Herts Phoenix runners Luke Dunham and Brett Rushman excel at UK Athletics Cross Challenge fixture in Liverpool

Luke Dunham came third in the under-17 race at a UK Athletics Cross Challenge fixture in Liverpool.

The Bishop’s Stortford High School student completed the extremely muddy 4.4km course in 14min 21sec, with just four seconds separating the top three.

The event doubled up as the European Cross Country Championship trials and thousands of athletes were battling to secure a place in the British team, although, as an under-17, Dunham was not in contention.

But his Herts Phoenix clubmate Brett Rushman, whose family home is just outside Stortford and often does the Grange Paddocks parkrun with his mum and Irish masters runner Deborah, did qualify.

The Birmingham University student came fourth to earn selection for the championships in Turkey in the under-23 age category.

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