CONTINUING their great form, runners from Tynedale Schools impressed with top 16 finishes at the Inter Counties Schools Cross Country Championships.

Qualifying from the Northumberland heat, local runners then went on to compete well at the next stage at Cumbria’s Kirkby Stephen Grammar School, where teams from Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Durham and Cleveland gathered.

There were two top 16 finishes for Tynedale in the minor boys’ category as Ponteland Middle School’s Zach Olds claimed 14th and Corbridge Middle School’s Leo White 16th.

In the minor girls’ race, Ponteland’s Abigail Leiper followed up her fourth place in the county event with 16th at Kirkby.

St Joseph’s Middle School pupil Charlie Daley, a member of Tynedale Harriers, is enjoying a great year and was 14th in the junior boys’ race.

Another Tynedale runner having a great season is Northumberland champion Robyn Bennett, and she again impressed but just missed out on a medal with fourth in the senior girls’ race.

There were other Tynedale representatives at the inter county heat, particularly in the junior boys’ race.

Prudhoe High School’s Rowan Bennett, Hexham’s Queen Elizabeth High School’s Joseph Grey, St Joseph’s pupil Archie Marston and Ovingham Middle School’s Sam Jolly all competing it against the North-East’s best.

It was a similar story in the girls’ category with Olivia Stewart, Roisin Lally (both Queen Elizabeth) and Hannah Tumia (Ponteland High School) in action.

Queen Elizabeth trio Ellen Ricketts, Sarah Jackson and Bethan Nitsch, and Chloe Wellings, of Ponteland High, competed in the intermediate girls’ race, with Jack Boaden, of Prudhoe High School, the only Tynedale representative in the boys’ equivalent.

In the senior boys’ race, Ben Pickett, of Haydon Bridge High School, and Prudhoe’s Jaycee Shotton made an appearance in the inter counties.

The national championships will be held at Norfolk County Showground, in Nowrich, on Saturday, March 10, with the Year 7 qualifiers heading to Prestwold Hall, in Leicestershire, on Saturday, March 25.

l The Northumberland Schools Track and Field Championships has been set for Saturday, June 10.