The finale to the Sportshall athletics season is a UK final at the NEC Birmingham between teams representing the regions of England and the other countries of the UK. Before that county teams contest regional finals for the honour of representing their region. This year, two Handforth athletes, James Grannan and Joel Norman, were selected for the Cheshire team that gathered for the North West Final at Robin Park, Wigan on 22nd February.
Joel with first up, having the dubious honour of being the first Cheshire boy to compete as he led off the obstacle relay. His lightning start immediately put him in a good position and he handed over in 2nd place to his team-mate, a placing that the Cheshire team held to the finishing line. His next event was speed bounce where, despite a couple of slips, he earned 6th place with 71 bounces. Joel’s final event was his least favourite, the 6-lap relay time trial, where he again came in 6th out of the 12 runners.
James was also picked for speed bounce where his 77 bounces earned him a respectable 6th place. Next came the standing long jump where he achieved a best jump of 2.24m. Then it was on to his preferred track events, starting with the 4-lap time trial race. James’s sportshall experience showed here as he paced himself perfectly in the more competitive of the two heats allowing him to take fourth place overall for the event. Finally there was the 8-lap Paarlauf, an interesting really in which 2 runners for each team run 4 laps each but in any combination of their own choice. The event turned out to be a stand-off between just two teams with Lancashire just beating the Cheshire pair to take maximum points.
Mark Norman
Todays last race of the series clashed with the Manchester Schools Championships so this gave our runners the opportunity to gain a high placement for a final position. And didn't they just!
Wythenshawe is a flat course but the woods section holds a few very wet ditches ditches to catch the unwary runner out. Hannah u13Gs had a fantastic race settling in to 3rd place almost from the start. She held that position to the finish line never looking threatened, an excellent run.
Next was Kevin u13B, with perhaps too fast a start he soon dropped down to 6th place and a gap started to open up infront of him. Kevin percevered and made sure that gap wasn't too much. With 100m to go he had a huge effort to put in to gain another place. Yet again he kicked for the finish not only overtaking the runner in front but clinching 4th place at the finish line!
James u15B had a strong feild in front of him. He worked really hard keeping pace with 2 Warrington AC runners. Dropping back a little in the woods he nevertheless came out of the woods in 9th place with a strong sprint finish. He even jogged away from the finish line. Terrific run.
Full results and photos can be found here: Results and a few photos of my own here: Photos
The final series placements in the MAXCL are:
Hannah Cusworth u13G 10th
Kevin Acton u13B 2nd
James Grannan u15B 11th
These are great results. Terrific work by our three regulars.
In the Under 11 Girls age group we have to congratulate Cloe Atkins & Sophie Emsley who on their very first outing for the club produced some excellent results, Sophie recording the forth highest overall score in her age group. Ewan McWalter had newcomer Daniel Bundred for company on this occasion and both had a good afternoon with Ewan taking second place in the 4 Lap Race and whilst he could not manage to equal his club record in the Chest Push (CP), he did beat the opposition to take first place with an excellent throw of 6.25m. Daniel who has only been with the club for a few weeks also did very well and was placed forth in both the 2 Lap Race and the Standing Long Jump (SLJ). The five strong Under 15 Girls team had a super day with Abigail Acton and Katie Wharton both setting two P.B.s, Abigail with 2.05m in the SLJ and 5.72m in the Standing Triple Jump (STJ), and Katie with 2.00m in the SLJ and 7.00m in the Shot Putt (SP). Imogen and Emily Taylor (not related) both tried new events setting good marks for the future, Imogen recording 65 in the speed bounce to take 3rd place. However one of the best performances of the day came from April Gardner being the only member of the squad to take on the 6 Lap Race who after a real gutsy run in a very competitive race was placed 3rd with a time of 1:44.2, so great was her effort and determination that she finished too exhausted to take her place in the relay team (the team did however manage a 3rd place in the race). On the day the Girls were the second highest scoring team in the league. Not to be out done by the girls, James Grannan (U.15 Boy) once again put in a terrific performance taking first place in the 6 Lap Race and the Speed Bounce (equalling his club record) and third place in both the Standing Long Jump and Vertical Jump to finish off a cracking Sportshall season. Our congratulations to all our athletes for supporting the club and on an excellent performance. Mike Bullock It was good to see so many new faces at our final Sportshall event of the season. Out of the ten athletes seven had not been to any of the earlier events of the season, even better, for the first time we were able to field a relay team in one age group.
With a couple of thousand runners and as many supporters cheering on, this was a major XC event. It attracts all of the best runners from all the top Athletics Clubs over the whole of Northern England. So no pressure then!
At 12:15, Hannah Cusworth was lining up with 163 other entries in the u13Gs. A 3km course over two laps on soft ground but at least the weather was kind. Hannah had made sure she was near the front at the start and at the gun they sprinted off the start line. The pace soon settled down and it was down to hard work. Concentrating throughout, she held her ground finishing with a sprint to pass 5 runners at the end to secure in 92nd place. A great performance.
Next was James Grannan, u15B amongst 159 other athletes. A 4km course again over a small and then large lap with a couple of extra hills thrown in. James again ensured he was at the front of the pack and after 50m was winning! A more sensible pace was established and James was comfortably in the middle of the pack. At halfway he looked relaxed but now in the upper half of the race. He cleverly used the extra down hill to grab another place. His final position was 89th and I think it was his best performance this season. James looked pleased with it too!
Finally, at 1:50 it was Kevin Acton, u13B with 184 other athletes. The 3km course now thoroughly cut up by 2 1/2 hours of racing was very soft and heavy. Kevin ran strongly but sensibly. He gained ground throughout the race and finished in a terrific 58th place.
