A RECORD number of athletes from Allerton Junior Athletics Club competed in the North Yorkshire School Cross Country Championships at Catterick on Saturday, January 15.

The junior girls race saw two fantastic results for the team, Grace Derry ran magnificently to finish in fourth place and Libby Acton came in sixth. They will both go to the English National Schools Cross Country finals in Kent in March, an achievement of which they can be rightly proud.

Maisie Davies finished in tenth place in the year seven girls race and Islay Wilson also took tenth position in the intermediate girls race. Both girls have also qualified for the Inter Counties Cross Country Championship and will compete for North Yorkshire in February along with Grace and Libby.

Several of the squad braved the mud for the first race back in the New Year for the ongoing NYSD Cross Country league. The latest fixture was at Ormesby Hall in Middlesbrough on Sunday, January 9. There were plenty of good performances from the team, building on previous successes including several top five positions. These included Connie Wilford securing a second-place finish in 6:05, Abigail Ferguson in fourth position in 6:12 in the 1.5km U11 girls' race. Jakes Holmes won the U11 boys race in 5:38 with James Throup just behind in second with a time of 5:41. The 3km U13 race also had some top five position for AJAC with Henry Kirkbride taking second place in 11:28 in the boys' competition and Isobel Cook in fourth with a time of 13:00 in the girls' race. Sam Degazon rounded off the great performances with a fourth place in the 3.4km U15 boys' race.

The girls completed a very successful day with sixth overall team position at the Yorkshire Cross Country Championships on Saturday, January 8 at Kiveton Park in Sheffield. Lucy Boot finished in 12th place in the 3.1 km U13 girls' race with a time of 12:34. In the 4.2km U15 girls' race Grace Derry came in 12th position with a time of 16:11, Libby Acton in 18th in 16:33 and Islay Wilson in 31st with Tristan Baker finishing in 34th place with a time of 15:40 in the U15 boys' race.