AT a combined Cornwall Country Cross Country Championships and Brooks Westward League athletes from Tavistock Athletic Club picked up many top honours.

Over a tough course, made more difficult by heavy rain on the previous days, the competition opened with a large race featuring U17 men and ladies and also the senior ladies. Running for Tavistock, Sam Lane De Courtin was already the defending Cornish champion. Sam took an early lead over the 6K route leaving his Cornish rivals far behind and only tracked by two athletes from Exeter. As he faded, the Exeter runners moved ahead but Sam remained in control of his Cornish rivals, retaining his county crown by over a minute.

The U17s ladies championship was much closer in the early stages, with Tavistock's Tess Masselink gaining on her main rival from Cornwall AC before surging past to dominate the latter part of the race and take her first county title by a superb 40 seconds.

In the senior ladies race, Caroline Steven returned from injury to finish in the top 10 of the Cornish contingent, which is enough to book her a county place at the national championships, the inter-counties, in March.

U11s races produced further fine results, with Tilly McDowell finishing fourth and Tayla James 12th of the Cornish entrants in the girls event and Leighton Howe sixth in the boys race.

In the U15 girls, last year's U13s champion, Sian Temple of Tavistock was giving over 12 months to most of her rivals. She forced the early pace alongside the only other runner but as they pulled clear of the rest, the elder girl from Cornwall AC was to prove a little too strong, leaving Sian to take a well deserved silver.

In the U15 boys, Charlie Shipton took a battling 10th place in his first full season for the club, earning him the right to represent Cornwall at national level in 2014.

Of the senior men, only Jason Shipton, who finished as 33rd Cornish runner, contested the county championships.

The Tavistock runners of Devon extraction will all feature in the next race in Exeter on December 1 which is also the Devon County Championships as they fight for their county honours on that day.