Moel Yci

ROBERTS WINS SEASON OPENER

The traditional North Wales opener of the fell-running season at Moel Yci, Tregarth, attracted a good field, with several runners coming from over the border.

 Max Whitlock (Helsby) set the early pace but then lost ground when he chose the wrong line, allowing the experienced Mathew Roberts and Lloyd Taggart to move ahead.

 Roberts pulled away to record a comfortable win, while Welsh international Katie Beecher (Mynydd Du) was also in commanding form, finishing over three minutes ahead of runner-up Andrea Rowlands.

 Results: 1 M Roberts (ua)  35.53, 2 L Taggart (Manx, M40) 36.58, 3 R Grantham (Pensby, M40) 39.12, 4 GW Jones (ua) 39.34, 5 J Parkinson (Eryri, M40)  39.48, 6 T Budd (Glossopdale) 39.49. M50: 1 S Toogood (Buck) 43.04, 2 D Soles (Pennine) 44.13, 3 M Belshaw (Eryri) 44.58. M60: 1 SP Jones (Eryri) 42.06, 2 S Roberts (Osw) 48.37, 3 C Wilcox (Clwydian) 49.19. M70: 1 D Williams (Eryri) 56.40, 2 B Robbins (Eryri) 59.59, 3 G Fielding (Eryri) 60.23.
 Ladies: 1 K Beecher ( Mynydd Du) 42.54, 2 A Rowlands (Eryri, L40) 46.03, 3 S Caskey (Bangor Uni) 46.12, 4 S Ridgway (ua, L40) 48.34, 6 M Hughes (Eryri) 50.15. L40: 3 V Whitehead (Denbigh) 52.03. L50: 1 E Salisbury (Eryri) 58.33, 2 J Riley (Eryri) 59.21, 3 T Underwood (ua) 64.32. L60: M Oliver (Eryri) 63.57.

GP Express NW CC League (final)

BANGOR STUDENTS DO IT BY DEGREES

Bangor University students created a piece of history by winning Division 1 of the Grand Prix Express North Wales Cross-Country League for the first time - and their victory came just 12 months after gaining promotion to the top flight.

 In the final fixture at Oswestry the students finished one point behind Shrewsbury but, crucially, they were ahead of their nearest challengers Eryri Harriers.

 Buckley topped Division 2 and will replace Telford next year, while in the ladies' competition Eryri and Denbigh won the Division 1 and 2 titles respectively. Telford again face the drop to Division 2.

 The individual winners were junior man Ben Ashcroft (Shrewsbury), in his first season in the League, and Alison Lavender (Oswestry), who has now won three times in the last five years.

 The Bebbington Trophy for Endeavour was awarded to Abergele veteran Chris Birch who has been a stalwart of the League for  30 years and is among the country's top runners in the F65 class.

 Results of final fixture. Men: 1 R Roberts (Eryri) 34.53, 2 O Roberts (Eryri, U20) 36.19, 3 J Haduk (Bangor Uni) 36.29, 4 D Alexander (West Chesh, M45) 36.37, 5 P Middleton (Shrews) 36.58, 6 L Renton (Bangor Uni) 37.01, 7 B Ashcroft (Shrews, U20) 37.07, 8 A Nash (Bangor Uni) 37.13, 9 A McNay (Tattenhall) 37.27, 10 W Sheridan (Dee) 37.43.
 Teams. Division 1: Shrewsbury 101, Bangor Uni  102, Eryri 115, Oswestry 205, Deeside 254, T attenhall 429, Meirionnydd 460, Telford 691. Division 2: Buckley 252, Colwyn Bay 313, Whitchurch 337, Denbigh 407, Prestatyn 470, West Cheshire 544, Wrecsam Tri 644, Wrexham 687, Aberystwyth 714, Deestriders 722, Bro Dysynni 724, Abergele 725.
  Masters. M40: 1 J Brown (Buck) 37.51, 2 C Jones (Eryri) 39,38, 3 I Lowe (Osw)  39.53. M45: 1 Alexander, 2 G Blackwell (Dee) 38.34, 3 K Francis (Shrews) 39.05. M50: 1 E Campbell (Buck) 38.43, 2 R Jones (Shrews)  39.40, 3 J Randell (Meir) 41.25. M55: 1 SP Jones (Eryri)  40.21, 2 G Jones (Shrews)  40.29, 3 A Lewis (Eryri) 41.38. M60: 1 S Roberts (Osw) 43.57, 2 P Savill ( Shrews) 44.32, 3 G Nixon (Prest) 45.30. M65: 1 P Walker (Wrex) 49.59, 2 JG Evans (Aberystwyth) 51.25, 3 G Hughes (Prest) 53.47.
 Teams: Shrewsbury 22, Buckley 24, Eryri 30, Oswestry 36. Denbigh 81, Colwyn Bay 82, Whitchurch 88, Prestatyn 100, Tattenhall 147.
  
