The 2016 North West Counties relays combining the Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside championships were held on the undulating trails in Cheshire’s Delamere Forest. On a warm day, Preston Harriers were well represented, winning the Lancashire championship in all but one of the categories entered. The under 13 girls team of Faye Houghton, Scarlett Sutton and Emily Mayson winning the Lancashire title while Grace Brown and Emily Reynolds also ran. The under 13 boys A team of Ethan Warren, Tom Durney and Thomas Barnes took the championship while also being the fastest team out of the four counties. Ben Withers also ran and all four were among the fastest five times run by Lancashire runners.

In the under 15 girls category, Preston’s A team of Darcey Lonsdale, Annabel Duffy and Lucy Treaddell took the Lancashire title and third overall while the B team of Alissa Darbyshire, Caitlyn Preddy and Sophie Reid took second place in Lancashire. A further county title went to the under 15 boys A team of Isaac Sharples, Benjamin Preddy and Thomas Roberts, with Preddy running the second fastest of all under 15 runners. The B team of Matthew Fazakerley, Liam Blackwell and Euan Marsden took third in Lancashire.
The under 17 ladies added to the Harriers’ collection of championships with the A team of Ella Moulding, Blythe Fourie and Charlotte Crook winning the title and second overall, while the B team of Eleanor Ward, Tegan Macuras and Charlotte Morris took third in Lancashire. The under 17 men’s Lancashire title was also taken by Preston’s A team in second overall with Nathan Dunn, Adam Roberts and Dean Tierney all running while Matias Grixti, Niall Higham and Byron Sowerby made up the B team.
Preston had four teams competing in the senior ladies event with Katey Foster, Emma Essex-Crosby and Loy Kalasiram making up the highest placed of the Harriers’ teams in fifth in the county. Victoria Cowling, Vicki Sherrington and Jenny Wren were seventh. Sue Wickham, Helen Boyer, Kari Edwards, Mel Howarth, Judith Deakin and Adela Nuttall also ran.
The senior men’s A team of Patrick Dever, Chris Durney, Jake Lonsdale and Andy Benson won the Lancashire title in third overall with Dever running the second fastest leg of all. The B team including Andy Grimshaw, Richard Smith, Neil McDonald and Lee Foley took seventh in the county while Stephen Bonsu and Alan Appleby also ran.