VALE Royal Athletics Club added another medal to its collection at national level after junior women brought back bronze from the national cross country championships.

Amelia Pettitt, 17th overall, Tessa McCormick and Kate Moulds pipped Tonbridge to third place in the team standings at a snow-covered Herrington Park in Sunderland.

“They did better than we even dreamed,” said coach Shaun McGrath.

“Amelia and Tessa were racing in that age class for the first time after running as under 17s last year, so to do so well is a fantastic achievement.”

That trio matched the achievement of the club’s junior women in 2007, a team that included future Great Britain internationals Stevie Stockton and Charlotte Roach.

There was individual success too, Elliot Bowker placed sixth among the under 17s boys to set a new record for Vale Royal, surpassing Andrew Clews’ top 20 finish four years ago.

The 16-year-old, from County High School Leftwich, finished in the same position in the under 15s category last time.

McGrath said: “He was in the mix until the closing stages when everything was sorted out.

“It’s outstanding for somebody at the lower end of an age group to be a front-runner like he was.”

Sam Whitehead and Matthew Sheen placed inside the top 50 in the same race, helping Vale Royal to seventh overall.

For the senior men, Chris Perry was happy to be among the fastest 100 in a 1000-plus strong field while Jodie Spencer and Kate Spilsbury were separated by five seconds en route to top 65 finishes in the senior women’s race.

The club’s under 17s girls’ quartet were eighth overall.

Amy Hinchly was 39th in the under 15s girls’ race, while Georgina Denham crossed the line at the same time as Cheshire champion Melissa Boyer among the under 13s girls.

Results
Saucony English Cross Country Association (ECCA) National Championships
Herrington Park, Saturday (selected Vale Royal AC results only) – Senior men (12km) :
100. Chris Perry 46:09; 250. James Griffiths 50:17; 354. Steve Caldwell 52:38; 495. Tom Annable 55:42; 970. Colin Rathbone 1:09.43. Senior women (8km): 61. Jodie Spencer 35:16; 63. Kate Spilsbury 35:21; 395. Carole Williams 53:09.

Junior men (10km): 72. Zack Bamber 38:52; 94. Ryan Moore 40:04. Junior women (6km): 17. Amelia Pettitt 24:16; 24. Tessa McCormick 24:49; 52. Kate Moulds 26:21. Teams: 3. Vale Royal AC 93pts.

Under 17s boys (6km): 6. Elliot Bowker 20:43; 46. Sam Whitehead 21:48; 49. Matthew Sheen 21:54; 112. Patrick Stradling 23:07; 157. Ben McIntosh 24:14; 167. Nathan Tipping 24:30; 189. Daniel Morrison 25:15. Teams: 7. Vale Royal AC 213pts. Under 17s girls (5km): 60. Jade Evans 21:17; 78. Emma Pyatt 21:52; 85. Lucy Scott 22:10; 102. Clara Pettitt 22:45. Teams: 8. Vale Royal AC 325pts.

Under 15s boys (4.5km): 75. Jon Owen 17:08; 90. William Parsons 17:23. Under 15s girls (4km): 39. Amy Hinchly 18:58; 75. Megan Hough 19:58; 116. Chloe Broad 20:56.

Under 13s boys (3km): 65. John Humphries 12:40. Under 13s girls (3km): 40. Georgina Denham 12:46; 97. Caitlin Dimmick 13:25.