HARRIERSf junior athletes have been flying the flag in leading competitions recently.

A group travelled to the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham for the AAA Junior Indoor Championships and put in some impressive performances.

The Darlington athletes competed in three age groups. Two sprinters, Joe Kibirige and Chris Craigs ran in the U- 20 menfs 60m. Joe clocked 7.16 seconds in his heat and 7.20 secs in the semi-final. Chris ran 7.31 secs in his heat.

In the U-17 boys 60m, Paul Jefferson ran 7.6 secs and Andrew Jones 7.78 secs in their heats. In the U-17 ladies 60m, Emma Shakeshaft ran 8.11 secs.

Faye Bowles ran 8.11 secs and 8.12 secs in the semi-final.

Lorna Goldsmith ran 8.22 secs in the U-15 girls 60m heats and recorded the same time in the semi-finals. Leah Kennedy finished fifth in the U-15 girlsf high jump, recording 1.55m.

Meanwhile, at Nottingham on the same weekend, Beth Ward had another good run to finish fifth counter for the North-East in the Inter-County Cross-Country Championships. She finished 141st overall.

Beth was back in action at the conclusion of the North Yorkshire and South Durham Harrier Cross Country League at Richmond School on Sunday. Beth finished seventh in the U-13 girls race. The course rapidly deteriorated under monsoon-like conditions with muddy sections offering a challenging choice of footwear. Studs, rather than spikes, appeared to give the best traction on the slippy circuit.

Paul Clifford was seventh in the U- 15 boys race and Rosie Clark and Charlotte McGarry had excellent runs in the U-15 girls race. Rosie finished third and Charlotte sixth.

Sue Phillips was the only Harrier in the senior ladiesf race, where she finished 16th. The club had a good turn-out in the senior menfs race, with Steve Hutchinson again finishing first counter in 42nd place. Just 45 seconds separated Steve and two clubmates, Paul Smith, who was two places behind, and Ronnie Read, who was 48th.

Kevin Grainger was next home in 59th place, followed by Graham Bell in 71st, Geoff Ward in 85th, North-East veterans M70 champion Ian Barnes in 96th, John Brant in 98th and Dave Wardman in 99th place.

Elsewhere, James Bird finished sixth in the St Wilfredfs Muddy Boots 10k over a multi-terrain course at Ripon.

He clocked 41 minutes 47 seconds.

The race was won by Trevor Wilkes (Leeds City) in 37:38.

In the Snake Lane 10 mile race at Pocklington, East Yorks., Shirley Gibson was second F60 veteran and 366th overall in a time of 78 mins 47 secs.

Tomorrow athletes of all ages are contesting the prestigious National Cross-Country Championships at Sunderland.

Harriers train on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Eastbourne sports complex at 6.15pm when new members of all ages are always welcome.

www.darlingtonharriers.co.uk