December 2005

Weekly Round-up
(to 31st Dec).
Nick McCormick clocked a personal best time of 28mins 57secs, to finish 6th in the New Years Eve Madrid 10km, behind E Kipchoge (Ken) (27:34). Paula Radcliffe won the Womens' race (31:16). Jo Ankier finished 5th (34:06).
Result of Ribble Valley 10km (27th Dec): 1 T Abyu (Salf) 29:33; 2 A Buckley 29:50  Women: 1 H Clitheroe 32:20; 5 A Woodvine 36:42. Result of Reebok Sale Festival 5 was: 1 A Norman 23:57; 2 S Hepples 24:22 (since found out Hepples only arrived 10mins before start, and ran without number)..
Result of Guisborough Woods Fell Race (27th Dec) was: 1 C Stead 38:40; 2 A Duffield 39:17; 3 P Lowe 39:38  M60: J Kettle 52:19  Women: 1 S Jackson (Liv) 46:45; 2 S Tunstall 48:20.  Rebecca Robinson was first lady at the Wansfell Fell Race at Ulverston (24:55).
Results of Ripon Jolly Holly Jog (courtesy of website) (date not given on results or website entry form). 1 R Stevenson 33:09; 2 G Dunn 33:30; 3 M Grainger (M40) 34:18; 8 N Orr (M45) 36:20; 38 M Brooks 40:27
Women: 1 N Griffith (WG&EL) 37:57 (16th); 2 S Blackett (Berks Tri) 39:20; 3 D Richardson 39:31; 6 A Raw (W40) 40:16; 13 S Milburn (W45) 43:13; S Gibson (1st W55) 48:44. 381 finishers. Last time: 72:34.
Matthew Nicholson was given victory in the Gosforth Turkey Trot (presumably at Gosforth Park) on 26th Dec. He clocked the same time of 15mins 51secs as Paul Hutton (2nd) and Lewis Timmins (3rd). Other Results: Women: 1 S Armstrong 19:41; 2 L Smith (U17) 20:36; 3 E Masson (U15) 20:55   Juniors: 1 T Bird (U13) 9:48; 2 R Lundgren (U13G) 10:50; 3 H Stephenson (U15G) 10:52
Result of Great Langdale Pudding 10km in Cumbria was: 1 S Littler (Wesh) 32:28; 2 M Scott 32:30  Women: 1 R Robinson 35:04; 2 E Johnson 39:32
AW featured the end-of-year Track and Field rankings. Top 20 Listings included (have added Merit ranking if applicable in bracket).
400: 7 R Buck 46.47 (9); 16 J Deacon 46.87  Not listed: R Yusuf 46.33 (5th fastest)  800: 6 N McCormick 1:48.25 (also 22 K Flannery 1:48.95)  1500: 2 N McCormick 3:33.9 (2)  Mile: 1 N McCormick 3:52.02  3000: 3 N McCormick 7:56.57; 6 S Hepples 8:02.63  2M: 3 S Hepples 8:45.46  5000: 7 S Hepples 14:00.06 (7)  5km (Road): 3 I Hudspith 14:15; 11 D Anderson 14:30  5M (Road): 3 N McCormick 23:40  10km (Road): 7 N McCormick 29:17; 12 M Scaife 29:36; 19 I Hudspith 29:51  Half Marathon: 9 I Hudspith 64:56 (11); 12 D Wardle 65:15; 15 M Scaife 65:40  Marathon: 17 N Wilkinson 2:22:12  400H: 7 L Collins 50.46 (6); 14 J Deacon 51.86  PV: 2 K Higham 5.40 (2); 9 M Christie 5.10 (9)  LJ: 3 C Tomlinson 7.95 (2)  DT: 15 L Richards 50.90  JT: 11 L Doran 67.25 (10)  100M Walk: 4 D James (Redcar) 20:37:42
Women:  200: 7 S Deacon 23.67 (11)  400: 17 S Deacon 53.96  5000: 13 S Maude 16:07.16; 15 M McDonnell 16:11.88 (12)  5km (Road): 12 A Dixon 16:39  10000: 7 M McDonnell 33:56.50 (7)  5M (Road): 4 M McDonnell 27:04; 7 A Dixon 27:27  100km (Road) 2 S Gayter 8:25:41  24hrs (Road) 1 S Gayter 200.513km  3000St: 5 S Thomas 10:15.24 (6)  HJ: 15 E Morris 1.77  PV: (also 33 S Scott 3.30)  DT: 7 C Griss 51.43 (7); 15 L Tucker 45.51  HT: 1 S Webb 67.58 (1)  3km Walk: 1 J Jackson 13:22.23  5km Walk: 1 J Jackson 22:46.07  5km Walk (Road): 5 J Jackson 24:12  10km Walk: 2 J Jackson 48:37  20km Walk: 3 J Jackson 1:43:07 (Overall Merit: 1)
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Woodlawn Christmas Pudding Run.
Whitley Bay.  Mon. 26th Dec.
Elswick's Ryan McLeod strode to a comfortable victory in yesterday's annual Boxing Day Woodlawn Christmas Pudding Run, at Whitley Bay. McLeod, second in 2004, soon joined early leader Ivan Hollingsworth and Micky Morris, both of Morpeth, the trio pulling well clear of the 700-strong field. Hollingsworth was the first to lose contact at halfway, with McLeod waiting until the final 300m before kicking away from Morris. Les Atkinson also of Morpeth,  finished strongly to take 4th place, and was also the leading veteran
Angie Watson of Chester Le Street, second in 2003 and  third in 2004, this time easily won the Womens' race from Wallsend's Danielle Hodgkinson, with former Chester athlete, Louise Hayes, finishing third.
Result.  Distance 3.2M.
1 R McLeod (Els) 15:53; 2 M Morris (Morp) 15:57; 3 I Hollingsworth (Morp) 16:47; 4 L Atkinson (Morp, M50) 17:13; 5 D Kirkland (Aln) 17:15; 6 S Kirtley (Morp) 17:27; 7 P Walker (Blay) 17:29; 8 K Flannery (Gate, U20) 17:35; 9 M McDonald (Low F) 17:40; 10 R Balmbra (Morp, U17) 17:41; 11 R Floyd (Morp) 17:42; 12 AN Other 17:44; 13 T Brannon (NSP) 18:03; 14 T Carter (Walls, U20) 18:04; 15 R Cunningham (Birt, U17) 18:17; 16 A Jenkins (Morp, M50) 18:18
Women: 1 A Watson (CleS) 19:46; 2 D Hodgkinson (Walls) 20:23; 3 L Hayes (unatt) 20:26; 4 F Little (unatt) 20:36; 5 G Rutherford (NSP, U17) 20:41; 6 L Marr (Tyne, W40) 21:04
(Newcastle Journal:  Tues. 27th December 2005).

