CITY of Plymouth, Tavistock AC, Plymouth Harriers, Tavistock Run Project and Erme Valley Harriers all had runners claiming medals the Devon County Cross Country Championships at Exeter on Sunday.
The event was again run alongside the Westward Cross Country League.
Tavistock had a particularly impressive afternoon claiming eight different team medals, including the men’s and women’s titles.
Jo Meek led the way for Tavistock in the women’s race, taking the overall senior Devon bronze medal and also winning the F45 title.
City of Plymouth’s Hannah Blair was fourth, with Tavistock AC’s Nikki Kelly fifth and Sam Lake eighth and first F40.
Meek, Blair and Kelly were also in the top eight seniors in the league meeting, which included athletes from Cornwall and Somerset.
As well as Meek and Lake claiming age group Devon titles, there was also one for fellow Tavistock AC athlete, Jenny Jeeves, who was first F55. Plymouth Harriers’ Miranda Burke was third in that category.
Plymouth Harriers did dominate the F35 medals, with Michelle Cooper winning gold, ahead of team-mates Nicola Noble and Laura Goodspeed.
Tavistock AC secured both the senior and masters women’s team awards, with Plymouth Harriers third in the masters event.
The under-17 and under-20 women also ran with the seniors.
City of Plymouth ran away with the team event in the under-17 girls’ category with three athletes in the county top six.
Molly Shorey led the way for them, finishing second overall behind Exeter Harriers’ Scarlett Livingstone. Shorey’s club colleagues Phoebe Timson and Martha Wilson were fifth and sixth in the county event, with Tavistock’s Freya Page and Hannah Walker filling the next two slots. Tavistock finished third in that team competition which was won by Plymouth.
City of Plymouth’s Kate Phillips won the Devon under-20 title.
Tavistock’s Lamorna Cox claimed the silver medal in the under-13 girls’ race, with team-mate Zoe Bigham sixth as the club took team silver.
Another junior silver medallist was City of Plymouth’s Isaac Lamerton, who finished strongly in the boys’ under-15 race. Tavistock’s Fynn Baker was not far behind in fifth, with Erme Valley’s Luke Hayes and Tavistock’s Noah Reid also in the top 10.
City of Plymouth’s Daniel Salmon claimed an individual county bronze medal in the under-13 boys’ event, with Tavistock’s Thomas Hennessey finishing fifth and leading his club to team glory.
There were county top 10 finishes for Madeleine Jones (City of Plymouth), Isabella Trowell (Erme Valley) and Anya McAulay in the under-15 girls’ race, where Tavistock claimed team bronze.
The senior men’s race was high-quality and was won by Great Britain’s Olympic steeplechaser Phil Norman.
There were county top 10 places for Tavistock Run Project’s Jordan Andrews (6th), Tavistock AC’s Ben Neale (8th) and Plymouth Harriers’ Johnny Gilby (9th).
Gilby took second in a particularly strong M40 category, which was won by Bideford’s Ronnie Richmond, who was second Devonian overall behind Norman, with Tavistock Run Project’s Jim Cole taking the bronze medal.
Neale picked up second in the M35 age group, while his team-mate Colin Bigham finished in the same position in the M45 category, with Run Project’s Raymond Tew third.
Ceri Rees, making a rare appearance at cross country and competing in Tavistock AC colours, won the M50 crown, despite running the race in bare feet. He was also in the top 20 Devon finishers.
Another Tavistock AC athlete, David Harris, picked up silver in the M55 section, while Erme Valley Harriers’ Andrew Trigg claimed the M60 title, with City of Plymouth’s Christopher Shorey third.
Tavistock AC’s Allan Herdman was first M70, while Run Project’s David Chanter was third M65.
Tavistock AC won the men’s team event, with Plymouth Harriers taking silver.
In the masters’ team category, Tavistock AC were second, Tavistock Run Project third and Plymouth Harriers fourth.
In the non-county under-11 events, City of Plymouth Jazz Jackman continued her impressive cross country season by winning the girls’ race, with team-mates Tilly Day, Jess Gardiner and Margot Goodspeed also in the top six.
In the boys’ under-11 race, City of Plymouth’s Finley Eales was second, team-mate Lucas Swinney fifth and Tavistock AC’s Tristan Bigham sixth.
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