SOPHIE Whittaker followed up last week's Inter-Counties silver medal by helping Greater Manchester to team bronze in the English Schools Cross Country Championships.

She was one of five Bury Athletic Club members selected for the championships, which were held at the Norfolk County Ground in Norwich.

The Bury College student came an excellent 26th out of a field of more than 300 competitors in the senior girls' race and was third GM counter.

Just five seconds separated Marcus Dey and Ollie Makinson in the intermediate boys' race. Dey was first GM finisher in 31st, with fellow triathlete Makinson (39th) finishing as third counter for the team.

The fact just five seconds accounted for eight places was an indication of the strength in depth of the championships, which are recognised as the highest quality competition for young endurance runners in England.

In the junior boys' race, Francis Woodcock was the first GM counter in 49th, with team-mate Brandon Quinton – second GM counter – 13 seconds and 29 places behind him in 78th.

Gilbert Vaughan was another Bury athlete to win a medal in a national schools championship, helping his team to third in the Welsh Schools Cross Country Championships in Brecon Gil.

Daisy Worthington and Amy Garroch helped Greater Manchester to silver in the North West Sportshall Championships.

Five Bury athletes competed in the final Sale indoor meeting of the season at Sportcity.

Charlotte Speakman-Farnworth was rewarded with thee personal bests competing in the 300m (45.17), 60m hurdles (10.50) and shot put (5.80).

Jerel Livingston set a new best for 60m of 7.86 in the under-15s race while Emmanuel Mufakazi also set a new PB of 7.45 in winning his race.

Charlotte Larkin was second in her 60m race in a time of 8.47.

Livingston also competed in the long jump and broke the five-metre barrier again with a leap of 5.04m.

Ava Leigh made her debut for Bury and competed against athletes older than her in the shot put, finishing fifth with an excellent 8.63m.

Elsewhere, Ben Coop shrugged off the harsh conditions in Sunday’s Wilmslow Half Marathon to finish 32nd in the high-quality field, knocking nearly three minutes off his previous best in a time of 1hr 15mins 18secs.

In Lancaster, Byron Edwards and Jenny Yates competed in the Trimpell 20-mile trail race as part of their preparation for forthcoming marathons. Edwards took two minutes off his time for the race last year, despite the conditions, and Yates was delighted with her time of 2:43.02.