Additional Comments:  All of info used. Not sure of number of runners, but probably not as many as 2004. Weather was raining on and off, getting colder and windier. As usual a ruuner among leading fifteen I did not recognise. Looked to have a Tynedale (perhaps Birchfield) vest. Not sure if Louise Hayes (obviously still running well)  is still with Chester Le Street, but suspect not. Rutherford was third lady after first loop. Denis Lawther clocked 26;04. Heaton performances (no positions) were: C Auld 19:57; M Gibson 20:03; P Bhogal 20:13; J Wilson 21:04; S McEntee 21:34; H Gold 21:37; J Friend (L) 23:02; J Josephs 23:18; A Mulliss 23:23; E Appleby 24:37; J Brignall 24:51 (L); R Checkley 25:26; G Routledge 26:46; C McEntee 27:16; K Mcentee 27:16 (L).
Apologies to anyone omitted. I know I did not clock Dave Briignall or Pam Gold.
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Gateshead Lunchtime Road Race Handicap.
International Stadium.  Wed. 21st Dec.
Vanessa Butler of Elswick just held off the fast finishing Dan Robins of Heaton, in probably the closest race in the event's history, to win the third of the Gateshead Lunchtime Handicap series at the International Stadium, yesterday.
Sunderland's Gavin Massingham off a handicap of 13mins, clocked the fastest time finishing in 43rd position overall. Melissa Turner of Chester Le Street was the fastest lady.
Result.  Distance 5km.
1 V Butler (Els, L) 26:34; 2 D Robins (Heat) 26:34; 3 A Billett (Dur) 26:48; 4 N Storey (NE Vets) 26:58; 5 P Cairns (NE Vets) 26:59; 6 K Beaumont (Heat, L) 27:01; 7 L Swanson (Heat, L) 27:03; 8 D Mills (J&H) 27:05; 9 R Hunter (Tyne) 27:07; 10 C Crawford Glanville (Gate) 27:13
Fastest: G Massingham (Sun) 15:23; D Samuels (Morp) 15:27; D Robins 17:34; C Crawford Glanville 17:43; M McNally (Els, M55) 17:57
Women: M Turner (CleS) 19:45; K Kelly (CleS) 20:08; K Davison (Els, W45) 20:23
(Newcastle Journal:  Thurs. 22nd December 2005).

Additional Comments: Not used. If appearing on Monday (26th), I will not be happy as on this (and New Years' Day) it is difficult to buy any papers. Weather overcast but dry, little wind and mild. 68 finishers. Results on Low fell website by Thurs pm. Dan Samuels was giving Massingham 1min. He had made up 1sec after 400m. Turner, a new name to me, finished 56th. She has been with CleS for 12 months. Other times included: H Matthews (M55) 18:09; S White (M55) 18:29; K Alnwick (M60) 20:55; B Cordes (M65) 21:48; J Prudham (M65) 21:57; S Laws (W50) 21:18; C Lee (W60) 22:21. Dave Whitmore clocked 26:16 (52nd) and Sid Robson (30:45) (67th). Butler's actual time was 20:44. Other Heaton performances (actual time): K Beaumont 23:21; L Swanson 24:23; 41 A Mulliss 21:42; 42 H Mitford 23:43; 44 E Appleby 24:03; 47 H Gold 20:46; 50 R Checkley 24:33; 58 T Hopkins 24:17; 61 P Bhogal 19:34; 65 P Gold 24:17.
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Weekly Round-up
(to 18th Dec).
Results of Loftus Poultry Run (sadly once again, I saw no advance details) ncluded: 1 J Taylor 43:50; 2 V Brudenell 44:57; 5 A Lawrence 45:14  M60: J Kettle 57:02  Women: 1 S Rutherford 50:20; 2 A Raw 50:52; 3 C Hare 51:38; 4 J Jackson 52:57.
Charlotte Moore was first lady in the Poole 5km Road Race, in a time of 17mins 57secs.
Rebecca Robinson won the Mid Lancs League XC race at Leyland (17th Dec), in a time of 23mins 31secs (by a 58secs margin).
All info from AW, where the 2005 Under 13 Boys Track and Field rankings appeared. Notable listings included: 1500: 4 J Robson 4:40.51  HJ: 8 T Kill (M'bro) 1.52  SP: 17 A Laing-Barras (Gate) 10.40.
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Saltwell Road Races.
Gateshead.  Sun. 18th Dec.
Sunderland Harrier, Mark Hood was a comfortable winner of yesterday's Pre-Christmas Saltwell 10km Road Race. In the biting cold conditions, 270 runners set out on the loop of Saltwell Park, before going on to the traditional route down to the Team Valley and up the notorious Chowdene Bank. A leading group of twenty left the park, and as runners started gradually dropping off the pace, Hood made his bid for victory halfway along the Team Valley (3.5M). Elswick's Ryan McLeod was the only one to challenge but Hood was clear at the top df Chowdene Bank (5M), picking up the £25 Prime prize in the process. The margin of victory back in the Park, was 14secs over the strong finishing Chris Parr of Gateshead, with McLeod finishing 3rd ahead of clubmate Steven Horn.
Hood had previously won this race in the spring of 2002, when bad weather forced the postponement from the previous Christmas. Darlington's Martin Grainger was the leading veteran in 6th position. With Mark McLeod finishing in 11th place, Elswick took the team awards. The Newcastle club gained further honours when Judith Nutt won the Womens' race, reversing 2004 placings, with Avon based Tynesider, Zoe Tucker. Nutt, who finished in 33rd position had previously won the 2003 race. Jarrow's Angela Hunter finished 3rd, ahead of North Eastern Junior Cross Country champion, Mary Ferrier of Gateshead and leading veteran, Fiona Shenton of Elvet. Elswick again took the team title.
