A FALL and leaving behind a shoe were among the incidents as teams from St Helens Sutton contested the final Manchester Area Cross Country League event at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester.

Although the course is flat parkland, the conditions were cold, wet and windy.

Elizabeth Greenall ran well and led the under 11s girls home in 36th place with 10mins 49secs, shortly followed by Ellie Doyle 38th in 11mins 2secs.

Harriet King completed the 2,200m course with one shoe on and finished 46th in 12mins 1sec and Amber Escoffery ran consistently for 50th in 12mins 35 secs. The team finished 11th overall.

Next was the combined race for under 11s boys and under 13s girls over a 2,400m course.

Michael Brussels ran a determined race to finish 28th in 11mins 35secs, while Beth Haughey led the girls home in 49th place in 12mins 28secs.

She was followed by Chloe Orrick, who finished two seconds slower in 50th position, and Lucy Price brought the team home in 51st place in 12mins 43secs as the team finished 13th overall.

The club’s sole under 13s boy runner was Joe Houghton, who was 22nd over the 3,150m course in 13mins 20secs.

Running in the same event were the under 15s girls, with Samantha Price 22nd in 14mins 50 secs. Alex Glynnwas 31st in 17mins 10 secs.

Next was the under 15s boys’ race over 4,300m. Anthony Walker crossed the line 26th in 21mins 44 secs, with Joseph Woods one place behing in 23mins 8secs. Connor Whalley completed the team home in 28th spot in 23 mins 25secs for the team to finish sixthth overall.

Running at the same time were the under 17s ladies, led home by Rachel McGoldrick in 13th place in 20mins 39secs. Maria McGoldrick finished 18th in 21mins 21secs despite falling over in the muddy conditions, with Maddie Williams 19th in 22mins 30 secs. The girls finished fourth team overall, the club’s best performance.

For the senior ladies, Gemma Connolly ran excellently in the 6,250m race, finishing a well deserved second in 25mins 2secs.

The senior men raced over 9,350m and John Greenall was the club’s first finisher in 50th position in 37mins 56secs. Barry Graney was 90th in 39mins 41 secs, Ian Costello 116th in 41mins 21secs, Andy O'Connor 159th in 43 mins 10secs and Johnny Ford 209th in 45mins 33 secs. The senior men's veterans team finished 10th overall.

Nineteen of the club’s youngsters have been selected to represent Merseyside in the County Sportshall Finals in Manchester on March 15.

For the under 13s, they are Jorden Pilkington, Lauren Marshall, Kaitlin Naylor, Mia Langton, Ethan Murray and Daniel Dobson.

For the under 15s, they are Matthew, Daniel and Christopher Lamb, David Barrow, George Asson, Lewis Cowan, Jacob Beesley, Megan Lang, Emily Smith, Caitlin Young, Erin Makin, Zoe Pye and Olivia Harwood-Moss.