  Men over 70: 1 D Williams (Eryri) 27.35, 2 A Egan (Wrex) 28.22, 3 D Hughes (Prest, M75) 31.36, 4 A Hodgkiss (Tel) 34.39, 5 MH Edwards (Wrex) 35.41, 6 R Billington (Wrex, M80) 40.14, 7 J Tipping (Wrex, M75) 42.15, 8 P Norman (Wrex, M75) 47.20. Team: Wrexham 13.

 Men under 17: 1 C Smith (Wrex) 19.08, 2 M Pleavin (Wrex) 19.34, 3 S Sussex (Wrex) 20.42, 4 L Henry (Dee) 21.19, 5 S Williams (Eryri) 22.03, 6 A Williams (Wrex) 22.25. Team: Wrexham 6.

 Ladies: 1 A Lavender (Osw) 19.53, 2 C Hughes (Menai, U17) 20.48, 3 S Caskey (Bangor Uni) 22.13, 4 L Wright (Wrex, L45) 22.27, 5 D Williams (Menai) 22.35, 6 B Taylor (Bangor Uni) 22.50, 7 C Jones (Osw, L35) 23.27, 8 A Robinson (Tatt) 23.36, 9 B Jenkinson (Eryri, U20) 23.50, 10 A Muller (West Chesh) 23.54.
 Teams. Division 1: Oswestry 51, Eryri 60, Wrexham 111, Buckley 125, Colwyn Bay 137, Menai 157, Telford 225. Division 2: Bangor University 49, Tattenhall 67, Denbigh 69, Prestatyn 85, Shrewsbury 110, West Cheshire 160, Shrewsbury 165, Abergele 184, Bro Dysynni 190, Deestriders 210.

Masters. L35: 1 C Jones, 2 L Emery-Jones (Eryri) 24.17, 3 C Williams (Tel) 24.40. L40: 1 L Morley (Wrex) 24.04, 2 V Whitehead (Den) 25.02, 3 J Heming (Eryri) 25.41. L45: 1 Wright, 2 H McArthur (CB) 24.52, 3 A Tickn er (Osw) 25.12. L50: 1 E Collins (Den) 24.31, 2 Y Hill (Osw) 26.25, 3 S Hancock (Osw) 26.37. L55: 1 G Waring (Prest) 27.24, 2 S Greaves (Osw) 29.42, 3 A Whitelaw (Wrex) 29.51. L60: 1 M Docking (Wrex) 29.22, 2 S Richards (Shrews) 40.23. L65: 1 C Birch (Abergele) 27.15, 2 M Oliver (Eryri) 31.17, 3 Y Marconi-Nolan (Bro Dys) 36.02.  L70: 1 B Jones (Bro Dys) 34.15, 2 M Singleton (CB) 36.39.
 Teams: Eryri 24, Oswestry 27, Wrexham 38, Denbigh 51, Buckley 53, Colwyn Bay 71, Whitchurch 76, Shrewsbury 116
.
END OF SEASON RESULTS

