Athletics: Mark Latham is Chester’s star at Cheshire Schools Cross-Country Championships

Jan 20 2011 by Dave Bettley, Chester Chronicle

Athletics: Mark Latham is Chester’s star at Cheshire Schools Cross-Country Championships

MARK Latham led Chester’s assault on the Cheshire Schools Cross Country Championships from the front.

The Tarporley High pupil dominated a 75-strong field to take the Minor Boys title and help Chester & District to one of two team victories.

Chester’s other success came in the Senior Girls race, in which the all-round commitment of their five-strong team proved decisive. The quintet couldn’t break into the top-four positions, but they were the biggest contingent in an eight-strong field – the smallest race of Saturday’s eight.

Chester’s line-up featured runners from nine schools – Christleton, Bishop Heber, Bishops’ High, Catholic High, Abbey Gate College, Queen’s, King’s, Tarporley and Upton.

The event, originally due to be held in Ellesmere Port, was switched to the sports fields of Widnes’ St Peter and Paul Catholic Sports College and Wade Deacon High School.

Other highlights for Chester included Tessa McCormick running the winner close as runner-up in the Intermediate Girls race, with fellow Upton pupil Rebecca Hurst following up in 11th. The four counters in Chester’s Senior Girls victory were Aimee Hargeaves of Queen’s (5th), Catholic High’s Claire Perry (6th), plus King’s duo Lottie Frazer-Cox (7th) and Lara Goodwin (8th).

Tarporley’s Matthew Sheen claimed the bronze medal in the Junior Boys race, while Ben Caxton (King’s) was eighth.

Amy Hinchley (Tarporley) finished fifth in the Junior Girls race with Christleton’s Jessica Renner taking the same position among the Minor Girls.

The top 12 runners in each age group have been selected to represent Cheshire in an Inter-Counties event at the same venue on Saturday, February 5.

Christleton’s Lucy Whigham and Magnus Alford joined forces with Helen Halewood of Tarporley to manage the Chester team, with Cheshire boss Sandy Littler taking more than a passing interest.

Littler, a teacher at Queen’s, said: “As a Chester team, we were very pleased with the turnout of runners and there were some excellent results.”

With the closure of Frodsham College, the North Cheshire team was disbanded, leaving seven districts – Chester, Ellesmere Port, South Cheshire, Halton, Macclesfield, Mid Cheshire and Warrington – to contest the spoils.

Helsby High runners were drafted into the Halton line-up – successfully as it transpired.

The Chester Road school provided the hosts with victories in three races thanks to Liam Renton (Senior Boys), Jessica Parsons (Junior Girls) and Georgia Aston-Massey (Minor Girls).

Matthew Hulse was runner-up in the Intermediate Boys with Billy Young fifth among the Minor Boys. Kate Merrill was eighth in the Junior Girls and Tom Slijivic 10th in the Junior Boys.