A PAIR of Vale Royal athletes will be sporting Great Britain colours at the European Cross Country Championships in Bulgaria on December 14.

Michael Vennard and Elliot Bowker secured automatic qualification for the race in Samokov by finishing among the top five in the junior men’s event at the British Athletics Cross Challenge on Saturday.

They qualified as the second and third Great Britian runners, with one of the competitors ahead of them from Ethiopia and another from the Republic of Ireland.

Nineteen-year-old Vennard, who is currently studying in the USA at Boise State University in Idaho, completed the 6.7km course in 20:40 to finish in fourth spot overall.

He was followed home five seconds later by 17-year-old Sir John Deane’s College student Bowker in a time of 20:45.

It proved a memorable day for Vale Royal Atheltics Club coaches Shaun McGrath and Andy Carter, with the athletes first joining their ranks as 12-year-olds.

“For both me and Andy Carter it was very emotional,” said McGrath.

“They’ve always been very keen and buckled down to training.”

And Carter said the pair were among the leading pack from the off.

“They were up there from the start. Going into the last lap there was a bunch of about 15 and two of them were ours,” he explained.

“Half way into the lap about six broke away, so it was very exciting watching.”

McGrath was particularly impressed at the improvement from last year in Vennard’s performance, with the men’s English under 20s 3,000m steeplechase holder now hoping to extend his return from the USA to compete in Bulgaria.

“Mike in the first year came 88th,” McGrath added. “So it just shows how much, with knuckling down and physically developing, they can improve.

“Mike is at university in America, so he flew back especially for this race and is trying to get permission to stay for Bulgaria.”

Club press officer Stuart Doyle added: “Both runners have been competing for the club since they started in athletics at the age of 12.

“It’s testament to the club’s set-up, as well as their own dedication, that they have progressed to this level.”

It will be Vennard’s first international vest, while former County High School Leftwich pupil Bowker represented England earlier this month at the Cross de Atapuerca in Burgos, Spain.

He did the same in January at the Cross Internacional de Italica in Seville, winning the junior men’s race.

Katie Brough, who would likely have been a contender for the senior women’s Great Britain team, had to withdraw from the trial through illness.

Results:

British Athletics Cross Challenge: Sefton Park, Liverpool, Saturday: Senior men (Vale Royal AC members only) (9.8km): 111. Alex Hall 32:37.

Senior women (8.1km): 54. Kate Spilsbury 30:29; 57. Kate Moulds 30:30; 77. Kate Titlow 31:53; 104. Laura Bestow 33:54.

Junior men (6.7km): 4. Michael Vennard 20:40; 5. Elliot Bowker 20:45; 60. Sam Whitehead 22:07; 81. Matthew Sheen 22:34; 100. Ryan Moore 23:22.

Junior women and under 17s girls (4.4km): 29. Katie Gerrard 16:00; 41. Amy Hinchly 16:16; 114. Chloe Broad 18:11; 119. Emma Pyatt 18:34; 120. Cara Gibbons 18:39; 121. Chloe Dooley 18:40.

Under 17s boys (5.5km): 30. Jacob Brown 18:30; 32. Josh Betteley 18:32; 38. Jonathan Owen 18:42.

Under 15s boys (3km): 36. Arun Dight 10:23; 61. Harry Dexter 10:47.

Under 15s girls (3km): 20. Caitlin Dimmick 11:36.

Under 13s boys (3km): 47. Charlie Fawkes 12:13; 50. Alfie Dexter 12:20.

Under 13s girls (3km): 59. Holly Dooley 13:26.

Under 11s boys (1.9km): 44. Wilf Dight 8:54.