Vale Royal Athletics Club results, Northern Cross Country Championship

A Vale Royal Athletics Club quartet's domination of the Northern Cross Country Championships continues.

Grace Roberts, Holly Weedall and Isobel Ashcroft secured the team gold medal at Witton Park in Blackburn on Saturday.

Between them, and fourth squad member Ellie Bushill, they have now won the team title at each of the last four Northern Championships.

This time the success came in the junior women's race, their first year in the under 20s age bracket which means they have two more years of eligibility in the category and have already expressed their ambitions to retain their title next year.

Roberts crossed the line in sixth place, while Weedall was ninth and Ashcroft 23rd as the team counters, while Bushill completed Vale Royal's entry finishing in 31st place.

They took the under 15s title in 2019 and 2020, followed by the under 17s crown in 2022.

There was further success for the club in Blackburn with two more team medals achieved in the cold temperatures and persistent drizzle over a very hilly course that challenged more than 1,500 athletes in the 10 age-related races.

In the junior men’s event, Jake Wilson was first home for the club in sixth place having made a well-paced effort, starting steadily and moving through the field as a triple helping of the long, long hill took its toll on others in the field.

Raif Serif finished close behind in eighth and Sam Stephens made up the three-man team to take the bronze medal behind Salford Harriers and Wirral AC.

This is the third consecutive year that Vale Royal’s under 20s men have medalled at these championships.

From left, Vale Royal Athletics Club's Sam Stephens, Jake Wilson and Raif Serif with their medals from the 2023 Northern Cross Country Championships staged at Witton Park in Blackburn (Image: Robert Brown)

Vale’s third medal came in the senior women’s race.

The decision not to field a number of the club's leading seniors at the Cheshire Championships in order to prioritise the defence of the Northern title was vindicated.

With four to score, Amelia Pettitt, Kate Moulds, Sarah Dufour-Jackson and Liz Renondeau combined to take the bronze medal behind renowned Yorkshire clubs Leeds City AC and Hallamshire Harriers and ahead of Cheshire rivals.

Pettitt, always a demon on the hills and in mud, worked her way up the field to finish in 10th place.

Moulds crossed the line in 21st while Dufour-Jackson took a fall but still came home 28th, with Renondeau 30th.

The Vale Royal Athletics Club senior women that raced in the Northern Cross Country Championships, from left, Helen Smith, Anna Begbie, Liz Renondeau, Kate Moulds, Sarah Dufour-Jackson, Sarah Murphy and Amelia Pettitt. (Image: Robert Brown)