BURY AC's Ben Coop led from start to finish to win the club's inaugural 10,000m open track race last week.

A total of 26 athletes started the 25-lap race with competitors travelling from near and far to take part.

Coop won in 33mins 18.2secs, and there was an exciting battle for second place with Josh Birmingham making it a Bury one-two, out-sprinting Herne Hill Harrier Bryn Reynolds over the last 200 metres.

Altrincham’s Dave Norman took fourth but there were top-10 positions for Bury's Jon Evans (sixth), Byron Edwards (seventh) and Luke Harreld (eighth).

Bury’s Hannah Price was the clear winner of the women’s race in 40:04, followed by team-mates Caitlin Cole and Katie Geelan, while the club also won both team prizes.

A depleted senior team travelled to Carlisle on Sunday to compete in the first Northern League track and field fixture and, led by captain Byron Edwards, they won the meeting ahead of Trafford AC.

Key to the success was the band of volunteer officials who earned vital team points and without whom Bury would have finished as runners-up.

Individual victories came from Byron Edwards (B 5,000m), Giles Bennett (B 3,000m steeplechase), Gary Crowshaw (B 110m hurdles), David Vaughan (A triple jump), Jack Griffiths (B triple jump), Hannah Price (A 3,000m), Katie Geelan (B 3,000m) and Lizzi Cheshire (B 100m hurdles).

However, the fixture was won by athletes taking on different events and by some youngsters, like Charlie Ireland, Rashaun Currie and Rocksan Minkeng, stepping up to the senior events.

Harreld ran well in the 400 and 800m A races (sixth and second) given his 10,000m exploits earlier in the week, while Christie Cook also did the tough 400/800 double, taking third and second respectively.

Mike Hunter notched up vital points, as did Katrina Conroy and Xenia Sawkuycz, with the next meeting on Sunday, June 16 at Trafford.

Bury played host to the second Youth Development League (Lower) fixture on Saturday, however, despite home advantage, the team had to settle for third place overall.

The result consolidated their position in the league and many athletes were rewarded with personal-best performances.

In the 100/150m sprints there were top-two performances for Natan Witkoski, Mae Gardner, Anna Gisbourne and Devonne Samuels.

Grace Gibson and Connie Potts both finished as runners-up in the A and B 300m – both with new PBs.

In the distance events, Freya Potts won the B U15 800m in a new best of 2:27.2, while Anna Gisbourne finished second in the A U13 800m in a new best of 2:33.6 and Nyah Coates won the B in a new best of 2:38.3.

There were runner-up spots in the B 1200m for Lola Potts (4:30.5 PB) and the A and B 1500m for Reilly Carson (5:19.8 PB) and Esther McGrath (5:42.6 PB).

Jemima Miles, Peter Gardner, Natan Witkowski and Jay Cook all came second in their respective hurdles races, while the girls 4x300m relay team took an impressive first place.

In the field events, there were wins for Jay Cook (shot and discus), Connie Potts (hammer), Isabel Lawson (javelin), Peter Gardner and Lucy Hill (high jump).

Natan Witkoski and Ben Redmond took second place in their long jump competitions, while Scarlett Dewar was second in the shot.

The improvements in the technical events illustrates the impact of Alison Dale’s coaching.

In the Great Manchester 10k on Sunday, Marcus Dey set an impressive new PB of 32:50, finishing 44th in the huge field and third in his under-20 age group.