Mixed bag of results for Morpeth Harriers at North East Harrier League event

It is a mark of how disrupted this season has been by the weather that a fixture traditionally bringing the curtain down on the cross country season was this year only the fourth of a proposed six.

It was a mixed bag of results for Morpeth Harriers, with one team victory and one individual victory.

The team victory came courtesy of the club’s U17 Boys, who were led home by Harry Armstrong in sixth place from Slow Pack. With regulars Joe Close and Oliver Tomlinson finishing 10th and 13th from Fast, and Stephen Craske 29th from Slow, the team finished ahead of North Shields Polytechnic and Low Fell and in third place in the overall table.

There was also a good performance in the Junior races from the club’s U15 Girls, led home by Lucie Todd in eighth place from Slow, with Emma Tomlinson one place further back from Fast and Charlotte Marshall 24th from Slow. Finishing fourth, the team are now only one point off Gosforth Harriers in overall third.

There was a disappointing turnout in what had previously been one of the club’s strongest age categories however, the U13s Boys saw the squad fail to turn up to defend their place at the top of the table, with only Jack Dhawar, in 36th, turning out and the team slipping to second overall.

There was a similar disappointment in the U13 Girls, where, despite the best efforts of ever presents Faye Heatley (fifth) and Zoe Tomlinson (20th), both running from Fast, the club was unable to secure a third finisher, with Morpeth now fourth overall.

There was a return to action for Tabitha Robson in the combined U17 Girls and U20 Women’s race. She finished in 15th from Medium Pack.

Biggest fields of the day were again in the day’s final two Senior races, although the numbers in each were down by more than 100 from previous fixtures.

The club’s best showing was in the Senior Women, where a close contest with Durham City saw Morpeth miss out on the team win by three points to remain firmly in contention near the top of the table.

The team was led home once again by Catriona Macdonald, who recorded the day’s fastest time of 28 minutes 26 seconds from Fast Pack.

Jane Hodgson in 10th (29:44), Morag Stead 21st (31:02) and Poppy Buck 39th (32:11) completed the scoring count, with further strong runs by Tayla Douglas, 49th from Medium, and Lizzie Rank, 56th from Fast.

Just over 400 Senior Men braved what had become the day’s most inclement weather.

It proved to be no stumbling block to Morpeth’s Tom Prentice, who won in 39 minutes 29 seconds.

He was followed home by KEVI sixth-former Bertie Marr (39:54) in his first Senior NEHL outing, with veteran Adam Pratt fourth (41:19), all running from Slow Pack.

With Lee Cuthbertson having his best cross country outing of the season in 31st from Medium, James Tilley 55th from Fast and Ian Armstrong 62nd from Medium, the Men’s team finished third.

Their lead at the top of the table was cut by two points, however, with Gateshead now second.