Medals and a team triumph for Rotherham Harriers at Yorkshire Cross Country Championships

Harriers scored great individual and team medal successes and again topped the overall medal table at the big event at Lightwater Valley.

The annual event consisted of a total of ten age group races, with individual and team medals to be won.

The competition for the Yorkshire event was high, with many international standard athletes taking part.

Rotherham fielded 45 athletes, among which the U15 girls had a clean sweep of the individual medals with Graihagh Turner 1st, Grace Igoe 2nd and Maya Schofield 3rd with an unbeatable team score of six points to win team gold.

The U15 Boys A team of Alfie Bedford (4th), Mikey Bacon (8th) and Bartley Hughes (19th) were silver team medalists. The B team were 7th team and first B team; (Louis Johnson 29th, Riley Welton-Seymour 31st & Sebastian Johnson 34th.)

Lilia Harris won silver and Katie Battle bronze in the U17 women's race, and with Harper Tompkin in 22nd they won bronze team medals.

Jonson Hughes won gold on the U17 men's race and with his brother Rocco in 8th and Will Platts in 12th, Harriers took the gold team medal. The B team athletes (Daniel Reeve 23rd, Jack Williams 27th, and Theo Armitage 33rd) were 8th team and 3rd B team.

Sonny Boy Hughes won silver in the U20 men's race and Joe Massingham continued his excellent winter form to finish a tremendous 2nd in the senior men's race. The senior men were 4th team, with Leeds City winning both men's and women's team races.

The race is also used to select the Yorkshire team for the Inter Counties championships in March. Fourteen Harriers won automatic selection and notable among those was Matilda Holmes, who finished 8th in her first cross country season to make the Yorkshire U15 girls team. Haley Bacon was 5th so will be in the Yorkshire U13 girls team. Natasha Hatswell was Harriers’ first finisher in the senior women's race, in 6th, to get selected.

Ellen McLeod is likely to get a senior team call in 12th as is Marci Walsh, 9th in the U20 women's race.

Medal table (Gold Silver Bronze Total): 1Rotherham Harriers 4 5 3 12; 2 Hallamshire Harriers 4 1 3 8; 3 Leeds City 3 4 0 7; 4 City of York 3 2 2 7