Men under 17: 1 C Smith, 2 R Cain (Menai), 3 S Sussex. Team: Wrexham.
Men under 20: 1 Ashcroft, 2 Roberts, 3 M Blackwell (Dee).
Senior men: 1 Ashcroft, 2 Alexander, 3 Hudak, 4 Sheridan, 5 F Maier (Eryri), 6 M Green (NWRR).
Teams. Division 1: Bangor University 742, Eryri 785, Shrewsbury 1,001, Oswestry 1,103, Deeside 1,163, Tattenhall 1,748, Meirionnydd 2,467, Telford 3,221. Division 2: Buckley 1,521, Colwyn Bay 1,818, Prestatyn 2,023, Whitchurch 2,152, Denbigh 2,238, Wrecsam Tri 2,909, Wrexham 3,278, Abergele 3,390, West Cheshire 3,395, Deestriders 3,441, Aberystwyth 3,945, Bro Dysynni 4,107.

M40: 1 Green, 2 T Tansley (Osw), 3 I Lowe (Osw).
M45: 1Alexander, 2 G Blackwell, 3  Francis
M50: (equal) E Campbell and R Jones, 3 Randell.
M55: G Jones (Prest), 2 SP Jones, 3 Lewis.
M60: 1 Savill, 2 Roberts, 3 Nixon.
M65: 1 Walker, 2 Evans, 3 J Nolan (Bro Dys).
Teams: Shrewsbury 169, Oswestry 215, Buckley 224, Eryri 253, Denbigh 454, Prestatyn 480, Colwyn Bay 489, Tattenhall 582.

M70: 1 Williams, 2 Egan, 3 Edwards.
M75: 1 Hughes, 2 Tipping, 3 Norman.
M80: Billington
Team: Wrexham

Ladies under 17: G Morris (CB)
Ladies under 20: Jenkinson.
Senior ladies: 1 Lavender, 2 A Rowlands (Eryri), 3 Wright, 4 Caskey, 5 C Jones, 6 Muller.
 Teams. Division 1: Eryri 250, Oswestry 308, Wrexham 481, Colwyn Bay 611, Buckley 767, Menai 934, Telford 1,166. Division 2: Denbigh 302, Whitchurch 490, Bangor Uni 558, Tattenhall 611, Prestatyn 618, West Cheshire 867, Abergele 908, Shrewsbury 1,025, Bro Dysynni 1,055, Deestriders 1,124.

L35: 1 C Jones, 2 Emery-Jones, 3 M Hughes (Eryri).
L40: 1 Rowlands, 2 Morley, 3 Whitehead.
L45: 1 Wright, 2 McArthur, 3 Tickner.
L50: 1 Collins, 2 Hill, 3 Hancock.
L55: 1 Waring, 2 Whitelaw, 3 M Baugh (Denbigh).
L60: 1 Docking, 2 Richards.
L65: 1 Birch, 2 Oliver. 3 Marconi-Nolan.
L70: 1 B Jones, 2 Singleton.
Teams: Eryri 102, Wrexham 141, Oswestry 152, Denbigh 242, Colwyn Bay 406.

Milton Keynes Challenge

N WALIANS IN SPARKLING FORM IN MK

Four of North Wales's outstanding athletes were again in superb form at the Milton Keynes Cross Challenge.

 In the U20s' race Iolo Hughes (Menai) finished second just 14 seconds behind Ireland's Kevin Mulcaire (Ennis) while in the senior men's event Andrew Davies (Stockport), winner of the Northern championships two weeks ago, finished fourth. He was 11 seconds behind reigning Welsh champion Dewi Griffiths (Swansea).

 And on a good day for the Menai club Oliver Barbaresi also came second in the U15s'  race - his first podium place in the Cross Challenge series - and Cai Linton was fourth in the U17s' event.

