BURY all but secured promotion to the Second Division of the North of England Track and Field League after finishing runners-up to Pendle in the third meeting of the season.

A smaller than usual squad came back from Burnley with five points after a number of athletes competed in multiple events.

Ben Coop had a very busy afternoon, finishing second in the A 400m, A 800m and B 400m hurdles, third in the B long lump and then helping the 4x100m relay team to second and the 4x400m side to a fourth-place finish.

His namesake Benn Heywood won the B 3,000m steeplechase, was third in the B 800m, fifth in the B 1500m and then ran a leg of the 4x400m.

Laura Evans coped admirably with a hectic schedule, winning the B 800m and the B triple jump, as well as finishing second in the A 100m hurdles and A high jump then helping the 4x400m relay team to first place.

Whatever Laura could do Lizzie Cheshire was tried to match, winning the A triple jump, A 400m hurdles and B 100m hurdles, before finishing fourth in the A long jump and fifth in the A 100m. She then helped the 4x100m team to second spot and was part of the winning 4x400m team.

Sprint kings Hashim Shah and Emmanuel Mufakazi were on song.

Hashim was third in the A 100m and second in the A 200m, while Emmanuel won the B 100m, was second in the B 200m and third in the B high jump.

Both athletes competed in the 4x100m relay team, while Emmanuel ran a leg in the 4x400m relay.

James Coghlan ran an excellent race to win the B 400m. He then took fourth place in the A long jump and sixth in the A high jump and ran a leg in the sprint relay.

Jack Griffiths was fifth in the A 1500m and A triple jump, sixth in the A 5000m and then ran in the 4x400m relay.

Paul Horrocks, Paul Stocks and Matt Alcock scored valuable points in the throws.

There were also useful performances from Mike Hunter (second in A 400m hurdles), Mark Johnson (fourth in B 5,000m) and Giles Bennett (second in A 3,000m steeplechase and fourth in the B triple jump).

Chloe Fairhurst once again notched up crucial points for the team, winning the B 400m hurdles, and placing second in the B high jump and fourth in the B long jump.

Jenna Allen-Cartwright ran superbly to win the B 400m in a time that would have also won the A race, then finished second in the B 100m before competing in both relays.

Teegan Brady was just edged into second place in the B 200m and competed in the sprint relay.

Viola Melinghi was second in the A 400m and fifth in the B 200m before running in both relays.

Katie Geelan won the B 3,000m, with Sophie Whittaker second in the A race.

Christie Cook was second in the A 800m and Lauren Booth was rewarded with a new personal best after finishing second in the A 1500m, with Lucy Alcock winning the B race.

Jenny Yates, Pam Hitchin and Teegan Brady scored crucial points in the throwing events.

John Conroy, Pete Bates, David Cook, Nigel Brady and Jean and John Simpson also earned vital points for Bury through their officiating duties.

The final fixture is at Macclesfield on August 6, where Bury will hope to win both the meeting and the division.