THE fourth match of the Brooks Westward League was held in ideal conditions at Bideford on Sunday. Tavistock Athletic Club took a strong contingent as they competed to retain their league champions status in the mens' category from a strong Bideford team. In the senior ladies it was Tavistock lady Jo Kelsey who stole the show with an impressive solo run to dominate the race. Next home for Tavistock was Heather Fell with an impressive 11th place and the fast improving Karole Champion was 44th. The U17 girls' race is combined with the ladies and two town girls, Sarah Palmer and Sam Fraser, finished, to give them great positions in the U17 category. Before the race Palmer was second and Fraser seventh in the league. In the U13 girls Tavistock had the in-form Claire Fraser and Sarah Hornby racing. Fraser had an excellent race and finished third after a disputed finishing line tussle with Penair School's Davis. Hornby finished eighth. This leaves Fraser in bronze medal place in the league. The U13 boys had the trio of Ben Brown, ninth, Sam Eaton, 10, and Dan Quick, 12, for a good solid team performance – with the boys currently second in the league behind Penair. U15 girl Rebecca Windemer, who has been selected for Devon in the Inter Counties Championships in Nottingham, finished fourth and was supported by Laura Aspen in eighth. In the U15 boys, Tavistock, who are second in the league, saw Nick Champion, in sixth place, Matt McNamara-Waddington, eighth, Sam Straughn, 12, and Owen Drage, 21. The final race of the day was the senior mens. Tavistock had 13 athletes racing – but with Freedman out with injury and Exley suffering from a heavy cold it was going to be a tough day. But Wiltshire led the team home with an excellent third, backed by Cole, 5, Drage, 9,Champion, 18, and Exley, 20. The team is now starting to put pressure upon Bideford's lead in the league. The Tavistock AC supporting athletes did an excellent job in maximising points and making Bideford and Cornwall AC scores go out - those Tavistock athletes were Shaddick, 21, Symmons, 22, Eastaugh, 26, Holland, 27, Sturtidge, 35, Isaacs, 55, Musgrave, 58, and Lake, 77. The club's next encounter will be at Bovey Tracey on February 11.
