CITY of Plymouth’s Poppy Tank and Tavistock Run Project’s Oliver Smart both won individual medals at the BUCS Cross Country Championships in Cardiff on Saturday.

Great Britain international Tank, making her BUCS debut, claimed silver in the women’s long course race behind her University of Birmingham team-mate Jess Bailey, who was runner-up in the under-20 race at the European Cross Country Championship in December.

Just seven seconds separated the international pair at the end of the 8.2k race.

Former English Schools’ champion Smart, also representing the University of Birmingham, took bronze for the second year running in the men’s long course race.

In a thrilling 10.87km contest, just seven seconds separated the top three, with Birmingham’s Tomer Tarragano taking the victory, ahead of Loughborough’s Louis Small and Smart. Fourth place went to 36-year-old American Olympic marathon runner Jared Ward, who was representing the University of Oxford.

Meanwhile, City of Plymouth’s Lucas Sweeney medalled at the South West Schools’ Cross Country Championships in Newquay on Saturday.

Sweeney, representing Cornwall, took silver in the minor boys’ race.

Fellow City of Plymouth and Cornwall athlete Holly Reid was fourth in a strong senior girls’ race, while there was also top 10 placings for Elsie Goodspeed, who was sixth in the junior girls’ race, and Erme Valley’s Luke Hayes, who came eighth in the intermediate boys’ event.