Elswick's Jonathan Pearson, winner of the Junior Great North Run in September, comfortably won the Under 17 race, with Gateshead's Lyndsey Dodsworth repeating her 2004 victory in the Womens' race (she also won the under 15 race in 2003).
Carl Bell of Gateshead, 2nd in last weekend's North Eastern Cross Country Championship, easily won the Under 15 event, with Morpeth's Zoe Armstrong successful in the Girls' race.
In an exciting Under 13 event, Morpeth's Marcus Cram, son of former World record holder and now TV commentator, Steve, caught long-time leader Jamie Robson of Gateshead with 30m remaining, sprinting to a 5m victory. The pair had finished 4th and 2nd respectively in the Cross Country Championship. Birtley's Steph Loraine comfortably won the Girls' race.
Results.
Senior Men: 10km.  1 M Hood (Sun) 32:00; 2 C Parr (Gate) 32:14; 3 R McLeod (Els) 33:11; 4 S Horn (Els) 33:21; 5 S Bell (CleS) 33:35; 6 M Grainger (Darl, M40) 33:37; 7 R Hand (Dur, M40) 33:41; 8 M Armstrong (Blay, U20) 33:48; 9 T Field (Sun, M40) 33:57; 10 A Carmichael (Gate, U20) 34:05; 11 M Thompson (Gate) 34:22; 12 M McLeod (Els) 34:33; 13 M Smith (unatt, M40) 34:57; 14 J Moore (Heat) 35:08 15 J S Donneky (Derw) 35:14; 16 P Besford (Gate) 35:32; 17 C Ridley (SSh, M45) 35:41; 18 J Bell (Els, M55) 35:48; 19 C Robson (J&H) 36:02; 20 M Jones (SSh, M40) 36:04; 21 P Branston (Gate) 36:24; 22 R Collins (Tees, M40) 36:34; 23 P Dixon (Els, M45) 36:35; 24 D Robins (Heat) 36:40; 25 D Robertson (Sun, M40) 36:47
Veterans:  M45: 3 S Marshall (Dur) 37:04  M50: 1 A Jenkins (Morp) 37:00; 2 J A Donneky (Derw) 39:15; 3 D Mitchinson (Blay) 39:28  M55: 2 I Richardson (NSP) 39:44  M60: A Potter (NE Vets) 47:06  M70: E Appleby (Heat) 49:30
Teams: 1 Elswick 16; 2 Gateshead 17; 3 Heaton 44
Veterans: 1 South Shields 22; 2 Sunderland 27; 3 Elswick 30
Women: 1 J Nutt (Els) 37:14; 2 Z Tucker (Bitt) 38:06; 3 A Hunter (J&H) 38:52; 4 M Ferrier (Gate, U20) 39:41; 5 F Shenton (Elv, W45) 41:12; 6 Y Thiru (Gosf, W35) 42:08; 7 I Hope (Sun, W45) 42:36; 8 L Marr (Tyne, W40) 42:49; 9 C Jackson (unatt, W40) 42:50; 10 A Easoz (Clare) 43:28; 11 J Elliott (Blay) 44:06; 12 V Butler (Els) 44:08; 13 J Cross (Clare, W35) 44:09; 14 G Barry (Sun) 44:29; 15 A Banner (Els) 44:43
W40: 3 A Nott (Heat) 44:50  W50: M Loraine (Birt) 51:10  W55: P Gold (Heat) 49:29  W65: E Armstrong (Tyne) 56:04
Teams: 1 Elswick 24; 2 Sunderland 29; 3 Heaton 48
Under 17 Men: 4.5km.  1 J Pearson (Els) 14:32; 2 S Foy (unatt) 14:39; 3 J Gibson (Gate) 14:59; 4 M Cochrane (Morp) 15:38; 5 R Robinson (Blyth) 15:52; 6 D Watt (NSP) 16:26
Under 15 Boys: 2.5km.  1 C Bell (Gate) 8:03; 2 A Southern (Els) 8:57; 3 B Pearson (Els) 9:04; 4 G Ritchie (J&H) 9:14; 5 S Hogarth (Birt) 9:26; 6 S Rutter (Gate) 9:32
Under 13 Boys: 2.5km.  1 M Cram (Morp) 8:35; 2 J Robson (Gate) 8:37; 3 M Hardy (Gate) 9:27; 4 S Cochrane (Morp) 9:55; 5 M Bennett (Gate) 10:09; 6 C Slack (Els) 10:13
Under 17 Women: 4.5km.  1 L Dodsworth (Gate) 17:48; 2 C Donnan (Birt) 25:35; 3 F Hopkins (Birt) 28:48
Under 15 Girls: 2.5km.  1 Z Armstrong (Morp) 9:31; 2 D Bell (Gate) 10:03; 3 E Murray (J&H) 10:39; 4 L McDonald (Morp) 10:52; 5 V Brewis (H&P) 10:57; 6 M Bell (Black B) 11:14
Under 13 Girls: 2.5km.  1 S Loraine (Birt) 10:05; 2 C Samuelson (Gate) 10:12; 3 S Robinson (Blyth) 10:27; 4 J Bunn (J&H) 10:57; 5 L Clement (H&P) 11:15; 6 L Page (H&P) 11:48
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 19th December 2005).

Additional Comments:  Most of info used. Very cold. Hard frost overnight which did not clear. However it was better underfoot than expected. Stayed dry and bright. 267 finishers (last time: 65:21). Apologies to older veterans if omitted but only listed to M/W55 age-group. I think Ken Alnwick (48:59) was probably 1st M60. Again team results affected by splitting Male Seniors and Veterans (certainly helped Heaton team). Dave Whitmore finished 230th (53:07).
Heaton fielded 24 athletes. Other performances were: 37 D Burn 37:40; 56 P Bhogal 39:43; 59 C Auld 39:48; 107 J Gibson 43:38; 129 M Gibson 44:37; 130 S McEntee 44:38; 135 A Nott (16L); 138 D Brignell 45:00; 158 A Mulliss 46:19; 161 D Wright 46:32; 166 J Friend 46:53 (17L); 192 P Gold (20L); 193 E Appleby; 194 J Brignell 49:40 (21L); 198 A Tunmore 50:04 (24L); 203 K Beaumont 50:23 (25L); 205 D Parker 50:27 (26L); 222 L Swanson 51:57 (33L); 223 A Grenfell 51:57 (34L); 227 G Routledge 52:54; 228 I McKinnon 52:57; 252 J Padden 57:18 (54L). 10th Vets Team.
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Weekly Round-up
(to 11th Dec).
Congratulations to all the British medallists at The European Cross Country Championships at Tilburg in Denmark (11th Dec). Pleased to say BBC showed a fair bit of Junior races.
Leading results were: SM: 1 S Lebid (Ukr) 27:09; 2 A Garcia (Sp) 27:21; 3 D Maazoozi (Fr) 27:26; 21 M Farah 27:57  Team: 1 France 21; 7 Great Britain 129  JM: 1 B Bene (Hun) 18:41; 2 A Vernon 18:42; 13 A Hickey 19:00; 24 K Hardy 19:06; 29 T Minshull 19:09  Team: 1 Poland 60; 2 Great Britain 68  SW: 1 L Kiplagat (Neth) 19:55; 2 S Mockenhaupt (Ger) 20:00; 3 J Nilsson (Swe) 20:01; 6 H Yelling 20:16; 8 L Yelling 20:17; 16 K Reed 20:29; 24 N Harvey 20:39  Team: 1 Russia 52; 2 Great Britain 54  JW: 1 A Bobocel (Rom) 15:23; 2 E Pidgeon 15:25; 6 M Maclartey 15:42; 7 S Twell 15:45; 15 S Edwards 15:55; 17 G Turtle 15:57  Team: 1 Great Britain 30; 2 Romania 49
Nick Swinburn won Simonside Cairns Fell Race (11th Dec) in a time of 78mins 10secs. A Mudge won Womens' race (84:19) from K Robertson (92:53) and H Wootton (92:54). Alison Raw was 1st W40 (97:48).
Leading results from Cumbria XC Champs at Keswick (11th Dec) included: SM: 1 M Sawrey (Tr) 34:15; 2 C Doyle(Tr) 34:44  U15: 1 T Farrell (Bord) 12:15  SW: 1 G Phillips (Kend) 27:25; 2 R Robinson (Kend) 27:58; 3 S Tunstall (NR) 30:41  U15G: 1 L Park (Ellen) 12:54
Freya Murray (apparently based in Sunderland), won Scottsh Eastern XC title at Aberdeen (10th Dec). Her time was 23mins 46secs. Emma Waterhouse finished 11th (26:25).
Results from Sheffield Open Indoor Meeting (10th Dec) included (not very easy to follow, not all positions given, so apologies if any glaring omissions):  60: 1 T Ward 7.01; 2 R Kilty 7.08  B: 1 R Buck 7.22  D: J Sinclair 7.48  J: N Pearson (U17W) 8.17  300: 1 R Buck 33.96; 4 R Yusuf 35.98  B: 1 T Ward 35.20  L: N Pearson 42.91  LJ: 1 S Nyananyo 6.90  SW LJ: 3 N Pearson 5.03.
John Moore (info direct) also clocked 41.00 in 300m heat and was 3rd in 1000m race (2:45.97). He mistook number of laps and should have won latter.
Belated results of Newcastle Schools Boys' XC at St Cuthberts (6th Dec) were:
IB: 1 J Gibson (RGS) 15:02; 2 T Perrins (RGS) 15:48; 3 K Moloney (St Cuth) 15:57  Team: St Cuthberts 21  JB: 1 J Robson (RGS) 11:43; 2 J Day (St Cuth) 11:51; 3 T Walker (Heat M) 12:04  Team: Royal Grammar 37  MB: 1 A Davies (Gosf C) 9:49; 2 L Hogg (Gosf E) 9:50; 3 C Johnson (Walb) 9:55
Most of info courtesy of AW, where the Girls' U13 rankings for 2005 were included: Congratulations in particular to Gateshead H.. All listed are from Gateshead unless stated otherwise.
75: 5 A Stone (J&H) 10.10; 9 C Gray (Dur) 10.2  100: 1 J Read 13.0; 3 A Stone 13.04; 16 J Ellis 13.34  150: 8 J Ellis 20.1  200: 6 J Ellis 27.5  800: 2 S Bell 2:22.12  1200: 7 S Bell 3:57.4  1500: 10 S Bell 5:01.64; 15 S Loraine (Birt) 5:05.4  75H: 1 R Liddell 11.3; 14 S Bell 12.0  LJ: 10 J Read 4.72  SP: 7 A Welsh 9.11  Pent: 4 S Bell 2241; 18 R Liddell 2086
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100th North Eastern Counties A.A  Cross Country Championships.
Bishop Auckland College.  Sat. 10th Dec.
David Wardle won the title for the first time, and Sunderland ended Morpeth's eight year reign as team champions, in the 100th running of the Senior Mens' event at Saturday's North Eastern Counties Cross Country Championships at Bishop Auckland College. Conditions were bright and dry with the going fairly firm underfoot. The course though mainly flat, was described by one of the past champions, who were invited as guests to the event, as "not for the rhythm runners" due to the many twists and turns.
Wardle, from Jarrow, but now based in London, made the long journey worthwhile, when he dropped the large leading group on the 2nd of the four laps. Race favourite Martin Scaife of Morpeth, running with a strained back, tried in vain to close the 50m gap on his rival,  managing only to reduce the deficit to 3secs at the finish line. Mark Brown also of Morpeth took third place though was in some distress in the final 20m. Mark Hood overtook Sunderland clubmate and 10-times past champion, Brian Rushworth, on the final lap to take 4th place. Despite Patrick Martin dropping out at halfway, Sunderland still managed to take the team title, by 16pts from Morpeth, who were hit by the late withdrawal of defending champion, Neil Wilkinson.
The Wearsiders included 4 veterans among their counters as Seniors Hood and Steve Potts (13th) were joined by Rushworth, Tim Field (16th), Tom Doughty (18th) and George Harden (34th). Morpeth's 6th counter was 53-year-old Archie Jenkins (49th), who has now gained team medals in each of the past four decades. Chester Le Street took the bronze medals.
Rosie Smith of Durham, a student at Edinburgh University, was another to take ther first Senior title, impressively winning the Womens' race. After a cautious start, Smith caught long-time leader Alyson Dixon of Chester Le Street approaching halfway. After running with her rival for 600m, Smith, who has won several of the younger age-group titles at both local and regional level, then pulled away opening up a 40secs gap at the finish line. Aiveen Fox of Morpeth finished in an isolated third place ahead of clubmate Jane Mooney. Durham won a closely contested team event from Chester Le Street and Morpeth.
Morpeth once more won the overall team award for the Middlesbrough and Cleveland Trophy. Their two team victories came in the Junior Men and Under 15 Girls' events.
John Taylor of Middlesbrough, a 1500m track specialist, continued his improved Cross Country form to comfortably win the Under 20 title. In the corresponding Womens' race, Mary Ferrier of Gateshead added another title to her already impressive list, to comfortably defeat her arch rival, Delyth James of Morpeth. Stacey Smith of Tynedale, who crossed the line in 4th place, took the Under 17 title. Gateshead easily won the team event.
Ricky Stevenson of New Marske and Ross Murray of Gateshead, both runners-up at last season's English Schools Champiionship, easily won the Under 17 and Under 15 races, respectively. Middlesbrough Mandale and Tynedale (for the 1st time), took the corrsponding team titles. Two more Schools Internationals Kate Avery of Shildon and Laura Weightman of Morpeth, fought out a tough battle in the Under 15 Girls' race. Avery, last year's Under 13 champion, who also took the Northern and National titles, dropped Weightman, the 2004 winner in the last 1000m.
Easiest winner of the day rather surprisingly came in the first event for Under 13 Girls. Sigourney Bell of Gateshead dominated this race from the start winning by 47secs. Clubmate Rebecca Oldham finished 2nd as Gateshead took the team title with the day's lowest score.
Mark Shaw of New Marske, 2nd in the recent Liverpool challenge event, easily won the Under 13 Boys' race. Defending champion, Jamie Robson had to settle for 2nd, but had the consolation of leading Gateshead to the team title.
Results.
Senior Men: 12km.
1 D Wardle (Lon I) 39:11; 2 M Scaife (Morp) 39:14; 3 M Brown (Morp) 39:58; 4 M Hood (Sun) 40:14; 5 B Rushworth (Sun, M40) 40:18; 6 C Sampson (Morp) 40:25; 7 C Parr (Gate) 40:34; 8 P Hutton (Gosf) 41:16; 9 S Bell (CleS) 41:23; 10 D Swinburne (Morp) 41:40; 11 J Archer (Low F) 41:56; 12 J Powell (Dur) 42:11; 13 S Potts (Sun) 42:16; 14 K Forster (Dund U) 42:20; 15 M Tomlinson (CleS) 42:30; 16 T Field (Sun, M40) 42:36; 17 A Tatham (Quak) 42:52; 18 T Doughty (Sun, M40) 43:06; 19 M Thompson (Gate) 43:08; 20 R Hand (Dur, M40) 43:13; 21 D Purvis (CleS) 43:15; 22 D Inglis (Darl) 43:15; 23 M Grainger (Darl, M40) 43:22; 24 J Donneky (Derw) 43:45; 25 M McLeod (Els) 44:00
Teams: 1 Sunderland 90; 2 Morpeth 106; 3 Chester Le Street 165; 4 Gateshead 198; 5 Darlington 239; 6 Durham City 309
Under Men: 7.8km.
1 J Taylor (M'bro) 25:58; 2 L Timmins (Gosf) 26:15; 3 N Shrubb (Morp) 26:19; 4 R Stephenson (NSP) 26:33; 5 N Swinburn (Morp) 26:34; 6 M Armstrong (Blay) 26:46; 7 A Wiles (M'bro) 26:54; 8 M Crawley (Dur) 27:03; 9 R Floyd (Morp) 27:18; 10 A Lawrence (Morp) 27:23; 11 R Morrell (M'bro) 27:26; 12 M Atkin (CleS) 27:34; 13 A Coffer (CleS) 27:42; 14 S Kirtley (Morp) 27:51; 15 J Creegan (Gate) 28:08
Teams: 1 Morpeth 17; 2 Middlesbrough Mandale 19; 3 Chester Le Street 45
Under 17 Men: 6.1km.
1 R Stevenson (N Marske) 21:09; 2 C Smith (CleS) 21:25; 3 A Stanton (CleS) 21:30; 4 J Pearson (Els) 21:34; 5 J Gibson (Gate) 21:41; 6 D Evans (CleS) 21:58; 7 M Cochrane (Morp) 22:06; 8 A Mason (M'bro) 22:09; 9 A Mitchell (M'bro) 22:11; 10 K Thompson (Shil) 22:19; 11 P Moore (N Ayc) 22:36; 12 R Balmbra (Morp) 22:50; 13 B Wears (M&C) 22:55; 14 D Watt (NSP) 23:11; 15 S Readman (N Marske) 23:16
Teams: 1 Middlesbrough Mandale 61; 2 Morpeth 66; 3 Tynedale 98
Under 15 Boys: 4km.'
1 R Murray (Gate) 13:40; 2 C Bell (Gate) 13:52; 3 R Best (N Marske) 14:11; 4 T Venus (Tyne) 14:21; 5 P De Winter (CleS) 14:26; 6 A Morrell (M'bro) 14:28; 7 A Wears (M&C) 14:32; 8 T Hinchcliffe (Dur) 14:37; 9 R Moody (M'bro) 14:40; 10 C Rutherford (Tyne) 14:44; 11 S Ruddick (Blay) 14:46; 12 J Lazenby (M&C) 14:49; 13 M Grimes (Dur) 14:51; 14 B Chadwick (Shil) 14:53; 15 J Hewitt (Gosf) 14:53
Teams: 1 Tynedale 76; 2 Blaydon 81; 3 Gateshead 81
Under 13 Boys: 3.2km.
1 M Shaw (N Marske) 11:20; 2 J Robson (Gate) 11:51; 3 G Wright (M'bro) 12:04; 4 M Cram (Morp) 12:14; 5 B Pearse (N Marske) 12:17; 6 J Archer (Sun) 12:17; 7 J Philips (Darl) 12:19; 8 S Younger (Sun) 12:22; 9 S Pratt (Gate) 12:32; 10 P Shuttleworth (Morp) 12:33; 11 P Hope (Sun) 12:37; 12 B McGrath (M&C) 12:38; 13 L Hogg (Gate) 12:40; 14 M Bennett (Gate) 12:42; 15 M Hardy (Gate) 12:45
Teams: 1 Gateshead 38; 2 Sunderland 42; 3 Morpeth 63
Senior Women: 7.8km.
1 R Smith (Dur) 29:20; 2 A Dixon (Sun) 30:00; 3 A Fox (Morp) 30:45; 4 J Mooney (Morp) 31:05; 5 H Monro (Dur) 31:25; 6 J Jackson (M&C) 31:41; 7 L Noble (Sun) 31:46; 8 K Matthew (CleS) 31:48; 9 M Czarnecka (CleS) 31:54; 10 J Nutt (Els) 32:07; 11 D Hales (Dur, W35) 32:32; 12 C Summersgill (M&C) 32:50; 13 T Laws (CleS) 33:16; 14 D Richardson (Quak) 33:18; 15 J Smith (Heat) 33:23; 16 M Holt (Sun) 33:53; 17 H Astley (Heat) 34:31; 18 L Marr (Tyne, W40) 34:33; 19 E Wilson (Gate) 34:34; 20 F Turley (Heat) 34:37
Teams: 1  Durham City 17; 2 Chester Le Street 19; 3 Morpeth 29; 4 Middlesbrough & Cleveland 46; 5 Sunderland 47; 6 Heaton 52
Under 20 Women: 4.9km.
1 M Ferrier (Gate) 18:21; 2 D James (Morp) 18:33; 3 A Gibson (Els) 18:55; 4 A Snook (Shil) 19:40; 5 S Evans (J&H) 20:11; 6 N Owens (Shil) 21:38; 7 R Barnes (CleS) 21:43; 8 L Tweedle (Sun) 24:54
Under 17 Women: 4.9km.
1 S Smith (Tyne) 19:36; 2 L Patton (Gate) 19:47; 3 S Duffy (Gate) 20:02; 4 C Baudouin (Gate) 20:17; 5 A Wilson (N Ayc) 20:25; 6 R Turnbull (Morp) 20:27; 7 A Porteous (Morp) 20:29; 8 J Stephenson (Blay) 20:31; 9 L Dodsworth (Gate) 20:50; 10 G Rutherford (NSP) 20:52; 11 N Wheatley (M&C) 20:53; 12 A Suffield (Shil) 21:04; 13 K Legg (M'bro) 21:07; 14 L Roche (M&C) 21:14; 15 L Dixon (Morp) 21:23
Teams (Combined with Under 20): 1 Gateshead 14; 2 Morpeth 25; 3 Shildon 43
Under 15 Girls: 4km.
1 K Avery (Shil) 14:56; 2 L Weightman (Morp) 15:01; 3 H Girtig (Blay) 15:41; 4 N Young (Morp) 16:03; 5 S Wood (Dur) 16:33; 6 Z Armstrong (Morp) 16:34; 7 H Nagel (CleS) 16:40; 8 E Toogood (Dur) 16:41; 9 A Smith (M&C) 16:58; 10 M Howell (Birt) 17:08; 11 D Pickavance Clarke (CleS) 17:12; 12 E Masson (Gosf) 17:14; 13 S Crosby (Sun) 17:15; 14 S Goodfellow (Morp) 17:21; 15 F Buckton (M&C) 17:25
Teams: 1 Morpeth 12; 2 Middlesbrough & Cleveland 46; 3 Chester Le Street 55
Under 13 Girls: 3.2km.
1 S Bell (Gate) 12:23; 2 R Oldham (Gate) 13:10; 3 H Rank (Morp) 13:13; 4 C Samuelson (Gate) 13:16; 5 R King (Gosf) 13:18; 6 S Loraine (Birt) 13:25; 7 L Richardson (Dur) 13:27; 8 S Bailey (N Marske) 13:29; 9 K McArdle (Gosf) 13:33; 10 B Ward (Darl) 13:36; 11 M Simpson (Morp) 13:39; 12 E Stone (M'bro) 13:41; 13 R Ferguson (Gate) 13:43; 14 R Mackenzie (N Marske) 13:47; 15 R Lundgren (Gosf) 13:51
Teams: 1 Gateshead 7; 2 Gosforth 29; 3 Morpeth 37
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 12th December 2005).

Additional Comments: Most of report used but in small(er) print. Quite mild early on but got cold later. Little bit of mud but not much. Among the old champions present were: Jim Alder, John Anderson, Kevin Forster, Colin Walker, Bill Boak, John Bell and Graham Smith. 241 finishers in SM event (last time: 71:09 ) and 65 Senior Women (last time: 46:21) which are an improvement on recent years. George Harden clocked 45:41 and Archie Jenkins 46:30. Other results included: SM: 36 P Waterson 45:46; 39 N Orr 45:53; 45 P Walker 46:11; 48 M Jones 46:24; 202 I Barnes 57:41; 213 J Prudham 59:16; 229 M Stephenson 61:59  U20: 29 A Colwell (not fully fit) 33:43  SW: 21 J Atkinson 34:39; 22 G Cavill 34:46; 25 Susan Milburn 35:20; 26 H Lambert 35:22; 27 L Brown 35:28; 29 L Walker 35:52; 32 H Robinson 36:21; 33 A Banner 36:26. Non- finishers included: M.Nicholson,  D Tait ( tailed off after 1 lap), J Young (early on due to illness), S Maude (breathing problems approaching halfway. Went off with Dixon but dropped to 4th). The absence of Templeman twins (due to School Swimming Gala) could cause selectors some problems in U13 girls' age-group.
A good performance by Heaton Women. However, there could have been more competing. Only minimum six men also. Performances were: 62 D Robins 47:32; 126 P Bhogal 51:52; 161 J Wilson 54:14; 178 S McEntee 55:39; 224 A Mulliss 54:59 (before going to match: Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0); 231 C McEntee 62:16. Team 22nd (of 23) 978pts.
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Weekly Round-up
(to 4th Dec).
