A number of successes were seen at the North Yorkshire Schools’ Cross-Country Championships on Saturday (January 18).

Among those who claimed County Titles at the event – which was hosted at Aireville Park in Skipton – were Giggleswick’s Jack Sanderson and Mia McGoldrick, along with Ermysted’s Joe Preston.

The conditions were soft underfoot, following the melted snow, and Aireville proved testing terrain, on a cold day and with a few hills thrown in to the mix.

The runners had all qualified by virtue of a top 12 finish in November’s Area Championships, held at Ripon, and as there are 4 regions of North Yorkshire, each supplying a team of 12 with guests, there were up to 50 runners in each race.

The races are mainly an individual event where the runners try to win titles, medals, or selection for the North Yorkshire County Teams.

County selection for an Inter-County match, at Middlesbrough on February 8, relies on runners finishing in the first 15 (or 12 in the Y7 race).

In addition, anyone finishing in the top six is automatically selected for the English Schools’ Championships to be held this year at the South of England Showground, Sussex, in March - with the final two places decided following February’s Inter-Counties match.

The Craven contingent in the Y7 Boys race was led by Ermysted’s Joe Preston.

He led from gun to tape, building a lead on the first half lap and simply extending that lead over the second lap for an impressive victory, a gold medal, and status as Craven’s first County Champion.

He was well supported by three of his school-mates, as Jack Mitchell claimed bronze, Ralph Emsley fifth, and Mylo Carr twelfth - all of them making the County Team.

The Y7 Girls saw Giggleswick’s trio of bronze medallist, Jo Hodgson, Georgia Johnson (seventh), and Martha Hart (ninth), all gain County Team selection.

The Junior (Y8&9) races saw Giggleswick’s Mia McGoldrick lead a strong challenge in the girls’ race.

A couple of weeks ago she was beaten by local rival, Skipton Girls’ Alice White, in the clubs version of the County Championships at Lightwater Valley - so we were in for a good race.

Mia held a small lead at the end of the first of two laps, with Alice battling for a medal position just a few seconds behind.

Mia ran on strongly on the second lap to secure gold, whilst Alice’s sprint finish meant silver.

Maisey Oddy, also of Skipton Girls, ran on well for fourth, whilst Camilla Hart and Poppy Matterson, both from Giggleswick, secured eighth and thirteenth respectively and gained a county vest each.

The Junior Boys saw five Ermysted’s runners make the County Team, as Alex Frew missed out on a medal by just a couple of seconds in fourth, Finn Beggan had the run of his life in eighth, Noah Schepisi came twelfth, Joe Bentham thirteenth, and Seth Box fifteenth.

In addition Giggleswick’s Archie Cole and Settle’s Carl Sanderson also cemented their berth for the Inter-Counties at Middlesbrough.

Ermysted’s Will Oakden had a great run as he was silver medallist in the Inter Boys race.

Will was only fifth at Ripon in the Harrogate & Craven Championships back in November, so the runner-up spot at the full County Champs was a major improvement.

Amazingly Will had five schoolmates all back in the top 15 places, as George Marsh (tenth), Oliver Frew (eleventh), Dan Hood (twelfth), Sam Cheung (thirteenth), and Ben Milward (fourteenth) all came back in procession.

The Girls also saw Craven athletes to the fore, as Skipton Girls’ Izzy Wright claimed bronze, South Craven’s Holly Fitch was fifth, and Skipton Girls’ Rita Box was fourteenth.

Recent Clubs County Champion, Giggleswick’s Jack Sanderson, was the most decorated athlete on show in the Senior Boys race.

He was strong favourite but on the first of his three laps he had plenty of company.

Jack made a bid for glory on the second lap and spread the field but still had Ermysted’s Ewen Wilkinson in close order.

On lap three there was little change in positions but Jack did just extend his lead for gold, whilst Ewen, who has recently been selected for England at Orienteering, had to settle for the silver.

Ermysted’s also had three other runners make the County Team, as Tom Hooper (fourth), Lachlan Wills (fifth), and Sesh Chotai (ninth) all had great runs.

The Senior Girls saw South Craven School well represented.

Layla Kirkly (sixth), Olivia Aldham (eighth), and Alice O’Sullivan (ninth) all gained selection for the Inter-Counties race, as did Giggleswick’s Laila Rostron in eleventh.

The Craven representatives should be rightly proud of their achievements on Saturday - not just the three County Champions and eight medallists, but also the 37 runners who made the County Teams.

They clearly underlined the strength of running in the area, which resulted in Harrogate and Craven winning all eight of the team awards ahead of York, Scarborough, and Richmond districts.

Some runners will go on to represent the county at Middlesbrough on Saturday, February 8 - where a number of them will have unfinished business, as they try to cement selection for the National Championships in March.