TWO of Wharfedale's most talented young orienteers have been impressing on the international stage.

Laura King and Lucy Haines, both 17, competed for Great Britain in the Junior European Cup at Scotland and followed up by running for England in the Junior Home Internationals at Hexham where they were joined by their Airienteers colleague Evie Conway.

The Junior European Cup involved three days of races with teams representing 16 countries taking part.

The first event was sprint orienteering around the campus of Stirling University where the course included parkland, building complexes and other man-made features.

Sprint courses are short with lots of controls to find in the correct order. The racing is fast and furious with positions separated by seconds.

Course planners often add loops and artificial barriers to challenge runners and make route choice even harder.

King had a fantastic run to come fourth in a field of 43 with a Russian athlete denying her a medal place by just one second.

In the dense Scottish forest near Aberfoyle the Scandinavians and Swiss excelled but the GB team enjoyed strong runs in the relay event and long races to come fourth overall.

The Ilkley Grammar School duo helped England regain the Junior Home International title from Scotland at Simonside near Rothbury, Northumberland.

King was second and Haines came fifth in the W18 class, while Conway – a student at Prince Henry's Grammar School, Otley – showed speed and clean navigation to take second place in the W14 race.

Matthew Hall, also a student at Ilkley Grammar School, joined King, Haines and Conway in the Yorkshire & Humberside team that contested the junior Inter Regional Orienteering Championships.

The event was held in forest close to Balmoral and all four athletes gained valuable team points in the individual race.

On the last leg of the relay event near Aberdeen, King had a storming run amidst complex sand dunes to pull Yorkshire's second women's team up from seventh to second place. Yorkshire came third overall behind Scotland and the North West in the 12-team event.