Holmfirth Harriers enjoyed more victories and medals in the second meeting of the West Yorkshire Cross Country League at West Park in Leeds.

They had at least one full team of athletes in all 10 races – the only club to achieve this – and expectations were high following an excellent showing in the opening meeting.

Travelling supporters were not disappointed.

The junior teams did not let their senior clubmates down with two winning their races, three finishing in third spot and a further two in fourth.

There were some great individual performances too, with second place for Lewis Byram, third for Erica Byram, fourth for Olivia Sykes and many other top ten placings.

The Under 11 boy’s race was a fast and furious affair featuring nine Holmfirth athletes and first back for the club was Frank Johnson in ninth, an improvement of 12 places on the first meeting, with Sam Crawshaw and William Pickering hot on his heels in 11th and 12th – all three separated by only three seconds,

Just yards behind was Marshall Wilkinson in 15th, while next home were Billy Browne and Ralph Johnson in 26th and 30th, with Louis Pain 43rd, Thomas James 48th and Callum McFarlane 57th.

Lavell Pierre (left) and Chris Law in action for Holmfirth Harriers at the West Yorkshire League cross-country meeting in Leeds
Lavell Pierre (left) and Chris Law in action for Holmfirth Harriers at the West Yorkshire League cross-country meeting in Leeds

The team race was close with only two points separating second and the Holmfirth boys in fourth _ a very encouraging result for the club as many of the team have another year in this age group.

The Under 11 girl’s race was no less exciting and also featured nine Holmfirth athletes.

Lucy Lindley improved on her 17th place in the first race to finish an excellent 11th, followed home by Elena Inch in 19th and Amelie Stewart in 23rd. Elena, like Lucy, improved by over 10 places on her first-race performance, as did Ruby Yates in 37th.

Molly Scaramuzza, in her first race for the club, finished in 40th with Libby Pringle (the youngest athlete) in 48th. Edie Lindley was 51st, Olivia Evans 56th and Alex Crawshaw 57th. The girl’s team finished fourth, just two points off third.

There were equally strong performances in the Under 13 girls race and a superb turnout of 11 Holmfirth athletes. Sunnivah Waterman was first back in seventh position, with Francis Keddie in 10th.

Mia Greene finished strongly in 19th with Millie Yates in 23rd and Emily Travis 27th.

Also with great runs were Laila Horn in 52nd, Megan Ison 55th, Alice Shelbourne 59th, Emilie Pickering 65th, Sophie Kettlewell 72nd and Jessica Billington 73rd. The girls team improved on their opening result to finish third.

In the boy’s race Ned Johnson and Sam Bedingfield were closely matched as usual in 28th and 30th position and Joel Stirling was 52nd. The boys team finished 10th.

Holmfirth harriers William Johnson at the Leeds staged meeting of the West Yorkshire Cross-country series
Holmfirth harriers William Johnson at the Leeds staged meeting of the West Yorkshire Cross-country series

Holmfirth finished third team in both the boy’s and girls Under 15 races.

In the girls race Annie Stone had another strong run to finish in ninth place. Amy Kettlewell had a superb run finishing in 16th with teammate Ellie Sunman 17th.

Lizzie Deacon and Jennifer Melia both ran very strongly and finished in 27th and 36th places respectively.

The boys race produced a great run from Ollie Rees, back on form after a summer on his bike, finishing sixth, with Harry Shelbourne ninth and, with the sprint of his life, William Johnson an excellent 12th.

Nicky Farquhar improved to finish in 21st, an excellent result as the boys had raced the previous day in the National Cross Country Relays.

Both Under 17 races were a highlight for the club with Holmfirth teams winning both the boy’s and the girls.

Returning to racing were the trio of Erica and Lucy Byram and Olivia Sykes. The girls ran strongly, Erica finishing third, Olivia fourth and Lucy sixth, with Daisy Smith 24th and the team were easily first.

In the boys, Lewis Byram (6th), Lavell Pierre (7th) and Chris Law were the counters and all in the top 10.

Also with great runs were Seth Waterman in 12th and George Green 13th. Lewis Bartholomew was 27th and Andrew Farquhar 29th.

The next league fixture takes place on Saturday (November 22) in Keighley.