SHERDLEY Park was honoured to be chosen as the venue for the 2019 Merseyside Cross Country Championships on Saturday 5 January.

Jointly hosted and organised by St. Helens Sutton Athletics Club and St. Helens Striders, the event was a thrilling display of the county’s athletic talent.

Striders’ ladies continued their outstanding season finishing 2nd in the team standings and earning more silverware to add to recent successes.

The dynamic duo of Kelly Hamilton and Rachel Fairclough, who was carrying an injury, battled it out all the way to finish in 8th and 9th respectively. Kylie Barlow was 3rd Strider home in 20th place, a remarkable performance after being laid low with a virus earlier in the week. Claire Scott completed the team scoring in 23rd place, delighting her onlooking family with a bronze medal for 3rd place in the V45 category. Kerry Riley and Ann Johnson also placed well, helping the Striders’ team by edging out close rivals to reduce their team’s scores.

In a field packed with talent, Striders’ men’s team scored a creditable 5th place finish.

The effervescent Jon-Jo Doherty was first Strider home in 12th place, followed closely by the always dependable David Wilson in 16th.

Daniel Cheetham and Peter Fairclough completed the scoring in 36th and 40th place respectively. Other excellent performances came from Kevin Brennan, Kevin Outten, Mark Riley, Matthew Parmenter, Anthony Ellis, Darren Eckersley and Paul Booth.