshire championships Warrington’s Steven Derbyshire, Tom Jervis, Steven Broadhurst and Lawrence Walker were victorious, while Louisa Tanner took the bronze in the senior women’s race in which the St Helens pair of Gemma Connolly and Sarah Charnock earned top ten places.

Oxford University postgraduate student Courtney Birch (LPS) won the Lancashire senior women’s title at Witton Park, Blackburn.

This Saturday sees a Mid Lancs League match at Lancaster and the penultimate Manchester Area League at Stockport.