SOPHIE Whittaker put in a strong performance for Bury AC to finish 21st in the North of England cross country championships Under-20s' women's race.

Competing against the best athletes in the north, she finished in a time of 25mins 44secs over a tough 6k course at Harewood House in Leeds.

Two of Bury's other competitors were both in the u15 girls’ race.

Charlotte Speakman-Farnworth produced her customary brave run to take 120th position, with committed club competitor Erin Kenyon a little further down the field in 166th place. Their times for the demanding 4k course were 20:08 and 21:13 respectively.

Making it a girls-only turnout for the club, the final two competitors appeared in the u13 girls' race. Freya Potts had a brilliant run to make the top 50, finishing 46th in a time of 12:41 and Grace Gibson also performed well to take 143rd place with a time of 13:51 in a field of nearly 250 starters.

Pole vaulter Hattie Vaughan was back in competition over the weekend at the Vault Manchester event at SportCity and performed very well again, winning her pool and adding a further centimetre to her lifetime best with a vault of 3.53m.

She is now ranked number three in her u17 age category in the UK.

Making his debut at the event, Jay Cook demonstrated his clear potential with an excellent vault of 2.33 to give him second place in his pool. This vault places him in the top 25 nationally for the event in his u15 age category in his first year in this age group. This is a positive reward for a highly committed young athlete.

Luke Harreld ran in the Lytham St Anne’s 10-mile road race, leading a group of athletes he trains as part of his PT Fitness Group.

He took fifth place in a time of 61:00, while Chris Mackay took 45th position in the field of more than 350 runners, covering the course in 68:46.