Result of Xmas Pudding 10km at Ulverston was: 1 M Aspinall (L&M) 31:16: 2 I Rawlinson (Bord) 31:51; 3 C Doyle (Tr) 32:37; 4 B Harrison (Morp) 33:39; 5 M Amor (Cum FR) 33:59  M50: I Scott 35:50. Leading local results from English Schools Cup Final at Leeds GS on 3rd Dec were: IB: 1 C Bull (Kenil) 14:37; 3 R Best (LJ) 14:47  IG: 1 S Hopkinson (Chelt) 10:38  JG: 1 N Raymond (Coopers) 9:42; 3 K Templeman (LJ) 10:03; 8 C Colledge (Dur) 10:15; 11 E Templeman (LJ) 10:17  Team: 5 Laurence Jackson 115
Result of Hexamshire Hobble: 1 N Swinburn 67:29 (by 1min 6secs)  Women: 1 K Robertson 80:29; 2 A Raw 81:01
Leading results from Oxford/Cambridge University match at Wimbledon Common: 1 J Blackledge (O) 38:07; 8 M Armstrong (C) 40:15  Women: 1 C Birch (O) 23:52. Oxford won both team events.
Results from Leeds University Relays included: Men: 1 St Mary's 64:10; 2 Loughborough 64:39 (C Parr 10:19 leg 4, T Settle 10:56 leg 6)  Fastest: E Jackson (Notts) 10:08; C Parr 10:19  Women: 1 Loughborough 36:07; 3 Loughborough B (A Gibson 12:19 leg 3)  Fastest: L Dobriskey (Lough Past) 11:11
Jessica Read broke the Gateshead club record when winning her heat of the U13 60m at the Jarrow Indoor Standards Meeting (1st Dec) (info courtesy of Bill). Leading results: U17: 60: 1 J Summers 7.5; 2 AN Other 7.5 (do not agree with judges on this)  600: M Donnelly 1:47.3  B: M Toward (J&H) 1:45.3  U15B: 60: A Jones (Darl) 7.9  B: P Jeffrey (Darl) 7.8  600: C: E Gill (Gate) 1:59.7  D: A Rowland (Gate) 1:55.8  U13B: 60: J Burns (J&H) 8.8  U17W: 60: 1 N Pearson 8.1; 2 LWelsh 8.2  600: S-K Crowell 2:02.6  U15G: 60: A Stone (J&H) 8.4  B: F Bowles (Darl) 8.3  600: 1 S Loraine 2:04.0; 2 J Hudson 2:07.4  U13G: 60: J Read 8.4 (8.3ht)  600: A Watt (CleS) 2:09.5
Result from Civil Service XC Champs at Solihull (30th Nov): Women: 1 E Adams (MD) 23:23; 4 S Robson (MT) 24:44.
All info courtesy of AW.
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North Yorkshire and South Durham Harrier League.
Laurence Jackson School, Guisborough.  Sun. 4th Dec.
Martin Scaife, running in the colours of 2nd claim club, North Yorkshire Moors, comfortably won the Senior Mens' event at yesterday's third North Yorkshire and South Durham Cross Country League fixture at Laurence Jackson School, Guisborough.
Catherine Hare of Loftus maintained her 100% record when winning the Senior Womens' race.
Results.
Senior Men: 8.8km.  1 M Scaife (NYM) 31:37; 2 J Taylor (M'bro, U20) 32:17; 3 J Rafferty (M'bro, U20) 33:00  Team: Loftus 123
Under 17 Men: 6.8km.  1 S Batchelor (N Rown) 27:11; 2 A Mitchell (M'bro) 27:22; 3 J Kraft (Scar) 27:29  Team: Middlesbrough Mandale 22
Senior Women:  5km,  1 C Hare (Loft) 20:40; 2 K Matthew (CleS-gst) 21:05; 3 J Jackson (M&C) 21:31; 4 S Tunstall (N Rown, U20) 21:31
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 5th December 2005).

Additional Comments: Info from John Kettle. Only results used. Apparently course turned very "heavy" as afternoon progressed, which can be seen by times. Further details (by e mail): SM: 4 G Dunn 33:11; 5 N Zissler (U20) 33:41; 6 P Lowe 33:55; 7 A Wiles (U20) 34:16; 8 J Hunter (M40) 34:28; 9 J Orange (M40)  34:29; 10 M Grainger (M40) 34:35; 20 NOrr (M40) 36:26; 40 K Edwards (Hart, M50) 38:35; 67 M Brooks (M55) 40:50; 98 J Kettle (M60) 44:09; 127 I Barnes (M70) 48:14. 144 finishers (last time: 57:17). U15B (3.9km): 1 A Wears (M&C) 13:57  U13B (3km): D Collins (Scar) 11:49  SW: 5 V Needham (Rown, U17) 21:26; 6 D Richardson 21:33; 7 C Summersgill 21:56; 9 J Orr (U20) 22:09 (nice to see back in action); 17 L Dodsworth (N Ayc, U17) 23:09. 64 finishers (last time: 36:25). U15G (3.9km): 1 J Russon 15:00; 2 A Wheatman 15:26  U13G (3km): 1 S Bell (gst) 12:31; 2 S Sojkovic (Bev) 12:57
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46th Blyth Sands Handicap.
Sun. 4th Dec.
Morpeth teenager, Anghared Porteous took advantage of a generous handicap, to easily win yesterday's 46th Blyth Sands Race. Competitors ran in the opposite direction to previous years, this time from Seaton Sluice to Blyth and return. Apart from the start/finish area conditions were quite firm underfoot with some fast times being clocked. Porteous off 9mins through being in the Under 18 age-group, had made up the deficit on the high handicappers at the turn, and came home 73secs ahead of clubmate and 2003 winner, Archie Jenkins with Cath Young of host club Blyth taking third. Robert Balmbra of Morpeth also in the Under 18 category, clocked the fastest overall time finishing in 4th place off a 2mins handicap. Morpeth comfortably won the team event.
Result.  Distance 5M.
