Mansfield Harriers start centenary year with haul of medals

Despite some very heavy mud patches at Shipley Park in Heanor, a 74-strong Harriers team produced some terrific performances that yielded 11 individual medals and nine team gongs.

Setting the standard for the day were the U11 girls, for whom Amelia Arbon ran from the front to win gold.

She was closely followed by Lily Mason, who took the silver, even though she lost one of her shoes, which was sucked into the mud.

Chasing home the leading duo were Charlie Whysall in sixth, Maisy Slack in seventh, Florence Kenny in 11th, Scarlett Jane in 12th, Grace Sinclair in 15th and Zia Clayton-Wade in 16th. It all added up to team gold and silver for the girls.

The U11 boys won team bronze and also scooped an individual third placing, courtesy of Dan Adams, who led home Henry Waller in eighth, Mitchell Smith in 14th, Will Wilkinson in 15th, James Harris in 22nd, Finlay Strauther in 24th, Harry Orr in 25th, Oliver Buglass in 26th and Charlie Taylor in 27th.

Harriers’ U13 boys also took team gold after the best performance of the day from Ed Sankey, who was fourth, Eddie Holden, who was sixth, Matt Young, who was ninth, Will Sankey, who was 11th, and Joel Brereton, who was 18th.

For the U13 girls, Jemima Waller ran strongly for a bronze medal, helping the team to silver alongside Ella Kennedy, who was fourth, Zoe Spencer, who was sixth, and Freya Longmead, who was 13th.

Team silver and bronze medals were won by the club’s U15 teams after fine performances. For the boys, Johar Ali placed fourth, Jake Orr fifth, Sam Knott 12th and Harry Wilkinson 17th.

For the girls, Grace Manson was first back for Mansfield in eighth position, ahead of Olivia Hare in ninth, Caitlin Dodds in tenth, Olivia Barrett in 11th, Ava Blake in 12th and Elizabeth Sinclair in 22nd.

Specifically in the Derbyshire event, Sophie Toyn continued to show improvement, finishing fourth.