Honours List

ANNUAL AWARDS

At the end of a year which has seen North Wales clubs and individual athletes produce some superb performances I thought it might at least be a talking-point to produce an awards list for the region.

 It's not to be taken too seriously and I would welcome some feedback with alternative suggestions.

BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE: Andrew Davies' 2-20.35 in the Frankfurt Marathon, the best by a North Walian for many years, but "Highly Commended" was Charlie Hulson's run for the GB senior team in Belgrade.

NORTH WALES CLUB OF THE YEAR: Menai Track and Field for producing so many young athletes and encouraging them to compete far and wide in cross-country and track and field.

TOP YOUNG ATHLETE: A few contenders, including Iolo and Cari Hughes (Menai) and Christian Smith (Wrexham), who finish the year as strongly as they began, but the winner must be Adele Nicoll from Welshpool. Who am I to argue with the judges of the Welsh Junior Sports Personality of the Year?

TOP VETERAN ATHLETE: Lee Jones (Deeside) has been exceptional on track, road and country, while the women's award must go to Chris Birch (Abergele), who belies her 65+ years and a real tough competitor.

MOST CONSISTENT PERFORMER: Who else but Arwel Lewis (Eryri)? Is there a single race in which he has not finished in the top three in his age-group, and that includes several where he "doubled up", racing twice at a weekend?

 UNSUNG HERO: Barry Edwards, Welsh Athletics' clubs development officer for North-West Wales, who, despite being employed only part-time, is behind so many initiatives and schemes and is one of the reasons behind the success of the Menai club.

DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR: Why do so few of Arwel's Eryri clubmates turnout in the North Wales Cross-Country League and Borders League which, as they have shown, they could comfortably win every year?

BEST NEW EVENT OF THE YEAR: With trail-running becoming increasingly popular, the Betws y Coed Trail Race was highly praised by all who took part.

  And to close - my personal wishes for 2014: a) to see more schools supporting the North Wales Junior Cross-Country League  b) for more clubs to support North Wales championship road races.

Brussels XC International

STRONG WELSH SQUAD IN ACTION

Swansea's Jac Hopkins was the outstanding individual performer in the Welsh team at the Brussels Cross-Country International, winning the under-20 men's race.

 In the same race Nathan Jones (Eryri) was the third Welsh runner home in 19th place.

 Llandrindod's Ffion Price was seventh in the under-20 ladies' event and her twin sister Rhianwedd was 26th in the senior ladies' race, two places ahead of Katie Parry (Leeds City).

Borders League (2)

 
 

WIRRAL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DEESIDE'S WEAKNESS  Deeside's men failed to build on their lead from the opening fixture of the Borders Road Running League, finishing sixth in the second race at Wigg Island, Runcorn.  Wirral took first place in both the men's and women's competitions, but  Chester Tri's women now hold a 15-point lead over Tattenhall.  In Division 2 just nine points separate leaders Tattenhall and second-placed Abergele, with Wrecsam Tri also still in the hunt, while Ellesmere Port and Prestatyn's women are well clear of the rest of the field.
Division 1 Mens Team Results

Rank	Club	1st counter	2nd counter	3rd counter	4th counter	5th counter	6th counter	7th counter	8th counter	9th counter	10th counter	Total Score
1	Wirral	3	10	17	18	21	25	29	34	39	41	237
2	Chester Tri	4	5	20	23	36	47	49	51	55	74	364
3	Buckley	9	14	24	30	40	45	66	70	79	82	459
4	Wallasey	15	16	19	26	57	62	81	99	103	138	616
5	West Cheshire	33	35	37	56	67	80	84	86	92	93	663
6	Deeside	2	11	27	59	65	108	122	133	142	164	833
7	Prestatyn	6	7	46	64	111	126	146	152	170	172	1000

	Aggregate after 2 races: Wirral 568, Chester Tri 673, Buckley 1,075, Deeside 1,109, Wallasey 1,156, West Cheshire 1,605, Prestatyn 2,219
	Division 1 Womens Team Results

