Spen athletes end campaign in style

The York meet was the final fixture in the league which will be replaced by the UK Development League next year.

Spenborough’s under-20s squad, including under-17s athletes, took part in the competition and the combined men’s and women’s team claimed fourth to secure a fifth-place league finish. Leading the way was under-17s athlete Leon Greenwood who clocked an exceptional time of 52.10 seconds to cross the line in second in his debut 400m.

Greenwood wasn’t finished there and he went on to celebrate second in the 100m.

Alex Wilson, competing for the first time for Spenborough, made an instant impression for the club by winning the 100m B race.

Eliot Griffin finished third in a good quality hammer competition with a throw of 43.27m.

There was a sprint double for the Spenborough youngsters as Sasha Craig and Danielle Roach won the 200 metres A and B races respectively while Beth Ellis was narrowly beaten in the 800m with a fine time of 2:23.40.

The best field event performance for the women’s team came from 14-year-old Rosa McKie who took second in the high jump with a leap of 1.48m.

Spenborough’s success continued with a good second place for the women in the 4x400m relay.

n Former Batley Grammar School student Chris Furness was one of three runners from Kane Academy Martial Arts, in Huddersfield, to complete a gruelling charity run in Ripon.

Furness, head karate coach at the club, was joined by five-time world champion Rebecca Kane and club-mate Chloe Roberts in the Spartan Race to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The military boot camp-style race includes 20 challenging obstacles but the Kane Academy runners remained undeterred and completed the 5k course.

Kane, who owns the academy and was a London Olympics torchbearer on the route between Huddersfield and Halifax, was also invited to open the event.