The 115th NECAA North Eastern Cross Country Championships took place on Saturday 11 December 2021 at Sedgefield, hosted by Sedgefield Harriers. In stark contrast to the last time the event was held there in 2015, weather conditions were generally fair, with a light breeze and some drizzle, at least until the final stages of the ladies’ race, when the skies darkened and chilly winds picked up. The highlight of the day for Jarrow and Hebburn AC was the victory of our superb senior ladies team, who took the team prize home for a record fourth consecutive time. Our first four counters Alex Sneddon (4th), Melissa Turner (8th), Georgia Campbell (12th) and Steph Pattinson (18th), finished ahead of Morpeth Harriers to claim the ladies team trophy. There was an incredibly strong turnout and excellent performances from our ladies overall, with nine finishers, including Rachel Breheny (30th), Hazelle Webster-Costella (38th), Emily Jones (40th), Jenna Killock (65th) and Vicki Thompson (112th).
In the earlier races, Neve King-Jones finished 31st in the under 15 girls race, Joshua McKenny finished 17th in the under 17 men’s, twins Hannah and Jess Holman finished 15th and 16th respectively in the under 20s ladies’ race, whilst Peter Smallcombe finished an impressive seventh in the under 20 men’s race. Unfortunately, we did not field a complete team in the men’s senior race, but there were solid performances from Jonathan Gilroy (81st), Ian Salkeld (150th), Carl Smith (152nd) and Michael Thornton (233rd).
Results in full (provided by New Markse Harriers) are available here.