Rank	Club	1st counter	2nd counter	3rd counter	4th counter	Total Score
1	Chester Tri	2	8	11	15	36
2	Wirral	1	3	10	24	38
3	Tattenhall	5	7	13	14	39
4	Helsby	16	23	25	26	90
5	Buckley	22	37	38	39	136
6	Wallasey	20	45	51	67	183
7	Cybi Striders	32	42	63	100	237

	Aggregate: Chester Tri 65, Tattenhall 80, Wirral 164, Helsby 174, Buckley 276, Wallasey 301, Cybi 529.
	Division 2 Mens Team Results

Rank	Club	1st counter	2nd counter	3rd counter	4th counter	5th counter	6th counter	7th counter	Total Score
1	Tattenhall	8	42	53	76	95	101	112	487
2	Abergele	28	43	58	89	91	105	202	616
3	Ellesmere Port	52	60	77	85	109	117	118	618
4	Wrecsam Tri	31	38	48	61	98	115	300	691
5	Deestriders	13	32	102	124	137	163	179	750
6	Helsby	22	83	104	123	131	139	156	758
7	Cybi Striders	12	50	121	140	153	181	197	854
8	Eryri	1	54	119	127	160	213	300	974
9	Birkenhead	72	73	128	145	174	184	210	986
10	Wrexham	71	100	149	167	300	300	300	1387

	Aggregate: Tattenhall 1,113, Abergele 1,124, Wrecsam Tri 1,140, Ellesmere Port 1,379,	Helsby 1,512, Deestriders 1,536, Cybi 1,867, Eryri 2,058, Birkenhead 2,242, Wrexham 2,314.
	Division 2 Womens Team Results

Rank	Club	1st counter	2nd counter	3rd counter	Total Score
1	Ellesmere Port	12	17	34	63
2	Prestatyn	9	29	35	73
3	Abergele	30	44	54	128
4	West Cheshire	6	31	100	137
5	Deestriders	4	61	100	165
6	Wrexham	21	100	100	221
7	Birkenhead	41	100	100	241
8	Wrecsam Tri	100	100	100	300
8	Deeside	100	100	100	300
8	Eryri	100	100	100	300

Aggregate: Ellesmere Port 144, Prestatyn 160, Deestriders 271, Abergele 277, West Cheshire 281, Wrexham 403, Birkenhead 541, Deeside 541, Wrecsam Tri 600, Eryri 608.
	Veterans Team Results

Rank	Club	1st counter	2nd counter	3rd counter	4th counter	5th counter	6th counter	Total Score
1	Wirral	10	17	25	33	35	40	160
2	Buckley	9	14	30	41	46	69	209
3	West Cheshire	34	36	38	59	70	87	324
4	Chester Tri	37	50	54	58	77	78	354
5	Wallasey	15	60	65	84	107	156	487
6	Tattenhall	43	79	99	105	110	117	553
7	Deeside	2	62	68	113	150	191	586
8	Ellesmere Port	63	80	88	114	129	130	604
9	Prestatyn	47	67	116	124	142	166	662
10	Helsby	86	138	141	147	157	180	849
11	Birkenhead	75	76	144	165	220	228	908
12	Cybi Striders	51	135	159	177	216	246	984
13	Deestriders	32	155	214	219	234	256	1110
14	Wrecsam Tri	39	49	102	122	400	400	1112
15	Eryri	56	131	143	187	282	400	1199
16	Abergele	28	93	200	254	400	400	1375
17	Wrexham	74	169	170	194	400	400	1407

Aggregate: Wirral 409, Buckley 532, Chester Tri 796, West Cheshire 814, Wallasey 967, Tattenhall 1,268, Deeside 1,275, Ellesmere Port 1,367, Prestatyn 1,368, Wrecsam Tri 1,533, Helsby 1,624, Deestriders 2,185, Birkenhead 2,347, Abergele 2,503, Cybi 2,512, Eryri 2,875, Wrexham 2,966.
	Improvers - Mens Results

Rank	Club	Total Score	Target Score	Differential
1	Wrecsam Tri	691	1428	-737
2	Tattenhall	487	1015	-528
3	Birkenhead	986	1427	-441
4	Buckley	459	595	-136
5	Wirral	237	369	-132
6	Chester Tri	364	465	-101
7	Abergele	616	713	-97
8	Ellesmere Port	618	636	-18
9	Deestriders	750	676	74
10	Cybi Striders	854	772	82
11	West Cheshire	663	544	119
12	Prestatyn	1000	861	139
13	Helsby	758	614	144
14	Wallasey	616	437	179
15	Eryri	974	760	214
16	Wrexham	1387	1166	221
17	Deeside	833	565	268

