SEVENTEEN hardy Tavistock Athletic Club Junior Athletes made the trip to a muddy and difficult Devon Schools’ Cross Country championships course at Stover School, Newton Abbot on Saturday.

Sixteen of the athletes were representing West Devon (Plymouth and West Devon Schools) and one athlete from Okehampton College was running for East Devon.

The minor girls’ race was first with Alice Bickley coming in 19th and Persephone Sparrow 27th, out of 57 participants. In the minor boys’ race Oliver Woodmason came in eighth and Joe Dix, Dan Luckham, Fredddie Fuller and Evan Ord, all of Tavistock College, were 14th, 15th, 52nd and 53rd respectively.

In the junior girls Natasha Farrington ran an excellent race, caming in second place and received a silver medal. Jenny Milburn was seventh and Charlotte Harris 37th.

Emma Ryder was 12th in the intermediate girls’ event and Tom Brew eighth in the intermediate boys.

The penultimate race was senior girls in which Vicky Moore was ninth, Mollie Rickwood 18th and Jenny Sabine 19th. Finally in the senior boys Will Dax just missed out on a medal, taking fourth place.

Some of these athletes will now go on to the South West Championships at Cheltenham on Saturday, February 7, hopefully joined by Josh Blake who could not compete at Stover due to injury.