The final race of Central Athletic Club’s 2022-23 Cross Country Series was held in on Saturday 11 March on a 1 mile course devised by Derek Easton in King’s Park, Stirling. The race was held in bright sunshine as has been the case at this venue over the years.

It was Under-13 Boy Joel Gillan who continued his recent fine form to win the overall race in an impressive 6 minutes 4 seconds while Cameron Tanner (6:44) also showed good form in coming second in this category. Conall Paterson (6:12) again won the Under-15 Boys category showing his consistency over the series. There was an impressive turnout of Under-11 Boys with Ben Homncik (7:19) taking the win in this age group from Sam White (7:20) challenging right to the line. This was Matthew McGrory’s first run in the series finishing well up in a time of 7:25 followed closely by Lachlan Carruthers (7:29), Matthew Owen (7:32), Finlay Gallagher (7:33) and Hugh Thomas (7:34). Zachary Walker (7:46) came through well while Fraser McDonald (7:51), Murray Baldwin (7:53) and Rory Meyler (8:48) all showed they have what it takes to progress in cross country. Special mention should be made of the four Under-9 Boys, Harris Robertson (7:30), Brody Scanlon (7:44), Hamish Gallagher (8:48) and Mark Horne (10:35), who all showed up well against the older competitors.

As anticipated there were further top class performances from the Girls and here it was Under-13 Girl Emily Stanford (6:15) who again underlined her promise with an assured performance. Strong performances from Ella Tanner (7:31) and Emily Watkin (7:55) completed the Under-13 Girls age group. Niamh McKinley (6:38) led home the Under-15 Girls with another confident run while Fia Watkin (6:56), and Orla Pieroway (7:39) continue to make good progress in this age group. Hannah Inman (7:14) continues to underline her credentials as she was first home in the Under-11 Girls category while first timer Seonaigh Logan (7:20) impressed. There were further strong performances in this age group from Lila Robertson (7:45), Zoe Beaton (8:33) and Grace Connaughton (10:50). Under-17 Robyn Youens (7:46) can be pleased with her effort against some very strong opposition on the day.

Series presentations were performed by Scottish National Cross Country bronze medallist Hamish Hickey with series trophies for Under-9 Boys: First – Harris Robertson, Second – Brody Scanlon. Under-11 Girls: First – Hannah Inman, Second – Lila Robertson, Third ­- Zoe Beaton. Under-11 Boys: First – Lachlan Carruthers, Second – Matthew Owen, Third – Hugh Thomas. Under-13 Girls: First – Emily Stanford, Second – Ella Tanner, Third – Emily Watkin. Under-13 Boys: First – Cameron Tanner. Under-15 Girls: First – Niamh McKinlay. Under-15 Boys: First – Conall Paterson, Second – Fraser Kingsley. In addition all of the foregoing won participation medals for competing in at least three of the races and these were also awarded to Finlay Gallagher, Murray Baldwin, Fraser McDonald, Zachary Walker, Rory Meyler, Iona McQuater and Nora Thompson.

Thanks are again due to the volunteers who helped with setting the course, warm-up, recording and marshalling to make this another successful event with a special mention of Derek Easton.

Full results are available in this spreadsheet: