CITY of Plymouth’s Hannah Blair retained her Devon cross country title on Sunday at Exeter Arena.
Blair took victory in the senior women’s race, finishing nearly a minute ahead of Erme Valley Harriers’ Emma Lake, who was second, and Martha Neal, who was third.
Tavistock’s Samantha Lake was sixth and City of Plymouth runner Paula Simson was seventh.
Tavistock Athletic Club enjoyed a good day at Exeter, winning five individual Devon medals and claiming a team title.
Their team success came in the under-13 boys’ event, where they had five runners finish in the Devon top 12.
Euan Botham took silver in that race, finishing just seven seconds behind North Devon’s Adam Leworthy, who won in nine minutes and 48 seconds.
Botham’s run was backed up by team-mates William Russell (sixth), Dan Luckham (eighth), Joe Dix (ninth) and James Lamb (12th).
Oliver Smart also took silver in the Devon under-15 boys’ race, finishing behind North Devon’s Hamish James.
Another Tavistock county silver medallist was Natasha Farrington, who had a good run in the under-15 girls’ race, which was won by English Schools’ 800m champion Molly Canham of Exeter Harriers. Their pair had come first and second last year also.
Tavistock’s Jennifer Sabine and Will Dax won county bronze medals in the under-20 age group.
For the second year running, the men’s under-20 title went to Axe’s Jake Smith, with Erme Valley Harriers’ Owen Parkin taking second. Exeter’s Madeleine Roche took the under-20 women’s county crown.
The under-17 girls’ county gold medal went to North Devon’s Eevee-May Banbury, while Exeter’s Finlay McLear took the under-17 boys’ title.
Honiton’s Phoebe Clark won the under-13 girls’ race, with Erme Valley’s Olivia Travers sixth and Tavistock’s Kristina Cade and Isabella Page seventh and eighth.
The senior men’s county event was a real battle with North Devon’s Phil Norman seeing off the challenge of Bideford’s Ronnie Richmond and Plymouth-based Derby runner Johnny Gilby.
Norman clocked 27.23, with Richmond finishing in 27.31 and Gilby 27.37.
Tavistock’s Jim Cole was fifth in the Devon Championships, with Plymouth Harriers’ Jordan Andrew sixth and his team-mate John Porter eighth.
All the Devon County Championship races were incorporated within the third Westward League meeting of the season.
Cornwall AC’s Grace Brook was first under-17 women in the Westward League, beating all the senior women on the way with a time of 17.08 minutes.
Exeter University’s Harrow athlete Eilish O’Grady was first senior women in 17.36 minutes, which was just ahead of Plymouth’s Blair, who was second senior in regional league race.
The other winners of the Westward League races that were different from the Devon County Championships included Cornwall’s Maisy Luke triumphing in the under-13 girls’ race and Taunton’s Tom Heal in the under-13 boys’ event.
The Westward League also includes under-11 races, which are not included in the Devon County Championships.
The under-11 girls’ race was won by Exeter’s Isabella Peyton-Jones, with Tamar Trotters’ Holly Reid fourth and City of Plymouth’s Kate Sotheran fifth. Exeter’s Charlie Hague won the under-11 boys’ event.
Full results can be found HERE