Nick Beer 10k

ANOTHER WIN FOR NICHOLLS

Wilmslow's Damian Nicholls, who has chalked up a host of successes on his trips to North Wales, claimed another victory in the Nick Beer 10 around Llandudno's Great Orme.

 He won in 32.56, coming home 12 seconds clear of Warrington veteran Nick Jones, with triathlete Stephen Skates third.

 The outstanding performance of the day came from the ladies' champion Laura Day (Notts), who finished eighth overall in 35.46.

 Results: 1 D Nicholls (Wilm) 32.56, 2 N Jones (Warr, M40) 33.04, 3 S Skates (ua, M35) 33.22, 4 G Owen (Eryri, M35) 33.44, 5 S Sayer (Menai) 34.11, 6 R Bentley (Eryri) 34.34, 7 P Wathan (Eryri) 34.39, 8  L Day (Notts, SL) 35.46, 9 JE Morris (Denbigh) 36.05, 10 A Sudlow (Tattenhall)  36.05.
 JM: 1 A Ryder (Prestatyn) 41.32, 2 S Holt (CB) 43.22, 3 C Davies (ua) 44.37.
 M35: 3 R Arden (Tatt) 37.44.
 M40: 2 J Pendrill (Wilm) 36.21, 3 J Bygrave (Wilm) 37.26.
 M45 : 1 A Whittingham (Wilm) 36.44, 2 N Willsher (ua) 37.49, 3 M Hill (Wilm) 38.22.
M50: 1 K Lilley (Sheff) 37.23, 2 N Hershaw (West Chesh) 38.27, 3 M Belshaw (Eryri) 39.52.
 M55: 1 PMW Jones (ua) 40.03, 2 A Lewis (Eryri) 40.44, 3 D Weaver (Eryri) 41.20.
M60: 1 T McGaff (Wilm) 37.59, 2 A Watt (Wilm) 44.07. 3 S O'Neill (ua) 44.22.
M65: 1 T Hulme (Wilm) 45.44, 2 T Hill (Cybi) 47.41, 3 G Howell (Liv H) 49.35.
M70: 1 M Storry (Village RR) 55.19, 2 J Park (Cheshire Tally Ho) 55.38, 3 T Faulkner (Wilm)  56.57.

LADIES.
1 L Day (Notts)  35.46, 2 A Rowlands (Eryri, L40) 38.47, 3 S Johnstone (Wilm, L40) 38.58, 4 J Clague (Liv H, L40) 39.13, 5 S Hunt (Wirral) 39.28.
 JL: T Buddug (ua) 52.11
 L35: 1 R Brand (Manchester Tri) 42.14, 2 T Llewellyn (Cybi) 42.40, 3 M Hughes (Eryri) 44.03.
 L45: 1 J Ellis (Wilm) 42.20, 2 H McArthur (CB) 43.58,  3 H Rahman (Wilm) 44.38.
 L50: 1 N Davies (ua) 45.23, 2 A McCarthy (Wilm) 47.15, 3 S Jones (Cybi) 47.58.
 L55: 1 N Mowat (Wilm) 45.47, 2 C Wilkins (Lancaster and Morecambe) 52.59, 3 M Kelly (ua) 55.08.
 L60: 1 L Stillo (Goyt Valley) 51.01, 2 L Evans (ua) 53.42, 3 J Smith (Sheff) 53.51.
 L65: 1 C Birch (Abergele) 47.05, 2 R Rogers (West Chesh) 52.41, 3 M Oliver (Eryri) 56.29.

PB for Jones

TRACK PB FOR JONES

GB mountain international Nathan Jones  (Eryri) from Rhyl, who is studying at McNeese State University in Louisiana, set a new pb of 8-31.42 in winning the 3,000 metres at the University open meeting. In third place was fellow McNeese student Ryan Holroyd (Stone MM) in 8-42.17.

Alsager 5

LONGLEY EXTENDS HIS GOOD FORM

Prestatyn's Dean Longley was the first North Wales finisher in the Alsager 5, finishing 38th overall in  26.41.

