Erme Valley’s Gilvear wins silver medal at British Inter-County Fell Championships

ERME Valley Harriers’ Matthew Gilvear claimed an impressive silver medal for Devon at the British Junior Inter-County Fell & Hill Running Championships at Church Stretton in Shropshire at the weekend.

Gilvear, who earlier this month won the Devon Schools’ senior boys’ 1,500m title, claimed his medal in the under-19 boys’ race.

He was only beaten by Yorkshire’s Sam Bentham, with Cumbria’s James Bowen taking bronze.

His Erme Valley team-mate Luke Hayes just missed out on a medal in the under-15 boys’ race,  finishing fourth in an contest won by Greater Manchester’s Adrian White.

In the under-19 girls’ event, Tavistock’s Charlotte Walker made her mark with a top six finish in a race dominated by Yorkshire and Welsh athletes. She was fourth in the English Championships, which were also included in the event.

City of Plymouth’s Elsie Goodspeed also represented Devon well, finishing in the top 10 of the under-15 girls’ race, which was won by Yorkshire’s Clara McKee. In the under-17 girls’ race, Sophie Gilvear was 21st.

With fell running growing in the area, Devon will be hopeful of sending even more athletes to next year’s championships.

The next race in the Dartmoor Fell Series is the Cosdon run, which takes place on July 9 and is hosted by Okehampton RC.

All pictures courtesy of Woodentops.org.uk