AN "AMAZING" effort from Staffordshire Moorlands Athletics Club's (SMAC) ladies secured overall team silver and vets gold in the North Staffs Cross-Country League.
SMAC also celebrated individual success with Kerry Marchant finishing second overall while also taking V35 gold. Ruth Watchorn-Rice bagged V45 gold and was third overall.
SMAC's Debbie Hope said: "The fact that the ladies teams (senior and veteran) were one and the same is an amazing feat given the quality of the younger runners in this league. All the ladies have moved up the field over the course of the season and it bodes well for early season races in 2013."
The league concluded at Westwood High last weekend. And despite being struck down by illness over the weekend Marchant worked her way through the pack to come home second. Watchorn-Rice stayed with her team-mate most of the way before Trentham's Deb Thomas and Jo Donnelly got between them with the SMAC runner finishing fifth. Hope celebrated her best ever NSCCL placing by coming home 11th while Alison Wainwright was fourth counter in 21st position.
In the men’s race an under-strength SMAC outfit did enough to bring home silver behind a dominant Stoke AC. Five out of the top 10 placings at Westwood went to the Potteries outfit. Sam Lucking was first SMAC runner home in 15th from James Wood (20th), Gaz Briggs (22nd), Craig Jeffries (24th), Robin Hope (28th) and Paul Drabble (45th).