 The first woman was veteran Olympian Helen Clitheroe in 27.24, with Alison Lavender (Oswestry) fourth less than 24 hours after winning Saturday's cross-country in  Lilleshall.

 Among other North Wales results were: 69 John E Morris (Denbigh) 28.30, 77 Simon Roberts (Buckley)  28.49, 90 Craig Davies (Deestriders) 29.14, 90 Emma Crowe (Wrex)   29. 58.

GP Express NWCC League (4)

MUD PROVES TO BE NOTHING UNTO-WARD

There was a sense of deja-vu about the fourth  fixture of the Grand Prix Express North Wales Cross-Country League at Lilleshall where Telford's Paul Ward and Richard Roberts (Eryri) renewed their battle from last year.

 In very muddy conditions the two pulled away from the rest of the field early on and were at close quarters for three of the four laps until the Shropshire veteran put his foot down to repeat last year's success.

 Though the meeting clashed with the BUCS championships in Brighton and Bangor University finished sixth on the day they still hold a 30-point lead over Eryri but will be made to work hard in the final race next Saturday if they are to win the Division 1 title for the first time.

 Shrewsbury top the Masters' table while Eryri's ladies are virtually sure of their Division 1  title. They were second to Oswestry on the day but are 67 points clear.

 With only 43 ladies finishing the field was about half the normal size.

 * Among the placings in the BUCS championships were:- Men: 136 Daniel Kashi (Bangor) 46.04, 146 Joe Hudak (Bangor) 46.28, 192 Owen Mitchell (Bangor) 48.23, 205 William Woodrush (Aberystwyth) 49.01, 206 Harry Mullen (Aberystwyth) 49.05, 255 Johnny Ryan (Aberystwyth) 52.31, 262 Tim Brook (Aberystwyth) 53.00. Ladies: 126 Be ckie Taylor (Bangor) 28.06, 193 Abbie Cheetham (Keele) 29.52.

 Results of Telford  fixture (at Lilleshall):- 1 P Ward (Telford, M45) 33.04, 2 R Roberts (Eryri) 33.33, 3 D Arkwright (Shrewsbury, U20) 35.25, 4 J Burrows (Tel, U20) 35.37, 5 P Holland (Aberystwyth) 35.51, 6 A McNay (Tattenhall) 36.02, 7 O Roberts (Eryri, U20) 36.05, 8  D Alexander (West Chesh, M45) 36.13, 9 W Sheridan (Dee) 36.31, 10 M Green (NWRR, M40) 36.37.
 Teams. Division 1: Shrewsbury 128, Eryri 153,  Tattenhall 156, Deeside 160, Telford 232, Bangor University 341, Oswestry 559, Meirionnydd 521. Division 2: Colwyn Bay 332, Whitchurch 340, Buckley 384, Prestatyn 444, Denbigh 463, West Cheshire 549, NWRR 602, Aberystwyth 630, Wrexham 636, Wrecsam Tri 638, Bro Dysynni 734, Deestriders 735.

Masters. M40: 1 Green, 2 P Taylor (Tatt) 37.51, 3 C Jones (Eryri) 38.29. M45: 1 Ward, 2 Alexander, 3 G Blackwell (Dee) 37.24. M50: 1 E Campbell (Buck) 37.59, 2 R Jones (Shrews) 38.10, 3 M Robbins (Wrex) 38.53. M55: 1 SP Jones (Eryri) 38.39, 2 G Jones (Shrews) 39.15, 3 A Lewis (Eryri) 39.36. M60: 1 P Savill (Shrews) 40.16, 2 S Roberts (Osw) 41.56, 3 R Hailey (Tel) 43.12. M65: 1 J Nolan (Bro Dys) 54.10, 2 R Mackey (Buck) 61.53.
Teams: Shrewsbury 30, Telford 33, Eryri 38, Tattenhall 54, Oswestry 58, Buckley 78, Prestatyn 87, Whitchurch 97, Colwyn Bay 107, Denbigh 113, Deeside 117,
 M70: 1 D Williams (Eryri) 29.19, 2 A Egan (Wrex) 30.05, 3 MH Edwards (Wrex) 35.25, 4 R Billington (Wrex, M80) 42.21, 5 J Tipping (Wrex) 45.14, 6  P Norman (Wrex, M75) 48.15.  Te am: Wrexham 9.

