SHERMAN SUCCESS – AGAIN – FOR MORPETH WHILE TYNE BRIDGE CLAIM FIRST-EVER DAVISON SHIELD
MORPETH Harriers duly won the
Sherman Cup again while Tyne Bridge Harriers secured the Davison Shield for the
first time ever.
Once again organised superbly
by South Shields Harriers at Temple Park, a strong Morpeth outfit claimed the Sherman
for a record 24 times – 10 in a row - and surpassing Gateshead’s 23 victories,
while Newcastle outfit Tyne Bridge celebrated lifting the Davison Shield for
the first time due to lining up as many females’ as possible.
Morpeth, with two team
successes out of the five age groups led Elswick by seven points with Gosforth
finishing in third place a further nine points adrift while Tyne Bridge, who
didn’t come out on top in either of the five races, were the only club to
close-in teams in all five contests.
Individually, Morpeth’s
Matthew Briggs was a comfortable winner of the senior men’s race with Conrad
Franks (Gateshead) finishing strongly to claim the runners-up award ahead of
Sunderland’s Stephen Jackson.
 |
| Matthew Briggs, Morpeth |
Birtley’s Chris Perkins ended
his cross-country campaign with a front-running victory in the under-17 men’s
contest finishing ahead of Bertie Marr (Morpeth) and Jarrow and Hebburn’s
Joshua McKenny.
 |
| Chris Perkins, Birtley |
Morpeth’s Joseph Close had
three seconds in hand over North Shields Poly’s Ben Sproats in the under-15
contest with Oliver Tomlinson, also Morpeth, completing the one-two-three.
 |
| Joseph Close, Morpeth |
In the under-13 event, Freddie
Palmer (Tyne Bridge) took the honours ahead of Blaydon’s Finn Graham and
Birtley’s Callum Bailey.
 |
| Freddie Palmer, Tynebridge |
In the senior women’s race it was a repeat of two years ago with Elswick’s Amy Fuller claiming victory relegating Catriona MacDonald into second place with early leader Kim Simpson (Gateshead), runner-up the previous weekend in the North East Masters XC Championships, finishing in third spot.
 |
| Amy Fuller & Catriona MacDonald |
It was a Houghton one-two in
the combined under-17/20 event with victory going to the in-form Eva Hardie who
had a 15-second cushion at the line over team-mate Anna Pigford with Birtley’s
Katie Francis, the first under-17, completing the medallists.
 |
| Eva Hardie, Houghton |
Durham City’s Charlotte
Dillon claimed victory in the under-15 race finishing 13 seconds ahead of
Elswick’s Poppy Old with Gosforth’s Annie Hutchinson claiming the bronze award.
 |
| Charlotte Dillon, Durham |
It was also a one-two in the under-13 event with North Shields Poly duo Katy Otterson and Anna Johnson finishing ahead of Durham City’s Grace Carter.
Once again a “Try
Cross-Country” for under-11s opened the day’s proceedings and over 100 youngsters
took part despite the near gale-force winds.
Birtley’s youngsters were
again in full flow with Ed Moon winning the boys event and Olivia Murphy coming
out on top in the girls’ contest.
 |
| Ed Moon, Birtley |
Allerton’s James Troop, one of a number of competitors from the North Yorks’ and South Durham League who made the trip to contest the NEHL 125th anniversary, finished in second place ahead of Elswick’s Nicholas Surtees-Brown while in the girls contest Gateshead’s Emma Blackburn finished runner-up just ahead of Alnwick’s Alicia Purvis.
**IT was a superb day’s
competition and a huge thanks goes out to the South Shields club from the NEHL
for their excellent organisation, not just in erecting the course and supplying
the enthusiastic marshals – especially the car park attendants – but giving nearly
1,000 competitors a great day’s sport and to all the officials who resolutely
stood their ground throughout the windy day.
The curtain comes down with
the final fixture at Alnwick Pastures on March 5.
Report by Bill McGuirk
Photos: https://www.stuartwhitman.co.uk/
Teams Top Results
Senior Men
| 1 | Morpeth Harriers & AC | 17 | 1-Briggs 4-Hancox 12-Innes |
| 2 | Gateshead Harriers | 32 | 2-Franks 9-Alexander 21-Hansen |
| 3 | Sunderland Harriers | 39 | 3-Jackson 8-Reed 28-Rankin |
Masters Men
| 1 | Elvet Striders | 21 | 5-Watt 7-Warner 9-Littlewood |
| 2 | Tyne Bridge Harriers | 43 | 8-Turnbull 15-Tailford 20-Moir |
| 3 | South Shields Harriers | 59 | 6-Camps 22-Owen 31-Myers |
Senior Women
| 1 | Morpeth Harriers & AC | 13 | 2-MacDonald 5-Quinn 6-Macdonald |
| 2 | Sunderland Harriers | 34 | 4-Fox 14-Tomlin 16-Dobinson |
| 3 | Jesmond Joggers | 67 | 10-Chapman 28-Ruddy 29-Green |
| 1 | North Shields Poly | 31 | 6-Harlow 9-Davis 16-Newson |
| 2 | Tyne Bridge Harriers | 44 | 2-Dargie 7-Stevenson 35-Turnbull |
| 3 | Elswick Harriers | 52 | 5-Nutt 21-Smith 26-Banner |
| 1 | Morpeth Harriers & AC | 13 | 2-Marr 4-Davies 7-Walton |
| 2 | Gosforth Harriers | 33 | 5-Slater 6-Christie 22-Doe |
| 3 | Sunderland Harriers | 35 | 8-Hughes 10-Revell 17-Walton |
U17&20 Women
| 1 | Gosforth Harriers | 28 | 6-Lewis 9-Purves 13-Rickerby |
| 2 | Elswick Harriers | 43 | 4-Bungay 17-Lee 22-King |
| 3 | Tyne Bridge Harriers | 70 | 20-Dorman 24-Moir 26-Arif |
| 1 | North Shields Poly | 20 | 2-Sproats 6-Watson 12-Head |
| 2 | Morpeth Harriers & AC | 21 | 1-Close 3-Tomlinson 17-Mavir |
| 3 | Elswick Harriers | 43 | 4-Kelso 18-Robinson 21-Jackson |
| 1 | Gosforth Harriers | 16 | 3-Hutchinson 6-Wightman 7-Ashman |
| 2 | Elswick Harriers | 22 | 2-Old 8-Wilde 12-Russell |
| 3 | Gateshead Harriers | 37 | 4-Johnstone 10-Watson 23-Barrett |
| 1 | Gosforth Harriers | 37 | 9-Ponton 12-Handyside 16-Adlam |
| 2 | North Shields Poly | 41 | 8-Furness 14-Sturman 19-Head |
| 3 | Elswick Harriers | 51 | 6-Aitken 13-Coulson 32-Mason |
| 1 | North Shields Poly | 8 | 1-Otterson 2-Johnson 5-Mccoll |
| 2 | Morpeth Harriers & AC | 35 | 8-Tomlinson 12-Roche 15-Dungait |
| 3 | Gosforth Harriers | 50 | 9-Bell 10-Elliott 31-Patterson |
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