1 A Porteous (Morp, U18W) 24:32; 2 A Jenkins (Morp, M50) 25:45; 3 C Young (Blyth, W45) 26:00; 4 R Balmbra (Morp, U18M) 26:15; 5 I Richardson (NSP, M55) 2:36; 6 L Marr (Tyne, W40) 27:05; 7 R Hall (Blyth, M55) 27:25; 8 C Morley (TWFB, M40) 27:47; 9 G Pemberton (NE Vets, M50) 27:53; 10 M Gaughian (Blylth, M45) 28:05; 11 H Morris (Blyth, W40) 28;16; 12 S Kirtley (Morp, SM) 28:17; 13 J Young (Morp, SM) 28:18; 14 E Appleby (Heat, M70) 28:20; 15 P Turnbull (Blyth, M40) 28:25; 16 M Henry (Aln, M55) 28:28; 17 A Watt (NSP, M45) 28:52; 18 G Steanson (NE Vets, M55) 29:08; 19 S Greener (Blyth, W55) 29:12; 20 G Sword (Sun S, M45) 29:21
Fastest Times: R Balmbra 28:15; S Kirtley 28:17; J Young  28:18
Women: A Porteous 33:32; L Marr 36:05; C Young 37:00
Teams: 1 Morpeth 19; 2 Blyth 31; 3 North East Veterans 78
(Newcastle Journal:  Mon. 5th December 2005).

Additional Comments: Most of info used. Weather bright and dry and quite mild. 119 finishers (last time 45:56 + 5mins handicap). Very soft sand at start/finish and it was taking 5secs to cover last 10m. Also sore on legs if standing for a while. Mike Bateman (who tipped winner) acted as timekeepers' recorder. Eric A (actual time 39:20) was 9th with 100m remaining. Other Heaton placings were: 68 A Mulliss 37:58; 116 G Routledge 48:31.
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Warburtons Norman Woodcock 6M Road Race.
High Gosforth Park.  Sat. 3rd Dec.
Ryan McLeod of Elswick gained victory for the host club at Saturday's Warburton-sponsored Norman Woodcock Road Race at High Gosforth Park. The prevailing damp conditions meant that many parts of the course through the Park grounds, were nearly waterlogged. McLeod, the 2004 A.A.A Junior 5000m champion, was joined by clubmate Steven Horn and Stewie Bell of Chester Le Street in the early stages, before the latter lost contact at the 1M point. McLeod edged away from Horn approaching halfway, holding a 1sec lead at that stage (15:05). Bell was another 3secs adrift. McLeod extended his advantage, while Bell fought back to overhaul Horn at 5M. McLeod's margin of victory was 16secs over Bell, with Horn close behind in third. A distant 80secs behind in 4th place was the leading veteran, Tim Field of Sunderland. With Ryan's brother Mark in 11th position (their father being top North East distance runner, Mike McLeod), Elswick easily won the team event.
Cumbrian Rebecca Robinson, a student at Newcastle University, was easily the fastest lady finishing in 16th place overall. However, Robinson only arrived as the race started and was not entered officially. Victory thus went to Judith Nutt of the host club, running this race for the first time, who finished 2mins 40secs behind Robinson. Lisa Walker of Wallsend finished 2nd ahead of Emily Watson of Gateshead. Morpeth took the team awards.
Result
1 R McLeod (Els) 30:34; 2 S Bell (CleS) 30:50; 3 S Horn (Els) 30:53; 4 T Field (Sun, M40) 32:13; 5 D Kirkland (Aln) 32:18; 6 L Atkinson (Morp, M50) 32:43; 7 M Smith (unatt, M40) 32:54; 8 M McDonald (Low F) 32:55; 9 J Moore (Heat) 33:04; 10 J Donneky (Derw) 33:23; 11 M McLeod (Els) 33:26; 12 P Walker (Blay) 33:28; 13 P Besford (unatt) 33:37; 14 C Ridley (SSh, M45) 33:41; 15 C Robson (J&H) 34:05; 16 M Jones (SSh, M40) 34:08; 17 S Hilton (Blay, M45) 34:17; 18 A Lilliendale (Sun) 34:21; 19 S Hargreaves (Walls) 34:22; 20 P Waterson (Morp, M40) 34:34
Further Veterans: M45: 3 P Dixon (Els) 34:46  M50: 2 R Driscoll (Morp) 37:10; 3 E Baldwin (Dur) 38:53  M55: 1 C Dentice (Morp) 35:40; 2 W Doidge (Low F) 42:15  M60:1 M Henderson (Blay) 40:25 ; 2 R Pinkney (SSh) 42:45  M65: B Cordes (Morp) 43:31
Teams: 1 Elswick 14; 2 South Shields 45; 3 Morpeth 49; 4 Wallsend 62; 5 Heaton 63; 6 Blaydon 73
Women: R Robinson (Kend-gst) 34:05; 1 J Nutt (Els) 36:47; 2 L Walker (Walls) 39:52; 3 E Wilson (Gate) 40:11; 4 M Woodley (Morp) 40:18; 5 F Turley (Heat) 41:15; 6 A Mason (Gosf, W45) 41:35; 7 A Nott (Heat, W40) 42:11; 8 J Walker (Morp, W40) 42:37; 9 P Woodcock (Morp, W50) 43:40; 10 G Miller (Aln, W35) 43:59; 11 M Pude (Walls) 44:21; 12 C Lee (Els, W60) 44:27; 13 S Welsh (Morp, W40) 44:46; 14 J Friend (Heat, W40) 45:08; 15 S Jeffrey (Morp, W40) 45:55   W55: P Gold (Heat) 46:34  W65: E Armstrong (Tyne) 51:00
Teams: 1 Morpeth 21; 2 Heaton 26; 3 Elswick 39
(Newcastle Journal: Mon. 5th December 2005)

Additional Comments: All info used. 151 finishers (joint last time: 59:59). Fixture clashed with (Newcastle 1 Aston Villa 1) match. Weather damp all time. I have seen so much water on the park roads/paths. I understand Robinson, who arrived by taxi, may have joined in 30m into race. Chris White made a rare appearance handing out entry forms. David Tait started but dropped out early on. Good quality up front. Dave Whitmore finished 137th. Heaton had a good turn-out of 21 runners. Other placings were: 29 D Burn 35:50; 30 D Robins 35:55; 38 M Gibson 38:00; 39 C Auld 38:01; 46 P Bhogal 38:43; 63 F Turley; 68 E Baty 41:45; 74 A Nott; 83 D Bignall 42:58; 101 J Friend; 107 S Allan 45:42; 111 J Brignall 46:10 (16L); 115 P Gold (18L); 118 D Parker 47:00 (20L); 122 L Swanson 47:27 (23L); 132 G Routledge 50:08; 134 I McKinnon 50:43; 143 P Robinson 52:48; 145 T Robinson 53:25; 146 A Benbow 56:31 (35L).
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