ROSSENDALE Harrier Steve Duxbury and team mate Thornton Taylor ended their season-long rivalry at the final Red Rose Cross Country League meeting at Burnley.
The pair had battled their way through the four race series for the silver and bronze medals in the veteran class with each man beating the other twice.
Thornton had the edge at Towneley Park on Saturday but it was Steve who still grabbed silver by a single point. Strangely, when non-veterans were included the standings were reversed as Thornton was rated seventh, three points clear of Steve in eighth. Tangible consolation for Taylor was that he was the winning M40 as Duxbury and veteran winner Tony Duffy are both over 45.
The Rossendale men picked up two team silver medals as Eric Richardson, Dave Schofield and Nigel Gotts all added depth to the veteran squad, while Pete Jepson was the winning M55.
The nucleus of the same team scored heavily for the seniors, but the star man here was Under 40 Martin Lee who gained his season's best position of fourth on Saturday.
Beaten only by one league counter, it helped him to fourth in the final standings. For the women, F45 Diane Flemming and F55 Christine Navan were age group winners in the series while Todmorden Harrier Sue Becconsall was second F40.
Host club Burnley AC have only been affiliated to the league for two years so this was the first time there had been a fixture at Townley Park. On the day, the club produced three individual winners while a fourth, Under 13 Philip Hayton, scored maximum league points as he finished a close second to a flying Callum Fitzpatrick.
Callum represents Hyndburn AC, and there were a number of other local runners taking an opportunity to guest as the league visited the heart of East Lancashire. Two more of them ended the day as winners with the ever busy Neil Tattersall from Pendle taking the senior men's race by more than half a minute, and Michael Hammer of Blackburn Harriers leading home the Under 20s in the same race.
It was very much Burnley's day though as Under 15 Marc Hartley and Under 17 Chris Hart were both victorious.
Danielle Walker had already won the Under 13 girls' series after three straight wins but made it a perfect four on home territory.
Marc clinched the Under 15 title with his superb win and Under 13 Philip Hayton shares his championship with Bury's Scott McManus.
Bronze medals go to Under 15s Emma Graham and Michael Crookshanks as they each take equal third positions. There may also be a medal for Chris Hart but that is subject to appeal.
The Burnley Under 13 girls and Under 15 boys took team gold thanks to sterling support from counters Amy Leeming, Jade Hartley, Daniel Eckersley and Stuart McGregor.
Meanwhile the Under 13 boys from Rossendale Harriers won the silver medal after Grant Cunliffe and Daniel Hoyle made the top ten.
Results - Burnley Race Boys and Men: Under 13: 1 Callum Fitzpatrick (H) 10:15, 2 Philip Hayton (B) 10:17, 4 J Crorken (B) 10:59, 7 Damien Rawcliffe (H) 11:20, 9 P McNicholas (B) 11:32 Team: 1 Burnley, 3 Rossendale Under 15: 1 Marc Hartley (B) 14:15, 3 Michael Crookshanks (B) 14:54, 5 Carl Roberts (B) 15:50, 6 Daniel Eckersley (B) 16:04 Team: 1 Burnley Under 17: 1 Chris Hart (B) 17:52, 5 Thomas Cornthwaite (H) 19:13 Seniors: 1 Neil Tattersall (P) 36:31, 4 Martin Lee (R) 38:16, 9 (3rd M40) Thornton Taylor (R) 38:52, 10 (1st Junior) Michael Hammer (Blackburn Harriers) 38:54, 11 (1st M45) Steve Duxbury (R) 39:04, 15 Lee Passco (H) 39:25, 29 (4th M45) Eric Richardson (R) 41:29, 47 (1st M55) Pete Jepson (R) 45:37, 68 (3rd M55) John Devlin (T) 51:28 Senior Team: 2 Rossendale Veteran Team: 2 Rossendale
Girls and Women: Under 13: 1 Danielle Walker (B) 11:10, 6 Amy Leeming (B) 12:17, 7 Jade Hartley (B) 12:19, 10 Carla Burns (PHS) 12:45 Team: 1 Burnley Under 15: 3 Emma Graham (B) 16:55, 6 Charlotte Bickerstaffe (PHS) 17:13, 7 Alexis Walker (B) 17:28, 10 Louise Highton (H) 17:53 Team: 3 Burnley Seniors: 6 (2nd F40) Sue Becconsall (T) 21:48, 6 (2nd F35) Anna Kelly (Clayton) 22:03, 11 (2nd F45) Diane Flemming (R) 23:13, 26 (2nd F55) Christine Navan (R) 27:34
Full Series - Boys and Men: Under 13: 1st equal Philip Hayton (B), 7 Grant Cunliffe (R), 8 Daniel Hoyle (R) Team: 2 Rossendale Under 15: 1st Marc Hartley (B), 3rd equal Michael Crookshanks (B), 5 Daniel Eckersley (B)Team: 1 Burnley Seniors: 4 Martin Lee (R), 7 (3rd veteran/1st M40) Thornton Taylor (R), 8(2nd veteran/1st M45) Steve Duxbury (R), 23(8th veteran/5th M45) Eric Richardson (R), 25 (10th veteran/4th M40) Dave Schofield (R), 36 (1st M55) Pete Jepson (R), 33 (3rd M55) Gerard Navan (R) Senior Team: 2 Rossendale Veteran Team: 2 Rossendale
Girls and Women: Under 13: 1 Danielle Walker (B), 4 Amy Leeming (B), 7 Jade Hartley (B), 8 Sarah Chapman (B), 9 R Hayton (B) Team: 1 Burnley Under 15: 3rd equal Emma Graham (B), 7 Alexis Walker (B) Seniors: 5 (3rd veteran/2nd F40) Sue Becconsall (T), 9 (6th veteran/1st F45) Diane Flemming (R), 21 (2nd F55) Christine Navan (R)
Club Key (use also for The Stoop): B-Burnley AC, C-Clayton, CAC-Chorley AC, H-Hyndburn AC, P-Pendle AC, PHS-Park High School AC, R-Rossendale Harriers, T-Todmorden Harriers
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