North Staffs Champs 2003

Haul Of Medals And Team Prizes!!!

The North Staffs Cross Country League is known for its tough courses with extremely steep hills and undulating pathways.  However, athletes from Vale Royal Athletic Club were in strong form and produce winners in individual events as well as team events.

In the under 15 girls age group there was a outright winner who has trained consistently over the last six months and deserved to be crowned North Staffs Cross Country Champion 2003.  The trophy was presented to Vicky Jones of Vale Royal AC, who beat some strong runners from Newcastle and Stoke Athletics Club to win the title.

The under 15 girls team won the team title as well again beating strong competition from local clubs who pushed the Vale Royal Girls all the way.  The girls who were in the team were Vicky Jones, Laura Lambert, Stevie Stockton, Louise Bosson, Hannah Weedall, Emily Deaman and Corrine Kinvig who all tackled the tough courses over the last few months.

The girls beat strong teams from Wrexham, Newcastle and Derby to take the team prize.

The under 17 girls team of Becky Ellis, Emma Coxon, Gemma Lievesley, Vicky Walls, Kate Spilsbury and Lucy Knight ran superbly to gain the title.  The girls were delighted with their consistent running over the last six races which have been held over the last four months.

Olivia Renshawe of Vale Royal AC also won her very first North Staffs Cross Country race in the Senior Womens Age Group.  Olivia beat the defending champion in the last 100 metres of the race to win the race.

Olivia who is a university student and has been a member of the club since the age of 13 was over the moon with her first ever title, again over undulating pathways and steep hills.  After the race, whilst getting her breath back Olivia was interviewed by Athletics Weekly.

The senior ladies won the 2nd Division title with some very good turnouts by the ladies with some excellent running.  The ladies were Claire Thompson, Caroline Winder, Helen Fowles, Siobhan Tarbuck, Val Kinvig and Pauline Davies.

Nicky Archer was in fine form to win her very first North Staffs Cross Country Championships Title, in the junior ladies age group.  Nicky was delighted with her achievement after her determined efforts over the last few months in all the races. 

Nicky is now looking forward to a three week Christmas break in Australia visiting her brother, where she is looking forward to wearing her England rugby top to wind up the 'ozzies'.  Nicky is a devoted follower of rugby, as her dad was a top rugby player in his younger days.  Yet Nicky and her dad Tony still exchange battles on the road in races up and down the country.

Congratulations to Val Kinvig who came away with a bronze medal in the veterans age group after slowly working away for the last two years to build her confidence.  This is a fantastic achievement and Val is now keener than ever to compete in races.

There were several boys in action for the club where James Griffiths gained a bronze medal for his efforts in the Under 15 boys age group over six races in some very cold and tough conditions which test all the athletes who participate in the North Staffs league.  Micheal Carrol came 8th in the race at Leek with some fine running.  Kieran Kinvig also contested the league in the Under 13 boys age group to enjoy the run.  Richard Mitchell came 5th in the Under 17 boys age group with a gutsy run. 

Finally, the senior men were in action on the moors with Andy Ellis coming home first followed by Gareth Williams, Mike Weedall, Matt Sweeting, Mark Thornley, Dave Gough, Nick Heywood, Andrew Ault, Tony Archer, Sergey Rybov and John Davies.  The senior men came 5th in the 1st division which was a good position and this will be their aim for next year to improve on that.

Coaches at the club were delighted with the results for both the athletes and the club which shows that there is a huge passion for cross country running ranging from the younger athletes to the older athletes.  This year has been one the best years so far for achievements in the cross season....