It's raining, it's pouring, but Birtley is still scoring...

Well done to everyone who braved the elements on Saturday to compete at the Harrier League match at Aykley Heads - the rain never let up, and neither did their team spirit! 
In the u11s race, Noah Williamson didn't let the rain deter him (or fellow team mates Bradley Thwaites and Gabriel Curtis), ending up with a fantastic second place finish and a silver medal. The u11 girls race had two Birtley girls, Skye Pottinger and Poppy Graham - well done to them for surviving the mud!

Photo by Jason Williamson

The u13 boys team finished in 5th place, with strong performances by Thomas Francis, Matthew Drummond and Lewis Watson, whilst Maggie Graham showed her sister Daisy a (not-so) clean pair of heels in the u13 girls race.

In the u15 boys race, accompanied by team mate George Beevers, Chris Perkins put in a sterling performance to finish in 5th place running from the fast pack, with the fastest time of the race (almost 30 seconds clear of the next fastest runner!), whilst Katie Francis also ran extremely well, finishing in 3rd place overall from the fast pack as the only Birtley runner.

Robbie Mumford ignored the rain to put in a solo performance in the u17 men's race, whilst the u17 girls managed to get a full team out, with Tess Graham winning the race from the slow pack, along with team mates Amy Drummond and Chloe Fairclough who put in great performances too to bring the girls team home in first place - well done ladies!

Photo by Darren Fairclough

The senior men had a great turnout, fielding two teams to finish in 3rd and 12th places in division 2 - well done to Darren, Lewis, Nigel, Kel (running his first XC for Birtley), Greg and Paul N in the A team, with Phil, David, Lee, Keith, Graeme and Andrew in the B team, not forgetting Paul Agnew who made it a baker's dozen on the day!

The Birtley ladies managed a strong half dozen, with team counters of Lorna Graham, Lisa Short, Kay Drummond and Shannel Curtis, plus Rebecca Pottinger and Julie Beevers completing the line up.

Both the men's team and the girl's u17s team are currently lying at the top of their league table, giving them a good chance of promotion next year - let's keep the pressure on the other teams by getting as many people out as possible in the last few fixtures!