THE MAXWELL brothers from Chippenham had double reason to celebrate after an exciting finale to the 2019-20 Gloucestershire Cross Country League season.

With team and individual medals at stake in the fourth and final race of the winter series, both Harry and Joshua were on the start line at Old Down Country Park, near Thornbury, on Sunday.

Looking determined not to let this opportunity slip from his grasp, Harry secured his second win from three starts to confirm the individual title with twin Joshua placing third on the day for sixth place overall.

With solid support from Josh Newton, the Team Bath boys also added the overall team title by 32 points from Cheltenham.

“The under 13 boys have had an excellent season finishing overall first with Harry Maxwell overall first as well,” said team manager Paul King.

Elsewhere, Dylan Stoneman clinched equal third overall after placing fourth in the final under 15 boys’ race and India Ibbotson was fourth in the under 17 women’s race.

The club’s senior men also enjoyed the final fixture as they succeeded in overturning a 36-point deficit behind the University of Bath squad, a deficit that even team manager and endurance coach Paul King admitted offered them only an ‘outside chance’ of success.

But fired up by the occasion the men responded in superb fashion to secure those silver medals behind runway winner’s Cheltenham & County Harriers.

Chippenham-based newcomer Aidan Daniel again impressed as he led the team home in fourth place to back up his third in the penultimate fixture and a 13th place earlier in the season to earn him third place overall with Bath University student Toby Garrick.

The Team Bath six of Daniel, Robert Eaton, Stephen Rose, Patrick Cobb, Chris Elmer and Mark Mackintosh not only over-turned that 36 points deficit but also put on another 23 on top to emphatically secure the silver medal.