Hannah Viner defied blustery conditions to guide Highgate Harriers’ women’s team to victory in the second Metropolitan League meeting of the season at Stevenage.

The Under-20 starlet recorded a time of 22 minutes 39 seconds that was only bettered by Shaftesbury & Barnet’s Rachel Felton in a 188-strong women’s field.

Fellow Under-20 Harrier Harriet Brock also recorded a sub 23-minute time (22:56) while Over-40 runner Esther Evans rolled back the years with a tremendous run in 22:51.

Highgate outstripped 20 club rivals with a 304-point total tally, with Shaftesbury Barnet (285) and London Heathside (252) in second and third place respectively.

Shaftesbury Barnet (527) trail the high-flying Harriers (558) by 31 points with three races remaining, while the men’s team are still in pole position despite Serpentine RC reducing their lead to 84 points with victory in Hertfordshire.

Serpentine amassed an unrivalled 1093 points across all men’s categories, with Highgate (1014) and Woodford Green & Essex Ladies (973) also enjoying productive outings.

Highgate’s Shaun Dixon (25:46) crossed the line shortly after Shaftesbury’s junior international star Michael Calligari, while there were also notable times recorded by Ben Noad (26:35), Robert Wilson (27:34) and Andrew Lawrence (27:38).

The Harriers’ under-17 team also made up ground on league leaders Trent Park by finishing top of a 22-club field.

Terry Fawden (13:21) led on several occasions, but his eventual third-place finish still helped his team to accumulate 264 points – reducing the overall arrears by 11.

The Sinko-Uribe brothers Aurel and Abel contributed with fine times of 13:46 and 14:33 respectively, while Ben Hatch (14:18) and Alistair Sleeman (14:19) added further gloss to the margin of victory.

It would appear to be a two-horse race in this particular category, as Trent Park (512) and Highgate (504) created clear day-light between themselves and Ealing & Southall Harriers (435) in third.

In the Under-13 boys’ league, the Harriers currently lie in mid-table after Finlay Doyle’s fine run in 12:03 earned him 13th place out of 62.

Finlay Sleehan (13:03) and Manny Pigney (14:31) also completed the course, while Milly Dunne (14:56) was the sole Harrier in the under-13 girls’ race, finishing 35th in 14:56.

Highgate host the London Championships at Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday.