The North East senior men’s team went into the record books by equalling Lancashire’s seven team victories in a row at the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships at Prestwold Hall on Saturday.
The victory was all the more impressive as they went into the 12k race, just outside Loughborough, without three of their top men.
Jack Martin, Dan Garbutt and Calum Johnson all pulled out at the 11th hour.
The North East packed their six men inside the first 49 to beat Surrey by 17 points.
The counting six were Jonathon Taylor in ninth, Carl Avery10th, Nick Swinburn 22nd, Phil Wylie 23rd, Greg Jayasuriya 47th, and Andy Burn 49th.
The fast-finishing Avery, Swinburn and Burn ensured the team victory by helping to overtake the Surrey points score in the closing stages.
But the awards did not stop there, as they also won the nine-to-score team race, with Dean Newton in 51st, Robert Balmbra 75th and Dan Jenkin 113th also playing their part.
Andy Vernon (Hampshire) took his fourth Inter-Counties gold in the race with an aggressive display of front running on the undulating parkland of the Prestwold Hall estate.
The North East’s senior women’s team finished fourth in their event, with Ashley Gibson the first counter in 18th.
Then came Rosie Smith in 20th, Helen Warburton 47th, Georgia Campbell 72nd, Rachel Lundgren 70th and Jane Hodgson 80th.