	Improvers - Womens Results

Rank	Club	Total Score	Target Score	Differential
1	Tattenhall	39	103	-64
2	West Cheshire	137	196	-59
3	Abergele	128	183	-55
4	Ellesmere Port	63	103	-40
5	Prestatyn	73	109	-36
6	Helsby	90	98	-8
7	Birkenhead	241	247	-6
8	Deeside	300	300	0
8	Chester Tri	36	36	0
8	Wrecsam Tri	300	300	0
11	Wirral	38	36	2
12	Wrexham	221	216	5
13	Eryri	300	293	7
14	Buckley	136	111	25
15	Deestriders	165	138	27
16	Cybi Striders	237	139	98
17	Wallasey	183	76	107

Welsh Masters and inter-regional XC

DOUBLE GOLD FOR HUGHES FAMILY

Brother and sister Iolo and Cari Hughes (Menai) did the "double" at the Welsh inter-regional cross-country championships in Builth Wells, both winning their events.

 Cari completed her own "double" as she retained the under-15s' title which she won last year, while Iolo extended his glittering form. In recent weeks he has won the North Wales 5-mile championship and finished third in the UK Cross Challenge event in Liverpool.

 As expected, North Wales dominated the under-15 boys' competition. The Wrexham pair of Christian Smith and Matthew Willis renewed their on-going rivalry, with the former again getting the better of things.

 With Smith 1st, Willis 2nd, Oliver Barbaretti (Menai) 4th and strong support from the likes of Cai Linton-Davies (Menai) and Joseph Crutchley (Maldwyn) North Wales took the team title.

 In the under-20 ladies' event Georgia Garner (Colwyn Bay) put up a real fight but was beaten by the in-form Ffion Price (Brecon).

 Katie Parry (Leeds) just missed out on the medals, finishing fourth in the senior ladies' race, which was won by Swansea triathlete Andrea Whitcombe, the reigning Welsh cross-country champion. Debbie Williams (Menai) gave a further glimpse of her talent in coming fifth.

 In the senior men's race Maldwyn's Andrew Davies was well off the lead for much of the time but came through very strongly to claim victory. Daniel Weston (Wrex) was 13th and Daniel Kashi (Eryri) 15th but unfortunately the team had only five finishers.

 The North's veterans also had considerable success, with Lee Jones (Deeside) and Andy Walling (Menai) 2nd and 3rd respectively in the M40 class.

 Among the top finishers in their age-groups were:- Boys under 13: 8 Sion Jones (Colwyn Bay). Boys under 15: 1 C Smith (Wrex), 2 M Willis (Wrex), 4 O Barbaresi (Menai), 7 C Linton-Davies (Menai), 9 Joseph Crutchley (Mald), 13 Thomas Evans (Wrex). Men under 17: 1 Iolo Hughes (Menai), 9 Ben Paxton (Wrex). Men under 20: 3 Nathan Jones (Eryri), 5 Gwynant Jones (Cardiff), 12 Alex Lanz (Meir), 15 Jacob Griffith (CB). Senior men: 1 Andrew Davies (Mald), 13 Daniel Weston (Wrex), 15 Daniel Kashi (Eryri). M40-59: 2 Lee Jones (Deeside), 3 A Walling (Menai), 6 J Brown (Buckley), 10 John Ford (NWRR).  Girls under 13: 5 Holly Roberts (CB), 11 Ceri Vaughan (CB). Girls under 15: 1 Cari Hughes (Menai). Ladies under 17: 4 Mollie Davies (Menai), 11 Chloe Evans (Mald). Ladies under 20: 2 Georgia Garner (CB). Senior ladies: 4 Katie Parry (Leeds), 5 Debbie Williams (Menai), 9 Becky Law (Eryri). L35-44: 7 Wendy Trimble (Eryri), 11 Naomi Cane (Prestatyn).

 Sadly, the North missed out on several team prizes because they were unable to field a full complement in the age-groups thanks to the withdrawal and non-appearance of so many of those selected.

