WHARFEDALE Harriers' Sam Smith followed up his Yorkshire Championship success earlier in the season with a silver medal at the Northern Athletics Championship in Liverpool at the weekend.

The best athletes from across the north were competing to become northern champion and Smith was running in the Boys Under-15 3,000 metres race.

He was beaten by the Cumbrian winner Fraser Sproul, but there was less than a second between them. It was a real battle between the two county champions.

The South Craven School pupil finished in nine minutes and 21 seconds, improving on his Yorkshire Championship win at Cudworth by over 25 seconds.

In an impressive year for the youngster, he also became the Yorkshire U15 Boys fell champion at Holmfirth in May, securing the title with two races still to go.