GEORGIA Bell was the standout runner among a string of strong performances for South Cumbrian clubs at the Mid Lancs Cross Country League meeting at Cuerden Valley Park.

The Barrow and Furness Striders youngster produced a winning run as athletes from Leven Valley AC and Glaxo Hoad Hill Harriers also impressed in the race south of Preston.

Bell stormed to victory in the under-11s girls race in a time of 6:34, nine seconds clear of her nearest rival, North Cumbria's Erin Stone.

Her feat was almost matched in the under-11s boys race by Leven Valley's Will McNally, who finished fourth in his category in 6:00.

A trio of South Cumbrian juniors produced notable performances in the under-13 girls run, with Leven Valley's Olesia Winder just beaten into second in a time of 12:50 – missing out on first by only five seconds.

Her team-mate Bethan Saunders finished 13th in 14:20, with Barrow's Laura Brown splitting the two in 11th, in a time of 14:05.

Barrow Striders' Greg Barnard-Mackenzie deserves praise for a 24th place finish in the under-13s boys race, recording a time of 15:37 among 58 finishers.

Representatives in the senior ladies race all ran creditable times, particularly Barrow's Jill Seddon, who clocked 26:14 to finish 24th in a field of 149.

There was little to separate the Furness teams in the team classification, with Hoad Hill, Striders and Leven Valley finishing 13th, 14th and 15th respectively.

The efforts of Alison Cooke, Stevie Barrow and Rachel Ashton brought Hoad Hill a welcome second-placed finish in the ladies over-55s category.

In the senior men's competition, Harriers produced commendable performances across the team to finish third in the overall classification. Dave Fulford (19th), Mark Bonner (23rd), Mark Tomkinson (33rd), Lee Winter (38th), Jeffrey Chadwick (41st) and Mark Lehrle (58th) led the way for the Ulverston club.

Better still, the combined results of Bonner, Tomkinson, Winter and Chadwick were enough to take Hoad Hill to victory in the veterans over 40s category.

Ryan Everett produced an impressive individual effort to take fourth in the under-20s category. The Leven Valley representative finished 22nd overall in a field of 233, completing the race in a time of 40:14.