ERMYSTED'S and Skipton Girls High were once again in dominant form in the Harrogate and Craven Area Cross-Country Championships at Giggleswick School.

Ermysted's won four of the five boys team events and had 20 runners gaining selection for the County Championships at Northallerton in January, while Skipton Girls High had three individual champions and claimed two team titles.

The performances of the Ermysted's and Skipton Girls High athletes augurs well for next month's English Schools' Cup finals at Bedford.

Giggleswick provided a course which was a real test for all the runners. It featured field and fell and the wet conditions proved to be strength sapping.

The Year 7 girls race saw Skipton Girls High continuing their rich vein of form as Lilli Carr ran away from the field to win comfortably.

She was supported by Alice Jones in third, Freya Mitchell (7th) and Amy Beanlands (9th) as Skipton Girls High took the team prize. All 4 girls have also gained automatic selection for the area team by virtue of their top 12 finishes. Giggleswick’s Maud Humphries, who was 15th, may yet gain a guest spot.

Ermysted’s Year 7s also won their team title thanks to Alex Thompson (2nd), Will Atkinson (6th), Jath Lee (8th) and Hamish Wills (10th).

Will Atkinson’s sprint finish and a great last half mile from Hamish Wills, who overtook three runners including crucially the final St Aidan’s counter as he finished tenth, earned Ermysted's victory by a single point.

Upper Wharfedale’s Lewis Carr (7th) also earned selection for the district team while Ermysted's Ben Rees (14th) should be a guest runner.

The Year 8 and Year 9s share a team in the County Championships so they tackled same course and distance in two separate races with times used to pick the top 12 and four guests.

Ruby Firth of Skipton Girls High came home first in the Year 8 race, with school mate Lucy Fryers in sixth but with a time that should get her selected in the area team.

Ermysted’s dominated the Year 8 boys race and claimed a second team title as they had their four scorers finish in the first six.

Harvey Lewis took silver and, Louis Hudson bronze, while Arthur Peel (4th) and Charlie Wood (6th) all gained area selection as did Giggleswick’s Jack Hutchinson in fifth place.

Katie Atkinson clinched her third area title in successive years as she steered Skipton Girls High to the Year 9 team crown.

Emily Jones (2nd), Angelina Bairstow (9th) and Eleanor Root (12th) all finished strongly. Maddie and Connie Rockcliffe-King of Giggleswick were fifth and sixth respectively and may yet make the area teams.

Matthew Kenneth and his Ermysted's team both retained their titles in the Year 9 race. Kenneth led from the start and was ably supported by bronze medallist Will Thompson, Jonny Thompson (5th) and Laurie Petrucci (11th). Kenneth and the two Thompsons both won selection.

In the inter girls (Y10/11) race only Giggleswick’s Eve Hutchinson (4th) made the area team. Ermysted’s were once more to the fore in the boys race as Jimmy Lund (2nd) and Tom Barrett (3rd) won medals. Team-mates Sam Jackson (7th) and Ben Jackson (10th) ensured a fourth team title and gained area selection alongside Skipton Academy’s Joe Hudson (4th), Giggleswick’s Euan Brennan (6th) and Tom Humphries (8th) and Upper Wharfedale’s Alex Ashby (9th).

Lizzie Joynson was unlucky not win a medal for Skipton Girls High in the senior girls (Y12/13) race where she finished fourth.

She did earn selection for the area team alongside her school colleagues Elspeth Adamson (6th) and Hannah Thom (7th) and Giggleswick’s Charlotte Francis.

Ermysted’s were on for an unheard of clean sweep of the team titles and gave it a real go in the Senior (Y12/13) race.

Rob Thompson (4th), Ben Archer (11th), Matt Jackson (12th) and Jacob Jackson (13th) gave an impressive low total of 41 points but they just missed out as St Aidan's had 37.

They should all gain the consolation of area selection and joining them are Giggleswick’s Chris Mills (8th), Euan Ogilvie (9th) and Henry Giles (14th).