THE fourth and final fixture of the Red Rose Cross Country League took place at the testing Marl Pitts course in Rossendale on Saturday.

Oliver Makinson finished runner-up and led home a strong under-17s men's team, which claimed second place.

Marcus Dey was fourth and Stefan Kalambouka came home in 12th as they were just pipped to overall victory by hosts Rossendale.

The u17s women’s team also finished second after Lucy Alcock, Heledd Rimmer and Ellie Carter were 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively. Jenna Allen-Cartwright just missed out on a scoring place in 13th.

Francis Woodcock was another runner-up, taking second in the u15s boys' race. He was supported by Jacob Stevens (24th) and Jake Allen (27th) as Bury claimed sixth place.

The u15s girls' team of Charlotte Speakman-Farnworth (23rd), Erin Kenyon (24th) and Charlie Ireland (32st) were fourth.

Caitlin Cole just pipped Bury team-mate Christie Cook in the senior women's race, finishing one place ahead of her in sixth.

Katie Geelan was the team's third counter, finishing 22nd to help them claim third on the day and second overall in the four-race series.

Other Bury senior athletes in the race included Sophie Hill (36th), Lizzi Cheshire (42nd), Beverley McAuley (51st) and Susan Ward (68th).

The senior men’s team was missing Ben Coop, who was sidelined through injury.

First home was Jim Ardin in 12th, followed by Luke Harreld (25th), Josh Birmingham (43rd), Chris Mackay (55th), Giles Bennett (78th) and Rob Lawson (141st) as the team finished sixth.

The u11s boys were also sixth, with Thomas Donnelly (23rd), Euan McGrath (36th) and Jake Norton (40th) counting towards their score, while the u11s girls were 11th.

The u13s boys were fifth, led by Gilbert Vaughan, who ran strongly to finish fourth. The other two counters were Noah Carter (17th) and Matthew Lowe (25th). Bury's u13s girls' team was eighth, with their best finisher Freya Potts coming home in 17th.

A small team of Bury athletes claimed five personal bests between them at the Northern Athletics Indoor Open meeting in Sheffield.

Abigail Howard won her 60m heat in a new PB of 8.87secs in the 60m, while Ella Hall set a season’s best of 9.22 and Jay Cook broke his previous best to finish in 9.19.

The three young athletes also competed over 150m and 60m hurdles. Hall set a new PB of 21.85 in the 150m, while Howard set a new mark of 10.26 in the hurdles. Cook earned PBs in both events, clocking 22.77 in the 150m and 12.22 in the hurdles.