Josh Cowperthwaite has won the Under-13 boys’ English National Cross Country Championship title in Nottingham
Josh Cowperthwaite
By Rick Betts
Middlesbrough AC (Mandale’s) rising distance star Josh Cowperthwaite has won the Under-13 boys’ English National Cross Country Championship title.
Clinching the crown turned what has been a great cross country season so far into a fantastic one for the young Teessider.
Cowperthwaite’s winning performance was the stand-out achievement from more than 20 Teesside athletes who took part in the picturesque grounds of Wollaton Hall in Nottingham.
Although the race took place in blue skies and sunshine, some runners lost their spikes due to the poor weather earlier in the week which made the ground underfoot heavy.
Cowperthwaite was in fantastic form, taking the lead early on in the race after only 400 metres.
He continued to dominate the race, ultimately winning by 11 seconds from Jamie Harper (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers).
Luke Pettit was another runner in great form in the race, finishing in a very creditable 32nd place while Oscar Brown was 86th.
Cowperthwaite’s win means so far this season he has won the North Eastern, Northern and National cross country titles which is a feat not achieved before in his age-group.
Courtney Johnson was the club’s only representative in the girls’ section of the Under-13 age group.
She ran well to finish well up the field in 240th place in a race involving more than 430 athletes.
The largest Teesside contingent was seen in the Under-15 age group with athletes representing Middlesbrough AC and New Marske Harriers.
Nathan Baker was the star turn for the boys, having his best run of the winter season to finish in 18th place in a high quality race.
Joshua Allen was 98th, Jay Hedger 210th and Callum McDonald 274th.
The Middlesbrough AC team finished 18th overall.
New Marske Harriers were well represented in the race by Hassan Ben-Tiba, who continued his consistent season by finishing high up the field in 56th place with team mate Reece Curtis just behind in 62nd place and Ben Bergstrand 262nd.
In the Under-15 girls’ event, Middlesbrough AC fielded a full team with Libby Hedger 97th, Rebecca Kitchener 137th, Eve Russell 239th, Josie Green 240th and Ellie McLernon 288th as the team finished 24th overall.
A resurgent Phillipa Stone had her best race of the year so far with a fine 20th place finish in the Under-17 women’s section, a feat made all the more remarkable considering she will still be in this age group for next year’s cross country season.
Matthew Bailey ran in the Under-17 men’s section and finished in the top half of his race in 107th place from a field of over 272.
Middlesbrough and Cleveland Harriers’ Greg Jayasuriya competed in the largest race of the championships.
With more than 1,600 athletes taking part in the senior men’s championships, Jayasuriya excelled himself by finishing 114th.
Jayasuriya’s team-mate Chris Rumsey ran well to finish in 429th place while club stalwart Gordon Baird was 1,104th.
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