THE second fixture of the Brooks Westward Cross Country League moved to Newquay with strong entries from Tavistock athletes of all ages.

The day started with the combined U17s men, ladies and senior/veteran ladies race over nearly 6K. Heather Fell showed her usual strength to finish a fine sixth lady with Caroline Steven in 14th and also second in her V40 age group in both Westward League and Cornish Championships. U17s Alice Rogers was third and final team scorer in 28th but more importantly fifth in the Cornish Championships, ahead of Kate Rogers in 48th, giving the team fifth place.

The U17s men took second place and also moved to second overall in the championship. The counting runners were evenly matched, with Harrison Baker, Dean Smith and James Best taking positions 10-12, covered by only 30 seconds. Close behind was Josh Steven in 15th. The U13s races followed, with Harry Herdman taking 13th position and debutant Billy Matthews entering the league with a sound 18th place in the boys race. In the girls race, Jasmin Gray's fifth place moved her up to fourth in the overall championship while another debutant, Molly Rickwood showed promise for the future with a creditable 12th. With larger field than normal due to the Cornish Championships, the U11s development races were run separately for the first time. Jenny Milburn continued to demonstrate the ability which gave her such a good track season earlier in the year by finishing fourth in the girls event, with Lucy Steven finishing 40th in her first effort. The sole representative in the boys race was Jude White who ran well to take 12th in a field of 35 runners. The fourth member of the Steven family to represent Tavistock on the day was U15s girl Yasmin, who, in her first race of the season, took 17th place.

The U15 boys team made it two out of two in the team championships, again defeating closest rivals Cornwall AC. Sam Lane DeCourtin took a second consecutive third place but had the consolation of a silver medal in the county race. Jordan Channon continued to compete strongly with boys at least 12 months older to take fourth spot, also for the second time. The team was completed by the returning Pete Jarman who took a fighting 12th.

For the final event of the day, a field of more than 130 senior and veteran men fought out a hard and hilly battle over nearly 10K. Despite finishing in sixth place in a super-fast inaugural Plymouth 10 K earlier in the day, top Tavy runner Jim Cole made his way to Newquay to represent his club in the afternoon. He demonstrate his strength by moving through the field after a careful start to eventually take eight and only drop to third overall position in the Championship.

Further back, the Tavistock Veterans again formed the bulk of the team. Richard Drage judged his pace much better than his team-mates to finish in a super 21st place and take victory in the V50 age group. Despite his eventual 35th place, Tony Symons took second in the same category. Next finisher was V50 Martin Exley in 46th to complete Tavistock's dominance of the category, but more importantly, taking the Cornish crown for the age group.

Final counter for the team was Chris Champion in 50th, giving Tavistock fifth team and fourth in the championship overall. The four veterans were again first team and extended their lead in this competition. Senior debutant Christian Brown took 76th, ahead of the V60 trio of Bob Chapman 106th, Mike Erith 119th and Robin Musgrave 123rd.

The positions of those Tavistock runners entering the Cornish Championships were not available at time of going to press.