Liam Rawlings was again the leading Oswestry runner when the Olympians Juniors braved torrential rain and mud to compete in the third Shropshire Young Athletes Cross Country competition of the season.

Undaunted by the conditions Rawlings romped home to his third successive win with his nearest competitor in the Under-15 Boys’ race some 40 seconds behind him.

The club’s most successful teams on the day were the Under-11 Boys and Under-15 Girls who both secured fourth places.

The six-strong Under-11 Girls were the first to face the already sodden Much Wenlock fields. Evie Foster again impressed finishing eighth, while Seren Roberts and Jessica Steel kept up the momentum with top 20 finishes, and Libby Williams, Isla Rothera and Kate Hotchkiss also successfully completed the course to secure points for the club.

Oswestry also had six competitors in the Under-11 Boys’ race. Jack Tinney again finished in a medal position coming home second, after Aaron Warburton led the first lap but despite finding the second tough going was the second Oswestry runner home. Dan Morris, Morgan Hodgkiss, Freddie Heasmor-Jones and Harry Cartwright were undaunted by the rapidly deteriorating conditions to keep the Oswestry flag flying with strong finishes.

It was a family double in the Under-13 races with Mia Wyatt the first Oswesty girl home and brother Massimo the first Oswestry boy. Despite facing the notorious Windmill Hill in the worst conditions of the season, Lucy Othen, Molly Tinney, Francesca Siddi and Nia Tanlsey all secured points for the girls in their 2km race, while a strong second lap from Ben Rothera and consistent running from Sam Newton and Tom Hotchkiss ensured points over 3km for the boys.

For the first time this season, Oswestry had had a full team in the Under-15 Girls’ race with Emelia Newton, Rhiannon Tansley and Katie Othen making their first starts of the season. Mia Tate again led the side with her best place of the season at 11th. With all the other Oswestry girls securing top 30 finishes the team came fourth. Liam Rawlings was the sole male Oswestry runner at Under-15 but made light work of the mud showing a clean pair of heels to everyone, completing the 4km course in a little over 15 minutes.

With Tom Wilde and Ianto Owen injured it was left to Matthew Collins and Kate Pugh to keep the Oswestry flag flying in the Under-17 races. Both were successful, finishing seventh and ninth respectively.

The Shropshire Cross Country League concludes in Oswestry on Sunday, December 3, with at least two Oswestry Olympians in contention for trophies and several teams in striking range of medals.