Spen Senior Men secure fifth place finish at West Yorkshire Cross Country

The cold weather seemed to keep many runners away but Spenborough Athletics Club’s senior men again turned out in force.

The team finished third team on the day and fifth place overall in the series.

Spen’s leading distance runner Joe Sagar made a determined effort to improve on his fourth place in the previous race taking an early lead.

However the tight turns on the slippery hilly course took their toll and he finished ninth place on the day but his consistency throughout the series was rewarded with an impressive third place overall.

The other Spen runners ran well to hold their places with Simon Bolland placing 26th, Tom Dart 29th, Edward Revell 52nd, Henry Carter 74th and Gerrard Skippins 75th.

Other senior Spen finishers were Paul Toher 88th, Steven Hunt 90th and Dave Butler 120th. The race was won by Angus McMillan from York.

In the senior women’s race Natasha Geere 70th and Amanda Pearson 80th were the only Spen runners.

Olivia Reah (30th), pictured left, and Mia Butler (38th) ran in the Under-15 Girls race.

Isabel Toher and Chelsea Butterworth were always near the leaders in the Under-11 Girls race and finished in seventh and eighth places.

Ben Whittaker was 43rd and Daniel Hayhurst 62nd in the Under-11 Boys race, while Matthew Dalton and Max Broabdley placed 23rd and 68th in the Under-13 Boys race.