The first cross-country event of the season was a true test for Helensburgh AAC’s young athletes as they competed in the West District cross-country relays in Kilmarnock.

Plenty of rain made for very wet and heavy conditions, and though Helensburgh’s two teams didn’t finish on the podium, all the athletes performed well against strong opposition.

The girls’ team of U13 Molly Ferguson, U15 Maddie Rooney and U17 Jenny Scott, finished half way up the field of nearly 50 teams. Eva Rooney and Rowan Mair also ran on the day.

The boys’ teams of William Mackay and Matthew Gall (U13) and William Scott (U15), faced a tough battle against teams including U17 athletes, but they competed well in the testing conditions, with Matthew posting the fastest HAAC time of the day in 10 minutes and 40 seconds.

READ MORE: Young Helensburgh athletes blow away the opposition in final summer event

The following weekend Helensburgh had four mixed age group teams in Dumbarton AAA’s cross-country relays at Balloch Park, with each runner completing a 2.5km lap.

The girls’ team of Molly Ferguson, Maddie Rooney and Katie Flett took the bronze medals in third place, with Molly second in her U13 age group leg and Maddie third in the U15s.

The second girls’ team of Catriona McAllister, Rowan Mair and Jenny Scott were placed seventh, with Jenny fourth quickest in her U17 age group.

Matthew Gall, William Scott and Matthew Cameron narrowly missed out on the boys’ bronze medal, finishing fourth as a team and placing fifth, seventh and sixth respectively in their age groups.

Two other teams also competed made up from a combination of age and gender categories and all runners performed well on the day: Harris Maclean, William Mackay and Ellie Johnstone; and Ruairidh Mair, Tom McClearn and Robbie Barbour.

READ MORE: Strong showing from Helensburgh team at cross-country championships

There was no relay event for the U11 age group, who competed over a standard cross-country course of 1.5km. Well done to the following athletes, some of whom were competing at their first competitions: Angus Ritchie, Lewis Cameron, Coll Paterson, Emily Ferguson, Libby MacLean and Claire Wilson.

Finally, a number of HAAC athletes represented the club at the Scottish National Cross-Country Relays in Cumbernauld.

The girls’ team of Molly Ferguson (U13), Maddie Rooney (U15) and Katie Flett (U17) performed well against the strong competition and finished mid-field of the 100 teams competing.

The boys’ team was unable to field an under 17 runner, so the team did well to hold their own against the older runners, with Matthew Gall (U13) and Matthew Cameron and Cameron Williams (U15), representing the club well.

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