Near perfect conditions greeted a small but enthusiastic field at the annual AshColl Cross Country on Tuesday at the Ashburton Domain. There was good competition across all age groups and lots of support for the runners who were giving it their all.

The junior boys and girls' race was over 3km and the girls threw down the gauntlet from the start. Ella Pearson quickly took control of the race and by the second lap, Ella and Jessie Pitney had a commanding lead over the rest of the field. Ella ran a smooth, controlled race and continued to build her lead right to the finish.Junior Girls1st - Ella Pearson (12:51)2nd - Jessie Pitney3rd - Laura CameronJunior Boys1st - Ashton McGrath (14:19)2nd - Henry Wallis3rd - Matt PearceThe senior girls' race was also over 3km with the senior boys running 4km. For the girls, Aiden Elvines quickly found the front but was shadowed by Grace Adams for much of the race. The top 2 finishers for the boys were never in doubt but the order was never certain until the final straight. Toby Woolf and Ted Yee ran strongly from the start finishing just a second apart.Senior Girls1st - Aidan Elvines (15:16)2nd - Grace Adams3rd - Sierra ChambersSenior Boys1st - Toby Woolf (13.28)2nd - Ted Yee3rd - Liam Sullivan

Aoraki Cross Country is the next event on the calendar for our runners so stay tuned to see how our best stack up with the rest from our region.