Wigginton schoolboy Neil Cordell won the under-13 boys' squash crown in the Yorkshire Closed championship staged at Hull and East Riding Squash Club.

Twelve-year-old Neil, who is ranked number two in England at under-13, dominated the event to the extent he dropped only eight points in four matches.

That enabled him to retain the title he first won as an 11-year-old.

The Joseph Rowntree School pupil who has been selected for a National squad to be held at Lilleshall this weekend now has his sights set on the British Closed Championships at Pontefract SC on October 25-28.

Other locals who put in good performances were Sam Burton (York), 13th in the under-11 event, and Tom Pepper and Jack Unsworth (both Wigginton) who came fifth and ninth respectively at under-11.

There was a boost too for eight-year-old James Woodworth who came 11th in the under-11 event. Chris Ruslin, aged 11 of York RI, was eighth in the under-13 event.

At Pontefract SC, where the girls' events were held, Kathryn Cordell celebrated her 15th birthday, an age which prevented her playing at under-15 level.

But she put in a creditable performance in finishing fourth amid the under-17s.

Kathryn, who had achieved a national ranking of four at under-15 level, now also looks forward to the British closed at Pontefract.

Other local girls taking part were 13-year-old Stephanie Patterson (Wigginton), who found the competition a little tough in her first major tournament, and ten-year-old Helen Bramma (York RI), who did extremely well to be runner-up in the plate in the under-13 age group.

Updated: 11:46 Wednesday, October 03, 2001