DEVONPORT High School, Plymouth College, Tavistock College, Ivybridge Community College and Mount Kelly College all had athletes picking up medals at the Devon Schools’ Cross Country Championships at Exeter on Saturday.

Devonport High School for Girls’ Elsie Goodspeed, who at club level competes for City of Plymouth, claimed victory in the junior girls’ race, where her school colleague and Tavistock AC athlete Zoe Bigham came fourth.

Tristan Bigham (Devonport High School for Boys and Tavistock AC) won the minor boys’ (Year 7) race, with Ivybridge’s Dougal Buzza second and Sebby Travers (DHSB) also finishing within the top eight.

Plymouth College and City of Plymouth’s Molly Shorey, who was part of Devon’s winning team at the English Schools’ Cross Country Championships last year, finished as runner-up in the senior girls’ race behind Isla Bryson. There were also top eight spots in that race for Phoebe Timson (Plymouth College), Freya Page (Plymouth College) and Lara Dix (DHSG).

Also, claiming runner-up placings were Tavistock College’s Darcy Brown and Kelly College’s Freddie Whybrow.

Brown came second in the minor girls’ event, while Whybrow took silver in the junior boys’ race, where Tor Bridge High’s Finley Eales was sixth.

Ivybridge College’s Luke Hayes (Erme Valley Harriers) finished fourth in a strong intermediate boys’ event, while there were also top eight finishes for Tavistock College’s Lamorna Cox (7^th, intermediate girls) and Mount Kelly’s Fynn Armstrong (8^th, senior boys).

The first four finishers in the junior to senior races have been guaranteed spots at the English Schools’ Championships in West Sussex in March, while other athletes will have the chance to gain one of the eight available places at the South West Schools’ Championships at Newquay on February 1.

At the Cornwall Schools’ Cross Country Championships in Truro, Saltash Community College’s Lucas Sweeney and Daisy Elliott (both City of Plymouth AC) claimed Year 7 titles.

Sweeney triumphed by 15 seconds in the minor boys’ event, while Elliott had to dig deep to take victory in the corresponding girls’ race by just two seconds.

Callywith College’s Holly Reid (City of Plymouth) finished second in a good battle in the senior girls’ race with Truro & Penwith College’s Roisin Mooney.

Torpoint Community College’s Jack White came fourth in the intermediate boys’ event, with his school colleague Josh Bloxham eight.

Saltash’s Jacob Robinson (senior boys) and Taylan Jones (junior boys) also finished eighth in their races.

One of Devon Schools’ former stars, Will Battershill, opened his year at the weekend by running a new indoor 3,000m personal best at the BMC Meeting in Sheffield.

The steeplechase star clocked 7:53.49 as he finished sixth in a high-class race, which was just 0.2 of a second off his outdoor PB.

Also indoors, City of Plymouth’s Emily Bee continued her good hurdles form by clocking 8.64 seconds to finish second at the YSU Collegiate Invitational Meeting in America. That was just 0.02 seconds off her PB and ranks her 14^th in the early UK rankings. She also leaped 1.61m to take fourth in the high jump.

Elsewhere, Erme Valley Harriers’ Faith Taylor-Tippett showed the whole field the way home to take overall victory in the Race the Light 8.5 mile race at Mothercombe, while at the Storm Force 10 in Cornwall there were age category top three placings for Tavistock AC’s Helen Kula-Przezwanski (1^st, F65), East Cornwall Harriers’ Revis Crowle (2^nd, F60), Looe’s Joanne Robinson (2^nd F45) and Tamar Trotters’ Anthony Worthington (3^rd, M55) and Richard Morton (M70).