It is a great experience to run in these large major XC events. Our 3 club runners worked hard and were rewarded with superb positions. They should be very proud of their achievements.
Results can be found here: Results and a few photographs here: Photos or on the Northern Athletics Web Site: NOEAA
Another disappointing turnout in terms of numbers but excellent runs by our three regulars this year. Again no u11s!!
This is a tough course for those who don't like hills, woods and twisting courses but superb for those who do! The ground was very hard after all the frost so the going was quick. Hannah was up first in the u13Gs. After a fast start she started feeling a pain in her knee so sensibly had a cautious run coming in, in 29th position. She is a much much better runner than this position, so will hopefully bounce back for next weeks County race.
Next was Kevin u13B. Kevin has been having a great season benefiting from his regular attendance at the 5K race in Bramhall. With top ten placements on his previous races he was down a bit on this race. With half a mile to go he was in 8th place with no threat from behind but a huge 50m gap to the next runner in front. I don't know if it was because I had told him he was in 8th but this clearly wasn't enough and by the finish Kevin had caught and comfortably passed the Sale Harries runner in front. This shows great belief, determination and starting to understand what he can achieve. With 3 non-counters (guest runners) from Bury AC his final position is actually 4th!
Finally it was James, u15B. James again has been benefiting from the Bramhall 5Ks and has been improving all season. Disappointed in his last race this is his "least favourite venue...I don't like hills" Well he didn't start off like he thought that, being in 6th place at the first bend! With two laps and therefore 2 hills to climb he was in 8th place about a third of the way through the race but with a bunch of runners on his tail. By the finish, the second hill had taken its toll and he was back in 14th place. This is an excellent result. As James missed Match 1, a good run at Wythenshaw will ensure a great final placement.
Full results can be found here: Results and photos here: Photos
Graham
Another disappointing turnout in terms of numbers but excellent runs by our three regulars this year. Again no u11s.
Hannah was first, u13Gs. Hannah looked tired from the start. Although she worked hard throughout "I just felt tired". She had done 2.5km on a tread mill the day before and knowing Hannah probably pushed herself very hard! So the run wasn't her best. With a final position of 27th it was a good training run and has demonstrated to her that rest is needed before a race!
Next was Kevin, u13B. Kevin was 'firing on all cylinders' and about a third of the way round was comfortably in 6th place. After some steep hills, drops and sharp bends he still was holding his position behind a couple of Bury AC athletes. About a mile to go having left all the hills behind he passed the two runners. By the time the finishing line was in sight he was well ahead of any rival. 4th a terrific position.
James, u15Bs was our final runner. James was running smoothly and looked relaxed. His position at halfway was however down on previous matches and he lost more places through the second half. He also finished in 27th and again the culprit was a bit of a cold and a school XC race earlier in the week!
The final league position is based upon the athletes best 4 results.
Full results can be found here: Results Photos can be found here: Photos
Graham
The sun was shinning at Boggart this year but there was still plenty of mud to play in! This is probably the hardest (but personally the best) course of the series. Ewan was first up making his XC debut, u11B. Unfortunately the keen runners raced off at the 5 minute warning and ended up doing half the race before they could be stopped and re-started!! Ewan ran well but learn't legging collect water, mud and slow you down!
Next up was Hannah, u13G. With a stealy determination fought her way round the course with a terrific sprint to the finish line. 14th place a terrific placement in the largest junior race.
Calum and Kevin were next. Kevin dropped in to the conversation that he'd knocked 40 seconds off his 5K pb the day before so, although very pleased for him, I didn't hold out a repeat of the previous 6th place. How wrong was I, a very strong second half to the race saw him burst out of the woods to finish in 3rd place!! Calum found the course tough but it was good to see him out representing the club and trying hard.
Finally it was James, u15B. He set off at pace nearly being tumbled in to a tree at the frantic start. A third of the way round he was running smoothly and in control. His 5K racing at Bramhall park has made a big improvement to his running and there is still much more to come. The field is tougher higher up the age groups so a 13th position is a great result.
Overall great performances by Handforth all round. Official results can be found here: Results and a few photos of our runners can be found here: Pictures
Well done to all our athletes who received triathlon, pentathlon and decathlon awards this year.
Below is a list of this years trophy awards:
| McLoughlin Memorial Shield | Best Crosscountry & Distance Runner | Kevin Acton |
| Norman Shield | Best u11 boy, most improved | Ewan McWalter |
| Stanneylands Trophy | Most improved boy | Fergus Taylor |
| Yorkshire Boys Cup | Best u13, boy | Joel Norman |
| Natwest Shield | Most promising Junior Girl | Hannah Cusworth |
| Yorkshire Girls Cup | Most Improved Girl | Abigail Acton |
| Yorkshire B. Soc. & Silver Jubilee Cup | Outstanding Club Athlete | James Grannan |
| Hobday Shield | Club member of the year | Harry Stobart |
The Heaton Park race is usually pleasant weather but with a few of our regulars missing this year we had only 2 runners to enjoy the pouring rain and wind sweeping across the Park!
First up was Hannah Cusworth U13G. In probably the largest race she came over the final hill with a large pack of girls in her wake. With 200m to go and a hard pull up to the finish there was no way she was going to let anyone past. With great determination she drove to the finish in 9th place!
Next was Kevin Acton U13B. Kevin came over the hill in 6th place behind a Manchester Harriers runner. Soaked through, he attacked the steep hill just past the gate and left the other runner beaten. With only a 100m to go he pulled away to secure 6th place!
Both of these results are superb. If they continue with this performance throughout the series they could both hold club records for their age catagory. Great runs. Pictures
