THE second round of this season's Brooks Westward Cross Country League saw Tavistock athletes competing at Newquay in a competition which also included the Cornwall County Championships.

For those Tavistock athletes who met the qualifications, there was the added incentive of county medals and representative places at next year's national event, as well as the regular Westward League championship points.

Soft underfoot conditions were made more challenging by frequent heavy showers as races started with U17 men and women and senior women over a 5,400m course. First home for Tavistock was U17 Will Dax who ran aggressively from the start to take a fine third, Johannis Clifford-Flower followed in fifth with Josh Blake taking seventh. The Tavistock team easily came out top to extend their lead in the U17 men's championship. Team-mate Henry Ware finished in 28th overall and Charlie Shipton ran into 43rd overall.

First U17 lady finisher was Tess Masselink, who showed a clean pair of heels to all but one of her Cornish challengers to take county silver and 23rd overall. She was supported in the team event by Jodie Stacey in 80th, Beth Whatmore in 90th and Jennifer Sabine in 114th.

The senior ladies enjoyed higher finishes across the board. They were led home by Caroline Steven, whose continued return to form after a long injury deservedly earned her 55th. She was followed by Tracy-Anne Cole in 81st. Next finisher was Lisa Mabey in 97th with another Tavistock county medallist, Kate Rogers in 99th running herself into silver in the over-55 category. The improvement continued with Donna Stacey 119th, Anne-Marie Chater 124th, Linda Houchin 126th, Claire Pitcher 140th, Donna Carpenter 141st and the marvellous super-veteran Anne Woodhouse in 149th.

Tavistock were well represented in race two for U13 girls. Natasha Farrington ran superbly to take third, improving by two places on the previous race. She was ably supported by Jenny Milburn 12th, Tilly McDowell 13th and Lucy Steven 26th. Tilly earned county selection in an impressive first season in this age-group.

Charlie Shipton was the sole representative in the U13 boys event, in 26th place and similarly, Emma Luckham took 16th in the U11 girls.

The U11 boys turned out in force for their 2000m race with some great performances all round. First finisher was James Lamb in an excellent eighth place, closely followed in a large field by Joe Dix 10th, Dan Luckham 12th, Josh Craddock 19th, Evan Ord 26th and Oliver Hopper 36th.

In the U15 girls, Emma Ryder ran strongly all the way round the 4km course to take a good 17th position in her first race of the season.

Events were concluded with the senior men's race over the longest distance of 9.1 km, with 170 plus competitors and run at a blistering pace. Tavistock's three main contenders formed the hub of an early chasing group behind the leading six runners. As the race progressed, Jim Cole remained in touch with Neil Barkell and Sam Lane DeCourtin slipping back slightly. Cole eventually secured seventh, Barkell took a best-ever 12th and Lane DeCourtin's 21st was enough to win county gold in the U20 category.

In the veteran battle, Martin Exley-Deane's 48th place secured him county silver at over-50 and colleague Steve Watson's 87th place completed the Tavistock team score. Over-50 Richard Best ran well to make the top 100 in 96th with Dave Harris in 129th, debutant Chris Mabey in 135th, Gary Chater 140th, Bob Chapman 141st, Jason Shipton 145th, Dave Whitworth 166th and Adrian Pitcher in 167th.