DESPITE inclement weather conditions and a challenging course, Tavistock Athletic Club added to their domination of the season?s Devon team race competitions on Sunday at Brixham. A huge turnout of Tavistock Senior and Veteran athletes for the Brixham 10K Race and Ross Shield competitions produced deserved results for club runners. The Brixham race also incorporated the competition for the Ross Shield, one of the oldest club trophies in the county. Competed for annually since 1921, the enormous shield is presented to the Devon Road Race Team champions ? the title had eluded the Tavistock Club over its 21-year existence. With six runners from each club to count for the prize, strength in depth was essential. The Tavistock squad set their stall out straight from the gun, with their top six runners all showing strongly among the early pacesetters, letting main rivals Torbay, South Devon, and South West Roadrunners know they would have to produce something special to claim the trophy. After Tavistock?s Ross Shaddick chased the leader and eventual winner, Tipton Harrier Ashley Humphries, for the first two kilometres, Jim Cole took up the Tavistock challenge. Behind the front battle, the other four members of the Tavistock sextet of Martin Exley, Chris Champion, Adam Holland and Tony Symons worked tirelessly within the chasing pack. Despite the best efforts of the Torbay team, all the Tavistock squad finished within the top 17 places for a convincing total, with the final Torbay runner only managing 28th place. Final finishing positions: 2nd Jim Cole, 3rd Ross Shaddick, 6th Martin Exley, 10th Chris Champion, 13th Adam Holland, 17th Tony Symons. The Ross Shield is added to the Westward Cross Country League and the County Cross Country Championship to top a fabulous 2006 for the men?s teams. The Tavistock ladies? team of Nicole Heryet, Pat Hewitt and Kate Batt ran superbly to take third place in the Ladies? Shield. In the Veterans category, Paul Sturtridge?s 24th place overall added to the trio of Exley, Champion and Symons, meant another championship was added to the Westward League Veterans? title. From the Brixham 10K race itself, there was a futher cascade of trophies for the club. With a total of eleven runners in the top 50, the haul included wins for Exley (Veteran 45-49 ), Sturtridge (Veteran 50-55) men?s senior team (under 40) of Cole, Shaddick, Holland and Andrew Vernon. The men?s over 40 teams finished in 1st, 4th and 7th places.
