TAVISTOCK Athletic Club continued their bid for glory in the second Brooks Westward Cross Country League fixture of this season.

With an under strength men's team due to other commitments from some of its top runners, this race had the potential to derail the excellent start from the initial race in Plymouth in October.

A late venue change and very heavy overnight rain meant the course at Penair School in St Austell was a bit of an unknown quantity. Sodden conditions in the main field were complemented with deep mud on the many turns , making the flat course far trickier than expected.

First up were the senior ladies, hoping to improve on their fourth place in race one. Despite only being able to cycle in the weeks preceeding, Jo Meek flew off the start line and rarely looked likely to be beaten, finishing a comfortable 18 seconds in front.

With the U17's covering the same course , international U17 Annabel Gummow proved too strong for Jo. After a cautious start, Olympian Heather Fell worked her way through the field and back towards form with a top ten position. U17 Rebecca Windemer's gutsy 26th place gained the team an overall third, enabling them to move into third in the season's standings.

With Richard Drage representing England in the Home Countries International, and Pete Freedman and Martin Exley also unavailable, the pressure was on the remaining members of the men's squad to rise to the occasion.

Jim Cole was to lead the way for the team.

In a stirring battle Jim took the fight to South West rival Tom Merson straight from the gun. With the rest of the field fading, Merson hung desperately to the back of Cole as he tested him again and again over the opening four miles. As the race progressed, Merson gradually overhauled his rival, pulling clear by the finish. Cole's second place, more than 40 seconds clear of third, means that he easily tops the championship after two races.

Once again the second Tavistock finisher, this time in overall sixth place, was outstanding U20 talent Tom Gill, in his first senior season since winning U17 gold last year. A thrilling battle between the next two Tavistock athletes ended in a narrow advantage for in-form Tony Symons after changing places more than once with team-mate Chris Champion.

By pushing each other to achieve their respective 19th and 21st, the veteran pair formed the basis for an unexpected victory for the team.

Fifth and final counter proved to be Neil Barkell who moved steadily through to an excellent 28th place, giving a narrow one point win over Exeter Harriers, but a more significant 31 point margin over biggest rivals Cornwall AC.

Strong runs from veterans Nigel Jenkins 34th and Steve Groombridge 38th meant the veteran team victory for Cornwall AC was restricted to only ten points despite missing Drage and Exley.

The remaining squad members also raised their performances from the previous race and featured more personal battles, between Charlie Lloyd 50th and Nigel Ward in 51st, Matt McNamara-Waddington 73rd, Owen Drage 74th and Tim Exley 76th.

With Reuben Grice in 89th and Richard Best in 95th completing their finishers, the day proved a great success for the team.

The action now moves to the third fixture at Exeter on December 6, when Tavistock will hope that their returning stars will be able to build on their lead in the league as well as retain their county crown in a race which also incorporates the Devon Championships.