Rising stars put the seal on a fine season
Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club's talented youngsters took centre stage as the cross country season came to an end.
On a weekend where the club also successfully hosted the men's Birmingham & District League and women's Midland Counties League – the juniors showed what they were about by landing a second successive West Midlands Young Athletes Cross Country League silver medal.
More than 100 youngsters from Wolverhampton & Bilston represented the club in the league campaign this season, which is open to athletes between the ages of under-11s and under-17s and consists of 18 teams.
The season's finale, held at Perry Park in Perry Barr, had 673 entrants across the age ranges.
And Wolverhampton & Bilston's junior athletes landed an impressive overall silver with a total score of 31,468 – finishing less than 2,000 behind winners Rugby & Northampton.
Impressive
Wombourne's Grace Smith, who turns out for the Aldersley Stadium club, crowned her under-11 title-winning campaign with a win in the final race, her time of six minutes 36 seconds enough to keep her ahead of the field.
Halesowen Athletics & Cross Country Club's Grace Pritchard's 10:25 was enough to secure fifth in the under-13 girls, with Aliya Westwood of Wolverhampton & Bilston coming home in seventh ahead of team-mate Brogan Pugh in ninth.
Noah Sandland, of Wolverhampton & Bilston, ran well to secure a top 10 finish in the boys' under-11s, picking up ninth place.
Tipton Harriers' Thomas Bentley scored an impressive fifth-placed finish in the boys' under-13s, with Halesowen's Max Price and Sam Mannings also making the top 10.
Cannock & Staffs Athletics Club's under-15 runner Joshua Ward claimed a fine first place, beating off stiff competition from Rugby and Northants opposition to win in 10:56.
The Rowley Park club had Katie Lord cross the line in sixth in the under-17 women's match, where that victory went to Halesowen prospect Abigail Saker, who stormed to an impressive win in 16:30, with club-mates Lily Higgins and Katrina Simpson coming home in fourth and fifth respectively.
Wolverhampton & Bilston had further reason to celebrate as they collected a record medal haul.
The under-11 girls landed bronze, the under-13s struck gold and the under-15s also collected an overall bronze.
In the boys' event, the under-13 and 15 claimed bronze, a feat matched by the under-17s.
And in addition to the team silver medal, Elizabeth Marshall, of Sedgley, claimed overall silver in the under-13s.
The Midland Counties League (women's) saw Wolverhampton & Bilston enter the final race of the campaign lying in fifth place with an outside shot of a top-three finish.
The club's Dani Rowlinson (junior category) and Tessa Clarke (senior) were also in the running for individual honours.
Clarke's 23.32 saw her land sixth place overall in a field of 272. It was enough for her to claim silver in the senior category.
Rowlinson claimed an impressive silver in her junior age category, finishing 22nd overall in a time of 24.55.
The club missed out a final third placed finish by a narrow margin, finishing joint-fourth with Trentham Race Club on 153 points.
Tipton Harriers secured a creditable 10th-placed finish in the 25-strong division.
Halesowen finished 15th overall, with Stafford Harriers 17th.
Aldridge RC rounded off the local interest, finishing 18th.
The men's Division One of the Birmingham & District League had the host's Martin Williams claim 11th from a field of 241.
Mike Aspinall of Tipton Harriers came home in ninth.
Wolverhampton & Bilston finished fifth on the day and 10th overall across the season's four meetings.
Tipton Harriers landed eighth and Halesowen finished their season in 12th.
The individual honours went to Graham Rush (Cheltenham).
