St Albans Athletic Club had another stong showing at the latest round of the Chiltern Cross Country League in Keysoe, Bedfordshire.

The U11 boys’ team finished third on the day, leaving them just 23 points behind Chiltern Harriers overall with just one round to go.

Alex McDonald, Oscar Loveday and Pedro Gomez-Jones were the first scoring athletes.

The U11 girls were led home by debutant Hannah Read of Abbey Primary School in an impressive 12th place.

Keira Stern returned to racing after her bronze medal at the county championship with the same determination, finishing third and leading a team of nine in the U15 race to a similar third position.

Niamh Gallagher and another debutant, Eva Ilari, were the next scorers for the club.

The U15 boys were represented by Scott Brice, Jack Dickinson, Thomas Cooper and James Allison.

The U13 boys also came home third in the team competition, Robert Quigley leading them home with a fourth place individually.

It keeps things tight in the league standings overall with Milton Keynes just three points behind.

Sam Hicks, Tommy Wilson, Tom Gaunce, Alex Fine and Zachery Segal all had excellent races.

In the U13 girls’ race, Antonia Jubb still managed to finish 10th despite a plunge into the icy water of the equestrian centre’s water jump.

Oliver Davis finished 10th for the U17 men, Jed Lumb and Cameron Clark making up the Verulam School trio. The team lie fourth overall ahead of the final round.

The U17/20 ladies finished in third spot with Jess Laitner coming home 13th.

In the senior men’s race Jamie Abbiss and Ed Anders were the first scorers for the Striders team, with Anders setting a 10km PB on mud.

The club’s next fixture is the South of England Championships at Parliament Hill, Hampstead Heath, on January 28.