 With the competition incorporating the Welsh Masters' championships other medal winners included Gordon Jones (Prestatyn, 3rd M55), David Hughes (Prestatyn, 1st M75), Gabby Waring (Prestatyn, 2nd L55) and Chris Birch (Abergele, 1st L65).

 

European XC Champs

TEAM BRONZE FOR HULSON

Former Deeside athlete Charlie Hulson helped Great Britain's senior men's team gain bronze medals at the European Cross-Country Championships in Belgrade.

 The 20-year-old Sale runner, who made his GB debut for the junior men at the same event in Budapest last year and also gained bronze there, finished an excellent 37th overall on the fast Belgrade course.

 Swansea's Dewi Griffiths set the early pace in the under-23s' race and held it for the first 3k before slipping back down the field. He came home 16th - the fourth GB finisher, but it was enough to gain team gold.

NW Junior XC League (4th and final)

MENAI COMPLETE A CLEAN SWEEP

A little bit of history was made at the fourth and final meeting of the North Wales Junior Cross-Country League in Northop when Menai Track and Field became the first club to win every team trophy over the season.

 In the primary schools' competition Penmorfa beat their Prestatyn rivals Clawdd Offa, with Sandycroft third.

 Christian Smithy (Wrexham) and Holly Roberts (Colwyn Bay) both completed clean sweeps of four wins in their respective age-groups, while the under-11 girls' class ended in a tie between Eve Scott (Penmorfa) and Chloe Jones (Colwyn Bay).

