Ermysted's won the Year Eight boys team competition in the Northern Schools Cross Country Championships.

Alex Sinclair won the individual title with his form mate Billy Pinder runner-in the event staged at Woodbank Park, Stockport in cold and wet conditions.

Ermysted's were pre-race favourites for the Year Eight race having won the Northern Clubs' Championships with Skipton AC. They also had Billy Pinder who has won numerous races this year.

But he knew he was in for a real battle as team mate Alex Sinclair had run a faster time than in a school event the previous Wednesday.

As the race unfolded, the two pulled clear and Sinclair opened up a slight lead on the big hill. He held on and Pinder came in second to make it a first ever-one two for the school.

Joel Griffith ran a blinder to come sixth and Danny Bowditch completed the team in tenth. Their total was the school's lowest ever.

Even their non-scorers, Will Marshall, 13th, Will Crisp, 22nd, Robbie Swift, 25th, Dan Scothern, 41st and Barney Persson, 67th deserve great credit, as their total would have put them in the fourth team place.