A NUMBER of Portland Little Athletics participants recently competed in Melbourne as part of the State Cross-Country Championships with some strong results across the board.

One of the top runs came from Ella Nelson who ran in the under-9 girls 1500m run and finished in the top eight of the state in a field of 56 competitors.

Oliver Ward also finished eighth in the boys under-16 3000m event.

Other runners included Kiran Sonti (under-10) as well as under-10 girls competitors Lucy Colley and Anikah McDonald.

Quinn Ward hit the track in the under-14 run and Arlo Ward ran in the under-9 age group.

The competitors ran through the scenic track of Lake Dewar with the under-9 and under-10 groups running 1.5km, the under-11 and under-12s taking on 2km and runners under-13 and above completing 3km.