TYNE BRIDGE Harriers are on course for a rare double after winning the men’s and women’s Division One team events in the third Start Fitness North-East Harrier League fixture at Wallington Hall, Northumberland.

The Newcastle club regained their position at the top of the table as the competition reached the halfway stage when defending champions and league leaders Durham City could only finish a disappointing eighth of the ten competing teams, while their women’s team recorded a third consecutive victory.

Tyne Bridge’s men’s team wiped out a three point deficit to go three points clear at the top of the table from Gateshead, while Durham City slipped to third, four points adrift. The Tynesiders were led home by slow-pack runner Tom Charlton, who used his five minutes start to finish fourth overall in the handicap race as his team packed their six counters into the first 15 finishers.

Morpeth provided the two fastest runners in Carl Avery and Ross Floyd, both from the fast pack off scratch, but the Northumbrian club could only finish sixth team and are now fifth in Division One.

Over-35 Alison Dargie led Tyne Bridge to victory in the women’s race, finishing eighth overall in a field of nearly 300, depite giving away four minute start to the slow-pack runners, including the winner, Jarrow and Hebburn’s Maxine Czarnecka.

Results – Men: 1 J Cripwell (Gateshead, Slow Pack +5 mins) 37 mins 37 secs; 2 G Chambers (Gates, SP) 37.48; 3 G Bracken (North Shields Poly, SP) 38.12. Fastest times: 1 C Avery (Morpeth, Fast Pack, scr) 35.42; 2 R Floyd (Morp, FP) 36.24; 3 C Franks (Gates, FP) 37.06.

Teams – Div 1: 1 Tyne Bridge 64 pts; 2 Gateshead 73; 3 Low Fell 163; 4 North Shields Poly 170; 5 Heaton 233; 6 Morpeth 277; 7 South Shields 313; 8 Durham City 327; 9 Wallsend 337; 10 Sunderland 385. Positions after three fixtures: 1 Tyne Bridge 7 pts; 2 Gateshead 10; 3 Durham City 11.

Div 2: 1 Crook 82; 2 Elswick 102; 3 Sunderland Strollers 145. Div 3: 1 Blyth 112; 2 Jesmond Joggers 164; 3 Claremont 223.

Women: 1 M Czarnecka (Jarrow & Hebburn, SP +4 mins) 29.39; 2 R Lundgren (Gosforth, Medium Pack +2 mins) 30.17; 3 J Carruthers (Morp, SP) 30.49. Fastest times: 1 E Holt (Morp, FP) 27.39; 2 A Dargie (Tyne Bridge, FP) 28.14; 3 R Lundgren 28.17.

Teams: Div 1: 1 Tyne Bridge 23; 2 NSP 45; 3 Gateshead 52. Div 2: 1 Alnwick 66; 2 Wallsend 90; 3 Morpeth 91.

*Birtley AC’s Great Britain international Lydia Turner booked herself a place at the European Cross Country Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria, on December 14 when she finished third under-20 in the UK Trials at Liverpool behind Jessica Judd (Chelmsford) and Kingston’s Phoebe Law.

New Marske Harrier Reece Curtis, the North-East 3,000m track champion, was just pipped by Wrexham’s English Schools champion, Matthew Willis, in the under-15 boys race, with Mandale’s Josh Cowperthwaite close behind in third place.

Last year’s winner, Morpeth Harrier Jonny Taylor, finished tenth in the men’s race, won by Scotland’s Callum Hawkins, while Morpeth’s Laura Weightman was the first North-East finisher in 12th place in the women’s event, won by Charnwood’s Gemma Taylor.

Selected results – Senior Men (9.8K): 1 C Hawkins (Kilbarchan)29.26; 10 J Taylor (Morp) 29.46; 24 R Murray (Gates) 30.22; 39 N Swinburn (Morp) 30.43; 50 D Jenkin (Durham C) 31.05.

Under-15 Boys (3K): 1 M Willis (Wrexham) 9.44; 2 R Curtis (New Marske) 9.46; 3 J Cowperthwaite (Mandale) 9.48.

Senior Women (8.1K): 1 G Steel (Charnwood)26.58; 12 L Weightman (Morp) 28.04; 14 R Smith (Dur C) 28.16; 17 A Dixon (Sunderland Strollers) 28.27; 20 A Gibson (Morp)28.38.

Junior Women (4.4K): 1 J Judd (Chelmsford) 14.45; 2 P Law (Kingston) 14.56; 3 L Turner (Birtley) 14.57.