LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN Inverclyde AC teams make a flying start to new tournament

THE recently-formed West District Cross Country League held its first event on Saturday and teams from Inverclyde AC travelled to Strathaven for the inaugural event hosted by East Kilbride AC.

Weather conditions were excellent, although heavy rain before race day made part of the course muddy and tricky to negotiate.

First on the start line were the under-11 girls and for the Inverclyde quartet, this was their first opportunity to compete against other clubs.

Nerves were not a factor as all four negotiated the course, with Iona Wilson first home for Inverclyde closely followed by Rosie Callan, Annie Henry and Emily Kane to take sixth place in the team event.

Inverclyde’s two competitors in the under-11 boys event saw Louis Reid finishing in a superb sixth place, with Alfie Anderson finishing less than 30 seconds behind and showing continued progress.

The under-13 girls were next in the programme, with the Inverclyde team of Olivia Lyne, Grace Barry, Keira Gregory and Leah Kane packing well to take a well-deserved third team place.

The under-13 boys team of Charlie Lyne,

Archie Reid and Sol Currie responded to the challenge set by the girls and produced another third team performance for their club.

With no competitors in the under-15 and 17 categories, the younger athletes had time to explore their surroundings and have some fun while waiting for the senior race.

Inverclyde AC had six senior men competing in the final race of the day over 7.29K.

Jonny Glen and John Bell were quickly in the leading group of three runners as the field progressed around the three-lap course, with Jonny finishing in second place and John in third.

David Tamburini with a solid run finished seventh in the masters category, while Sean Gaffney, Alan Callan and Jason Kane continue to show improvement as they prepare for the upcoming District and National events. Inverclyde’s senior men were third in the team event after results were updated over the weekend. Many thanks to Kay Cooke, Jonathan Cameron, Jane Lyne, Alan Callan and Collette McGeehan for team managing the junior teams and to Adam Hay for the senior team. Thanks also to the parents who attended for their support and to Hardies Coaches for transport.

Inverclyde AC hold numerous sessions over a range of events throughout the week for both juniors (age eight and over) and seniors. For more information about club activities, visit www.inverclydeac.org.uk and click on the dropdown button ‘Contact Us’ or email inverclydeac01@gmail.com Inverclyde AC is supported by Diodes Inc, Inverclyde Council, Inverclyde Leisure, Smiths of Greenock and Succession Wealth. Inverclyde AC is an accredited club with Active Schools Inverclyde.

ATHLETICS