Stratford AC enjoyed an encouraging start to the West Midlands Young Athlete Cross Country League season, with more than 40 young athletes competing at Walsall Arboretum.

Held in warm sunshine, the opening fixture produced a series of impressive individual and team performances, with several athletes making their debuts in new age groups.

The day began with the combined under-18 men’s and women’s 5k races, a change to the format used in previous seasons.

Stratford’s Will Hovell set the early pace in an exciting contest in which the lead changed hands several times, with teammate Joel Ledgard also showing courage by taking the initiative midway through the race.

George Harradence, of RSCAC, won the men's race in 15mins 19secs, while Zara Bratt, of City of Stoke AC, took the women's victory in 16:35.

Hovell led Stratford home in eighth place in 16:13, followed by Ledgard in 18th (16:43), Arthur Williamson in 21st (16:49) and Aran Cooper in 50th (20:05).

Jemimah Chaudhry made an encouraging debut in the women's race, finishing 29th in 22:24, with Rachel Sparrow 33rd in 23:12.

There were no Stratford competitors in the new 1,600m under-10 races, which were won by Ralf Humpherson, of RSCAC, in 5:56 and Louisa Evans, of Wolves and Bilston AC, in 6:31.

The under-12 boys’ 2k attracted the largest field of the day, with 115 athletes taking part. Cole Pickett, of RSCAC, claimed victory in 6:18, while Stratford’s Sebastian Grigg and Elliot Rowlands both made promising debuts, finishing 19th in 6:58 and 30th in 7:10 respectively.

Stratford’s standout performance came in the under-12 girls’ race, where Nell Wheeler produced an outstanding run to take victory in 6:59.

Teammate Olivia Hunt followed closely behind in fourth place in 7:05, while Florence Andrews finished 18th in 7:30 to complete an excellent team performance. Daisy Mason also made a positive debut, taking 44th place in 8:11, while Ella Mae Williams finished 76th in 9:12.

The under-16 boys’ 4k saw Stratford schoolboy Zakariya Rush, representing Solihull and Small Heath AC, secure a convincing victory in 12:04.

Stratford’s Charlie Cassells made an excellent debut in the age group, finishing 12th in 13:15 after pushing himself hard while running between the leading runners and the chasing pack.

Harry Coulson took 29th place in 13:55, followed by Alistair Durance in 44th (14:26), Toby Ledgard in 45th (14:28) and Tom Yates in 49th (14:45). Yates twisted his ankle on the turn into the finishing straight but showed determination to complete the course.

Stratford also fielded a strong team of 10 athletes in the under-14 girls’ 3K, won by Alba Jones, of Wolves and Bilston AC, in 10:38.

Poppy West led the Stratford contingent home in 26th place in 12:21, followed by Annabel Ryan-Gill in 29th (12:26), Saskia Atkins in 30th (12:27), Marnie Short in 41st (12:54), Elsie Pipitone in 49th (13:16) and Florence Castle in 52nd (13:20).

Florence Rowlands finished 86th in 14:13, just ahead of Rose Jackson in 88th (14:18), with Imogen Jolly 91st in 14:34 and Lara Ryan-Gill completing the team in 96th place in 14:51.

The under-14 boys’ 3k attracted another large field, with 108 athletes competing. Sebastian Buxton, of City of Stoke AC, won convincingly in 9:31.

Nicholas Durrance led Stratford home with an excellent 13th-place finish in 10:57 on his debut. Dexter Sharpe followed in 34th (11:33), with Harry Woolner 42nd (11:45). Jamie Cassells and Simon Zawada finished together in 49th and 50th places respectively, both recording 11:56.

Rafe White took 53rd place in 12:04 despite being struck painfully by a competitor's elbow on the start line, while Henry Cotton finished 68th in 12:31 to round off another strong team effort.

The under-16 girls’ 4k proved a closely fought contest, with just six seconds separating the first three finishers. Taylor Riches, of Birchfield Harriers, took victory in 13:54.

Amelie Marshall was Stratford’s leading finisher in 18th place in 15:43. Jasmine Mothershaw and Emily Lambert supported each other well to finish 53rd in 16:59 and 55th in 17:02 respectively, while Maggie Silvers took 62nd place in 17:12.

Bethany Ryan-Gill completed her debut with a resilient run to finish 89th in 20:56.