ATHLETICS
CARL AVERY and Sam Charlton were in superb form in picking up individual silver medals and team golds in their respective Home Countries and Schools’ International cross-country events in Woolaton Park, Nottingham.
Both athletes were making their England debuts and they justified their selection with second-place finishes, helping the host nation sweep the board in the team stakes.
Avery, the Northern cross-country champion and eighth-place finisher in the National, was a member of the four-man England team and was always in contention at the head of affairs.
As the 10k contest progressed, one by one his rivals started to fall away over the dry conditions, leaving the Morpeth athlete out on his own in second place trailing England teammate Adam Hickey.
Hickey, an established international over a number of years, won the National last month in fine style, beating Avery by nearly a minute his experience showing through again to come home a clear winner by 40 seconds this time round.
Avery, coached by Lindsay Dunn, finished well ahead (23 seconds) of third-placed Andy Douglas of Scotland and, with Peter Huck in fourth place, it was a convincing team victory for England.
Charlton, meanwhile, has come on leaps and bounds this winter, improving with every outing - culminating in an outstanding second place in the SIAB Schools’ International which was held in tandem with the main event.
The Heaton Manor 16-year-old student, a member of Wallsend Harriers, is in his first season of serious athletics and to bring the curtain down on the cross-country campaign in such an impressive way is a wonderful achievement.
Charlton, who is coached by Paddy Dinsmore, was selected for the England eight-man intermediate boys’ team after finishing sixth in the English Schools’ Championships over a mud-bath course in Leeds the previous weekend - not ideal preparation for your debut in an international contest.
However, that did not knock his determination to take on the lads who had beaten him seven days earlier as well facing leading competitors from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Naturally, Charlton was delighted with his performance admitting afterwards he could hardly believe it even though he started off with the intention of seeing off his rivals - a tactic which he came close to pulling off.
The fledgling competitor, who had a number of family and friends cheering him on, said: “I was full of confidence after my Inter Counties run (he finished 11th) and the English Schools’ Championships, so I thought I would take it on from the gun.
“I led for most of the first of three laps and while a few of the athletes were already struggling there was a group of six or seven still together in the leading bunch.
“It was then I decided to take a breather and drop in behind and I was fifth or so going into the final lap.
“I was not feeling that great at that point, perhaps it was all the hard races beforehand, but I thought to myself the other lads have had hard races also so they could be feeling the pressure as well.
“So, I just put my head down and stuck in and with around 300 metres to go I was up into third place.
“Somehow, I managed to pull out a sprint and I was closing down on the leader all the time - but the line came just too soon.
“Despite that, it has been a great experience and to finish in second place running in an England vest is way beyond my wildest dreams.’’
Charlton was just two seconds away from topping the podium, victory going to David Stone (Middlesex).
Darlington’s India Pentland was also in England action in Nottingham and she also received a team gold medal after finishing fifth in the intermediate girls’ event.