Men under 17: 1 C Smith (Wrex) 19.40, 2 A Burrows (Tel) 19.50, 3 J Spill (Eryri)  20.10, 4 R Cain (Menai) 21.34, 5 S Sussex (Wrex) 22.06, 6 S Williams (Eryri) 23.50, 7 A Williams (Wrex) 24.52. Team: Wrexham 13.

Ladies: 1 A Lavender (Osw) 22.00, 2 A Rowlands (Eryri, L40) 23.46, 3 A Muller (West Chesh) 24.30, 4 C Jones (Os, L35) 24.46, 5 L Morley (Wrex, L40) 25 .15, 6 J Harvey (Tatt) 25.35, 7 E Collins (Denbigh, L50) 25.52, 8   H Evans (Buck, L35) 26.00, 9 V Whitehead (Denbigh, L40)26.14, 10 B Jenkinson (Eryri U20) 26.25.
Teams. Division 1: Oswestry 37, Eryri 42, Wrexham 118, Colwyn Bay 122, Telford 123, Buckley 137, Menai 150. Division 2: Denbigh 38, Whitchurch 81, NWRR 97, West Cheshire 103, Shrewsbury 115, Abergele 123, Tattenhall 124, Bro Dysynni 139, Deestriders 141.

 Masters. L35  : 1 C Jones, 2 H Evans, 3 L Dudleston (Whit) 27.11. L40: 1 Rowlands, 2 Morley, 3 Whitehead. L45: 1 H McArthur (CB) 22.27, 2 A Tickner (Osw) 26.29, 3 S Rowlands (Eryri) 27.20. L50: 1 Collins, 2 S Hancock (Osw) 28.21, 3 Y Hill (Osw)  28.25. L55: 1 A Whitelaw (Wrex) 31.07, 2 M Baugh (Denbigh) 33.40, 3 M Byrne (Shrews) 34.14. L60: 1 M Docking (Wrex) 31.26, 2 S Richards (Shrews) 41.48. L65: 1 C Birch (Abergele) 28.32, 2 M Oliver (Eryri) 33.05, 3 Y Marconi-Nolan (Bro Dys) 37.38. L70: M Singleton (CB) 38.42.
 Teams: Eryri 21, Oswestry 24, Denbigh 39, Wrexham 52, Colwyn Bay 55, Whitchurch 61, Shrewsbury 92.

AGGREGATE AFTER FOUR RACES.
Men. Division 1: Bangor University 640, Eryri 670, Shrewsbury 900, Deeside 909, Oswestry 988, Tattenhall  1,319, Meirionnydd 2,007, Telford 2,530. Division 2: Buckley 1,269, Colwyn Bay 1,505, Prestatyn 1,553, Whitchurch 1,815, Denbigh 1,831, Wrecsam Tri 2,265, NWRR 2,385, Wrexham 2,591, West Cheshire 2,851, Aberystwyth  3.231, Bro Dysynni 3,383.
 Masters. Shrewsbury 147, Oswestry 179, Buckley 200, Eryri 223, Denbigh 373, Prestatyn 380, Colwyn Bay 407, Tattenhall 435, Deeside 525.

Ladies. Division 1: Eryri 190, Oswestry 257, Wrexham 370, Colwyn Bay 474, Buckley 642, Menai 777, Telford 941. Division 2: Denbigh 233, Whitchurch 380, Prestatyn 533, NWRR 534, Tattenhall 544, West Cheshire 707, Abergele 724, Shrewsbury 860, Bro Dysynni 865, Deestriders 914.