TYNEDALE schools produced numerous medalists as the local athletes battled it out against the cream of the crop from across the county.

There was a number of top three finishes claimed by the district’s schoolchildren to make it a good day as they headed to Temple Park, in South Shields, for the Northumberland Schools Cross-Country Championships.

Tynedale dominated the minor boys’ race for Year 7 pupils and, although they missed out on first place, they had five runners in the top seven.

Ovingham Middle’s Will Collinson just missed out on top spot but performed well to take silver, just ahead of Ponteland Middle’s Zach Olds who earned the bronze medal. In a tight race, he just pipped Corbridge Middle’s Leo White to a place on the podium.

Making it a good day for Tynedale, Ovingham’s Oscar Jolly was sixth and Ralph Robson, of Hexham’s St Joseph’s Middle, one place behind, while schoolmate Harry Courtney and Ponteland’s Dominic Malpass also finished in the top 20.

As expected, Max Pearson, of Hexham’s Queen Elizabeth High, medalled but had to settle for bronze as he was in a fiercely competitive senior boys’ race which was won by runaway leader Scott Beattie, with Kieran Hedley second.

Fellow QE pupil Nick Ryan was hot on his heels in fourth, with Robbie Langford, also of QE, in seventh. Making up the rest of the field for Tynedale, Prudhoe High’s Jaycee Shotton was ninth, QE’s Chris Jackson 10th, and Haydon Bridge High duo Ben Pickett and Connor Rushton 12th and 14th.

Matching Max’s bronze was QE’s Alex Wood who competed in the intermediate boys’ race, putting in a great performance on the day to finish third. He will go forward to the inter-counties stage at Kirkby Stephen, in Cumbria, on February 4, alongside Prudhoe’s Jack Boaden and QE’s Cameron Grey after they both qualified by finishing in the top 20.

Just missing out on a medal was Ponteland Middle’s Abigail Leiper, who was fourth in the minor girls’ race. Mia Belton, of Ponteland’s Richard Coates Middle, was seventh, Jemima Stewart, of Hexham Middle, was 16th, and Megan Armstrong, a pupil at Prudhoe’s Highfield Middle, was 20th.

Local qualifiers for the next round from the intermediate girls’ race were QE duo Ellen Ricketts (seventh) and Bethan Nitsch (13th), Ponteland High’s Chloe Williams (11th) and Prudhoe’s Beth Fraser (15th) and Keely French (20th).

Olivia Stewart (ninth) and Roisin Lally (14th), both of QE, qualified from the junior girls’ heat along with Ponteland High’s Hannah Tumia (12th) and Suzanne Fielding (13th).

There were six Tynedale qualifiers in the boys’ equivalent, with St Joseph’s Charlie Daley first home in seventh just ahead of Prudhoe’s Rowan Bennett and QE’s Joe Gray. Not far behind in 11th, 12th and 13th respectively were Archie Marston, of St Joseph’s, and Prudhoe pair Sam Edmundson and Sam Jolly.

TYNEDALE RESULTS

MINOR BOYS

2, Will Collinson (Ovingham); 3, Zach Olds (Ponteland); 4, Leo White (Corbridge); 6, Oscar Jolly (Ovingham); 7, Ralph Robson (St Joseph's); 15, Harry Courtney (St Joseph's); 17, Dominic Malpass (Ponteland); 33, Joseph Clark (Ponteland); 36, Shay Lawry (Hexham); 40, Aaron Murray (St Joseph's); 41, John Perkinson (Ponteland); 53, Nathan Abrams (Hexham); 62, Sam Bullock (Ponteland); 63, Ethan Nash (Ponteland).

MINOR GIRLS

4, Abigail Leiper (Ponteland); 7, Mia Belton (Richard Coates); 16, Jemima Stewart (Hexham); 20, Megan Armstrong (Highfield); 21, Olivia Carruthers (Ponteland); 23, Zoe French (Highfield); 31, Freya Guadagno (Ponteland); 34, Violet Barras (Hexham); 40, Suzy Shanks (Ponteland); 41, Laura Hamilton (Ponteland); 43, Melody Brooks (Ponteland); 45, Nina Surtees-Brown (Ponteland); 48, Emma Lawson (Ponteland); 56, Anna Crudis (Ovingham); 58, Darcy Fyfe (Corbridge).

JUNIOR BOYS

7, Charlie Daley (St Joseph's); 8, Rowan Bennett (Prudhoe); 9, Joe Gray (Queen Elizabeth); 11, Archie Marston (St Joseph's); 12, Sam Edmundson (Prudhoe); 13, Sam Jolly (Prudhoe); 31, Lewis Cant (Prudhoe); 32, Bradley Foggin (Ponteland Middle); 40, Matthew Duncan (Bellingham); 44, Jack Naughton (Ponteland Middle); 48, Connor Williams (Ponteland High); 53, Harry Coldwell (Hexham); 62, Luke Kenmur (Corbridge).

JUNIOR GIRLS

9, Olivia Stewart (Queen Elizabeth); 12, Hannah Tumia (Ponteland High); 13, Suzanne Fielding (Ponteland High); 14, Roisin Lally (Queen Elizabeth); 26, Emily Allison (Ponteland Middle); 27, Victoria Connelly (Queen Elizabeth); 29, Olivia Milburn (Hexham); 30, Anna Styles (Ponteland High); 34, Maisie Aspinall (Ponteland Middle); 37, Jess Dancer (St Joseph's); 44, Lucy Cardno (Ponteland High); 45, Josie Cawood (Hexham); 46, Kara Goldsmith (Corbridge); 51, Kate Smith (Ovingham); 56, Charley Lee (Ponteland High); 57, Ellie Gordon (Ponteland Middle).

INTER BOYS

3, Alex Wood (Queen Elizabeth); 13, Jack Boaden (Prudhoe); 18, Cameron Grey (Queen Elizabeth); 21, Aidan Pinkney (Queen Elizabeth); 29, Michael Watts (Queen Elizabeth); 32, Luke Shires (Prudhoe); 37, Jack Anderson (Ponteland); 39, Matty Cant (Prudhoe); 40, Dan Bunitt (Prudhoe); 43, Ethan Martin (Prudhoe); 44, Chris Mason (Ponteland); 45, Paddy Lally (Queen Elizabeth); 46, Joe Green (Ponteland); 47, Harry Myers (Queen Elizabeth); 56, Jake Shipley (Haydon Bridge); 60, Jordan Armstrong (Haydon Bridge); 61, Nicholas Macneil (Haydon Bridge); 68, Ethan Dickinson (Haydon Bridge); 69, George Rogan (Haydon Bridge).

INTER GIRLS

7, Ellen Ricketts (Queen Elizabeth); 11, Chloe Williams (Ponteland); 13, Bethan Nitsch (Queen Elizabeth); 15, Beth Fraser (Prudhoe); 20, Keely French (Prudhoe); 21, Georgia Anderson (Ponteland); 24, Anya Herdman; 27, Jasmine Couchman (Prudhoe); 28, Maisie James (Prudhoe); 29, Maisie Lowes (Queen Elizabeth); 37, Faye Bousfield (Queen Elizabeth); 42, Isabel Maxwell-Gray (Queen Elizabeth); 43, Zoe Trespaderne (Haydon Bridge); 44, Lula Bellen (Queen Elizabeth); 53, Holly Nixon (Queen Elizabeth).

SENIOR BOYS

3, Max Pearson (Queen Elizabeth); 4, Nick Ryan (Queen Elizabeth); 7, Robbie Langford (Queen Elizabeth); 9, Jaycee Shotton (Prudhoe); 10, Chris Jackson (Queen Elizabeth); 12, Ben Pickett (Haydon Bridge); 14, Connor Rushton (Haydon Bridge).

SENIOR GIRLS

1, Robyn Bennett (Prudhoe); 6, Hannah Pinkney (Queen Elizabeth).