U11G
1	Eve Scott	Ysgol Penmorfa	6.08
2	Chloe Jones	Colwyn Bay	6.17
3	Fifi Davis	Deeside AC	6.21
4	Ffion Madi Rees Jones	Menai	6.51
5	Samia Jones	Menai	7.00
6	Georgia Parkinson	Menai	7.01
7	Hannah Hutchinson	Deeside AC	7.02
8	Aisling Wort	Wrexham	7.18
9	Alys Dion Rees Jones	Menai	7.20
10	Abbi Parkinson	Menai	7.29
11	Anya Williams	Menai	7.46
12	Celsey Hargreaves	Ysgol Penmorfa	7.48
13	Chloe James	Wrexham	7.50
14	Poppi Jones	Colwyn Bay	7.59
15	Elisha Hughes	Wrexham	8.06
16	Teleri Jones	Menai	8.07
17	Erin O'Sullivan	Sandycroft	8.20
18	Evie White	Ysgol Penmorfa	8.22
19	Elizabeth Robertson	Ysgol Clawdd Offa	8.48
20	Bethan Griffiths	Ysgol Clawdd Offa	10.10
Teams
1	Menai	24
2	Ysgol Penmorfa	81
3	Wrexham	86
U11G Final League Standings
1=	Chloe Jones	Colwyn Bay
1=	Eve Scott	Ysgol Penmorfa
2	Fifi Davis	Deeside
3	Ffion Madi Rees Jones	Menai
U11G Final Team Standings
1	Menai
2	Ysgol Penmorfa
3	Deeside
U11B
1	Osian Perrin	Menai	8.58
2	Cai La Trobe Roberts	Menai	9.36
3	James Evans	Wrexham	9.37
4	Eden Potter	Menai	9.45
5	James Jones	Deeside	9.58
6	Isaac Tait	Saighton CE	10.02
7	Oliver Draisey	Ysgol y Traeth	10.20
8	Ben Bright	Deeside	10.23
9	Ryan Whittaker	Ysgol Penmorfa	10.24
10	Matthew Meehan	Ysgol Penmorfa	10.27
11	Daniel Pace	West Cheshire	10.30
12	Llyr Wyn Coyle	Menai	10.31
13	Lenny Grugel	Deeside	10.41
14	Daniel Sambrooks	Ysgol Clawdd Offa	10.50
15	Sam Dewhurst	Wrexham	10.51
16	William Smart	Ysgol Clawdd Offa	10.57
17	Josef Morgan	Menai	11.10
18	Ben Scott	Ysgol Edern	11.13
19	Adam Sambrooks	Ysgol Clawdd Offa	11.20
20	Finley Croston	Deeside	11.40
21	Zak Vyse	Ysgol Sandycroft	11.44
22	Jack Cain	Menai	12.35
23	Samuel Jones	Ysgol Penmorfa	12.56
24	Thomas Ellis	Ysgol Sandycroft	13.03
25	James Story	Ewloe Green	13.26
Teams
1	Menai	19
2	Deeside	46
3	Ysgol Penmorfa	92
U11B Final League Standings
1	Osian Perrin	Menai
2	Cai La Trobe Roberts	Menai
3	James Evans	Wrexham
U11B Final Team Standings
1	Menai
2	Ysgol Penmorfa
3	Ysgol Clawdd Offa
U13G
1	Holly Roberts	Colwyn Bay	9.28
2	Ceri Vaughan	Colwyn Bay	9.39
3	Sophie Paxton	Wrexham	9.50
4	Yasmine Baker	Wrexham	10.04
5	Lucy Lawrence	Menai	10.09
6	Mabli Goodland	Menai	10.15
7	Bethan Davies	Colwyn Bay	10.18
8	Rosie Davies	Deeside	10.29
9	Jody Cain	Menai	11.37
10	Hannah Donnellan	Menai	13.04
Teams
1	Menai	30
2	Colwyn Bay	60
3	Wrexham	107
U13G Final League Standings
1	Holly Roberts	Colwyn Bay
2	Ceri Vaughan	Colwyn Bay
3	Sophie Paxton	Wrexham
U13G Final Team Standings
1	Menai
2	Colwyn Bay
3	Wrexham
U13B
1	Sion Jones	Menai	12.58
2	Ethan Ackroyd	Deeside	13.15
3	Roland Finnie	Ysgol Tryfan	13.32
4	Mathew Jones	Colwyn Bay	13.55
5	William Harding	Deeside	13.56
6	Dylan Catherall	Deeside	14.08
7	Cai Morgan Roberts	Menai	14.12
8	Morgan Powell-Jones	Menai	14.29
9	Harry Donnellan	Menai	14.42
10	Alexander Mason(guest)	West Cheshire	14.49
11	Gruffyd Jones	Menai	15.06
12	Osian Wyn Coyle	Menai	15.48
Teams
1	Menai	19
2	Deeside	63
3	Colwyn Bay	154
U13B Final League Standings
1	Sion Jones	Menai
2	Ethan Ackroyd	Deeside
3	Roland Finnie	Menai
U13B Final Team Standings
1	Menai
2	Deeside
3	Colwyn Bay
U15G
1	Cari Hughes	Menai	12.20
2	Martha Owen	Deeside	14.00
3	Eabha Roberts	Menai	14.36
4	Gwenno Morris	Colwyn Bay	14.44
5	Anabelle McQueen	Eryri Harriers	14.51
6	Siriol Jones	Colwyn Bay	15.53
7	Brittany Bonatti	Deeside	17.25
DNF	Caitlin Howell-Williams	Menai	DNF
Teams
1	Menai	104
2	Deeside	109
3	Colwyn Bay	110
U15G Final League Standings
1	Cari Hughes	Menai
2	Martha Owen	Deeside
3	Eabha Roberts	Menai
U15G Final Team Standings
1	Menai
2	Deeside
3	Colwyn Bay
U15B
1	Christian Smith	Wrexham	17.16
2	Oliver Barbaresi	Menai	17.24
3	Matthew Willis	Wrexham	17.32
4	Cai Linton-Davies	Menai	18.36
5	Thomas Evans	Wrexham	18.39
6	Lawrence Henry	Deeside	19.35
7	Ryan Cain	Menai	20.25
8	Sion Bullock	Menai	20.50
9	Samuel Holt	Colwyn Bay	21.53
10	Harrison Edward Britton	West Cheshire	22.16
11	Jake Tapping	Colwyn Bay	22.57
Teams
1	Menai	21
2	Wrexham	59
3	Colwyn Bay	120
U15B Final League Standings
1	Christian Smith	Wrexham
2=	Oliver Barbaresi	Menai
2=	Matthew Willis	Wrexham
3	Cai Linton-Davies	Menai
U15B Final Team Standings
1	Menai
2	Wrexham
3	Colwyn Bay