THERE may not have been any victories for athletes from south of the county at the third round of the Essex Cross-Country League at Braintree, but there were plenty of impressive performances.

With this the final cross-country for most of the runners before the county championships in the first week of January, athletes tested their form over a tough and boggy course.

For the elite junior runners it was also a tune-up for this weekend’s Southern Intercounties Championships in Oxford where they will be wearing the red of Essex.

Harry Parker, of Thurrock Harriers, is one of those who will be on Essex duty and he showed his form by finishing second in the under-13 boys race.

He also led his team that included Ben Prior (13th), Finley Lowe (14th) and Mason Hambleton (28th) to second overall.

Two young Basildon runners finished well in the top 10 – Luke Savage in sixth and Daniel Houchell in seventh – while Southend AC’s Joe Hudson was 10th.

Hudson was followed in by Sam Wheatley (16th), Ethan Stoner (44th) and George Hay (41st) as the Seasiders team were third.

Benfleet RC’s Sinead Clark, who won the last round at Chelmsford, was third in the under-15 girls race which was won by the returning Khai Mhlanga of Chelmsford.

Joanna Rimmington (Southend AC) ran well again for fourth place and helped her team of Meghan Samuels (12th), Juliette Le Mare (23rd) and Iona Doyle (24th) to second.

Thurrock Harriers’ Amber Pullinger was eighth and Basildon’s Niamh Smith 10th.

Basildon AC’s Isobel Ives continued her good cross-country form with a third place in the under-17/20 women’s race and helped her team to second place.

Ives was joined in the scoring team by Jemima Walker, who ran strongly for seventh, Emily Bullis (14th) and Gemma Archer-Haley (19th).

Benfleet’s Victoria Hiscock finished in eighth place.

Basildon AC dominated the under-17 men’s race, led by George Elliott who had his best run of the winter to finish in third place.

Max Jones and Christian Gray both ran well to finish in fourth and fifth places respectively while Daniel Ashley rounded out the team in 14th.

Southend AC’s Adam Jordan finished sixth overall after being pipped on the line for fifth by Gray.

Toby Wright was fourth for Southend in the under-15 boys race, helping his team into second place overall.

Behind Wright came Sam Norris, in a fine seventh place, Thomas Stuttle in 12th and Matthew Norris in 21st.

Benfleet RC’s Rushwan Lewis ran strongly for sixth place.

The highest placed south Essex finisher in the under-13 girls race was Southend AC’s Felicity Galbally in 11th.

In the senior races, there was a good result for Basildon AC’s Grant Webb in the men’s race who showed strongly to finish seventh overall.