IT is the measure of the desire and drive of Tynedale Harriers' upcoming star Max Pearson that he was disappointed with a national bronze medal.

The 16-year-old athlete, who will continue his studies at Hexham's Queen Elizabeth High School in September, was inconsolable as he crossed the finishing line in third position in the intermediate boys' 1500m final of the English Schools Track and Field Championships, at Gateshead International Stadium.

Having gained gold in his last appearance in the national finals, he was geared to repeat the feat and went into this weekend's final well placed after recording the fastest time in the heats the previous day.

Yet he was pipped to the title he craved in a very tight finish, Max's national standard time of 4:00.50 seeing him a close third behind Hertfordshire's champion Jeremy Dempsey (4:00.08) and runner-up Matthew Rawlings (4:00.21), of Berkshire.

He said: "It was disappointing because I have never lost to either of them before, and on the big stage you hope to pull it out of the bag.

"But they ran better than me on the day and I know what I did wrong, so I have to deal with it.

"I know what I did wrong. The lad who won took the race away and I was one of four who went with him. I should have held my position on the last lap and stayed on his shoulder and kicked at the end, and the second I moved past him I gave the race away.

"The most disappointing thing is that third place doesn't get me an England vest, and that was what I have been aiming for. Missing out by such a small margin is excruciating really.

"There were six team managers from Northumberland and they all said 'this will make you faster and better' but it's hard to see when it's so close to the race. But I'm stating to see that now and my next race will be a fast one!

"The disappointment will affect me, but for the good, as I think I will come back much stronger. I've got a race at the British Milers Club coming up and I want a fast time and to make a statement straight away."

Despite Max's personal disappointment, the bronze was a great result for Northumberland who just missed out of the medals elsewhere with a number of fourth and fifth places.

Max went into the final favourite for the title, looking strong as he ambled to first place in heat one in a time of 4:04.24, just ahead of Matthew Rawlings and nearly a second faster than eventual champion Jeremy Dempsey, the winner of the second heat.

He then went on to claim the county's only medal with his great performance in the final.

Max was joined at the finals, the last to be held at Gateshead, by a handful of Tynedale children who impressed on the big stage.

While making it to the finals weekend is a great achievement in itself, the promising athletes showed there is a lot of hope for the future with some eye-catching performances.

Ovingham Middle School sprinter Lewis Cant has had a brilliant season with two inter-county titles against year older competition, as well as setting two new championships records at the county minors event.

He continued his great form, again while a year younger, at English Schools, qualifying as one of the 16 fastest competitors from a field of 29 in the junior boys' 100m with a time of 11.61 seconds.

Lewis put in another great time in the second of the two semi-finals but his effort of 11.65 was just 0.14 off the qualifying time for the final.

Dan Joyce was also cursing his luck as even an excellent personal best time of 2:02.69 in the junior boys' 800m was not enough to book his place in the final, such was the high standard of competition.

With the top three in the two heats automatically through with the next two fastest times joining them in a final of eight, Dan, who lives in Slaley and runs with Tynedale Harriers but is schooled in Durham, was quicker than the third fastest finisher in heat two, but wasn't able to progress as he finished third 'loser' in his exceptional heat.

Tynedale Harriers had two talented representatives in the junior girls' long jump, with Louise Smith and Audrey Mills making an appearance. Both in the yellow vest of Northumberland, Louise represented Tynedale schools and Audrey Newcastle.

They both put in great performances with Audrey (4.93m) finishing ahead of teammate Louise (4.69m).