CLASS ACTS

Photo: Darren Robinson

LAP OF HONOUR: Oldham Schools Year Seven athletes Chris Brown (left), George Kilgour, Harry Lord, Daniel Holmes, Fionn Wall, James Hey, Bradley Healey, Matthew Walls, Connor Chadderton, Henri Jones.

Oldham show rivals a clean pair of heels

OLDHAM had miles of smiles at the Greater Manchester Schools Cross-Country Championships at Leigh Sports Village.

For the boys, Adam Howard won the Years Eight and Nine race and the Year Sevens clinched the team award.

Out of the 10 boroughs that took part, the boys finished second overall behind Tameside.
Prolific-winner Howard was followed by team-mates Lorenzo Thompson (fourth), Matthew Shaughnessy (fifth), Aaron Longley (14th), Darren Longden (26th) and Scott Healey (34th).

Longley, a Year Eight pupil, made the start with just seconds to spare after competing in a lacrosse festival.

And he lined up out of breath after sprinting from the car park some 400 yards away.

Fed up after last year’s event — he was unhappy with his own performance — Shaunghnessy nearly gave up running.

But persuaded to give it another go, his fifth-place finish reflected the hard work he has put in.

Shaughnessy and Howard, who was a 2009 Chronicle Pride In Oldham winner, will represent Greater Manchester in the English Schools’ Cross-Country Champion-ships at Heaton Park on Saturday, March 22.

The Years Eight and Nine had to settle for second overall, but the Year Sevens went one better.

Spearheaded by Chris Brown, who was the individual runner-up, they picked up the team prize.

Other points scorers were Bradley Healey (14th), James Hey (19th), Henri Jones (27th), Matthew Walls (31st) and Harry Lord (41st).

Josh Horritt and Jake Ragan, 22nd and 23rd respectively, were the best-placed of the Years 10 and 11 runners from Oldham, who were third in the team standings.

Meanwhile, the Years 12 and 13 athletes representing the borough’s schools were fifth.

It was a case of seventh places all round for the Oldham girls’ teams.

Danielle Hobson, with a fine run for 17th, led the way in the Year Seven race, Lucy Vernon, in 32nd, was Oldham’s best-placed athlete in the Years Eight and Nine section and Emma Peters was an excellent fifth in the Years 10 and 11.