SKYRAC AC’s under-17 men’s team took top honours with a one-two finish at the first race in this year’s West Yorkshire Cross Country League at Cliffe Castle park in Keighley.

Despite the heavy rain in recent weeks, the weather stayed dry and course was not quite the usual mud bath it can be, leading to some fast times.

Skyrac’s Theo Jacques won the under-17 men’s race around a 5.3km course in 17.08 followed by clubmate Joe Sherman in second in 17.27.

Joe Boyle crossed the line 21st in 20.08 to put Skyrac’s under-17 team at the top of the league.

The under-11 Skyrac boys also performed well around a 1.6km course, with Jacob Palmer finishing fourth in 5.47 and Ben Oates in sixth in 5.55 to help the team to second place. Other Skyrac under-11 boys to finish were James McLarnon (19th in 6.10) and Freddie Firth (39th in 6.51). The under-15 girls’ team is also in second place after one race, with Charlotte Rawstron finishing fourth in 14.19 and Lotty Philipson 7th in 14.40 on the 3.7km course.

Amelie Stevens (18th in 15.40) and Kaitlyn Townend (20th in 15.53) also ran well in the under-15s category.

In the other junior races, Abigail Jones finished 10th in 6.24 and Jessica Porteous finished 43rd in 7.29 in the under-11 girls category, while on the 2.9km under-13s course Eduardo Cesar De Sa finished 38th in 13.00 for the boys and Matilda Jacques came 29th in 13.57 for the girls.

In the senior ladies race around a 5.3km course, Charlotte Slack was first home for Skyrac in 11th place in 20.28.

Other senior ladies finishers for Skyrac were Amy Hartley (36th in 22.32), Jenny Beaumont (56th in 24.19), Harriet Griggs (61st in 24.40), Arifa Chakera (64th in 24.46) and Claire Shepherd (82nd in 27.02). The team is currently in seventh place.

In the senior men’s race around a 7.7km course, Chris Thornton was the first Skyrac runner home in 21st place in 26.49.

Andy McCue finished fifth in the male 45 age category and 35th overall in 27.56, followed by Chris Dove (36th in 28.00), Mark Beaumont (69th in 30.02) and Nuno Cesar De Sa (113th in 33.06).

In the two-mile Kirkstall Abbey 7 junior race the previous week, Skyrac’s Kaitlyn Townend won the female junior race in 13.50, some two and a half minutes ahead of the second placed girl.