The 2016-17 cross country season began in glorious sunshine at Central Park, Plymouth last weekend, where a staggering entry of 557 runners took part in the six race programme of the Frank Elford Sports Westward League fixture, writes Alan Rowling.

The day began well for Cornwall AC with 15 year-old Grace Brock storming to victory, not only the Under 17 category but also against the Senior Ladies over a very challenging 5200 metre course.

The diminutive figure of Grace was almost lost amidst the Senior runners but it was the case of ‘an old head on young shoulders’, as she sensibly began cautiously before, on the second of the two laps, moving into the lead and holding off the challenge of the Cornish qualified English School Senior Girls 1500 metre silver medallist Tess Masselink (Tavistock AC), to claim an astonishing victory.

In the team competition Exeter University have certainly taken in a strong running intake this year, beating the defending Senior Ladies league champions, Cornwall AC by just six points and laying the foundation for what will surely be an closely fought team battle this season.

Emma Paull (Hayle Runners) was the fourth Cornish finisher home, crossing the line in ninth place, one position ahead of the Cornwall AC Ladies team captain Emma Stepto, who had rather a busy day, winning the Ladies race in the Plymouth 10K in the morning, before jogging to Central Park for the Westward League.

In the afternoon. “I was pleased with my run this morning, said Emma, “as I ran faster than I did in the Newquay 10K one week ago. I also wanted to support the Cornwall AC Ladies in the Westward League and was delighted with the turn out of fifteen Cornwall AC Ladies.”

Katie Hughes showed up well in the Senior Ladies race, despite still being in the Under 17 age group.

The Helston schoolgirl was 18th overall, 5th in the Under 17 category and a key part of Cornwall AC’s ‘B’ team, who beat most of the ‘A’ teams from the other clubs, finishing 5th out of the 57 club teams taking part in this race.

The Senior Ladies race also included the Under 17 Men’s event , with a trio Cornwall AC runners Kristof Klimek (4th), Penryn College youngster Sam Goodchild (6th) and Abu Gupta (8th) ensuring the Cornwall AC team finished second behind a very strong Newquay par AC team

Once again the Senior Men’s event over 8600 metres produced a race of real quality, with Bideford AC trio of Ronnie Richmond (1st), Mark Jenkin (2nd) and Shaun Antell (3rd) dominating proceedings from the outset.

Not bad considering all three spearheaded the Bideford challenge in the English National 6 Stage Relay Championships in Birmingham twenty four hours previously.

Godolphin School teacher Colin Snook (Cornwall AC) finished sixth in his last race before representing England in the British Masters Cross Country Championships in Glasgow next month.

Bideford look determined to do their best to retain the Men’s team title but the North Devon club had to settle for second place at Plymouth, albeit by the narrowest of margins, behind Exeter University.

Both teams finished on fifty points but victory went to the students when their last scoring runner finished ahead of Bideford’s final scorer. Cornwall AC (78 points) could do no better than third place, evidence of the high standard of competition in the league these days.

Interestingly, no less than the first seven of the club’s finishers all had local connections.

In the ‘A’ team Snook was followed home by Helston’s Callum Jones (15th), Falmouth University student Jordan Clay (16th), club debutant Tom Carthy (20th), who runs on the road for Falmouth Road Runners but is qualified to represent Cornwall AC in cross country and another Helston based runner, Paul Whear (21st).

Falmouth’s Paul Smith led the club’s ‘B’ team across the line in 23rd position and the very promising Under 20 runner Tom Slattery (Falmouth) showed up well in 29th place on his debut in the Senior race, coping well with the tough 8600m course.

In the younger age groups English Schools international Harris Mier (Cornwall AC) was in a class of his own in the Under 15 race, winning comfortably ahead of team mate Helston’s Jacob MacAlone. Rame’s Edward Mitchell (12th) completed the winning team, with Tavistock AC in second place.

Eleven year old Maisy Luke (Cornwall AC), who won the Under 11 overall title last season, made a successful transition to the Under 13 age group, winning by the significant margin of forty seven seconds and being joined by Helston School student Catherine Groves (4th) and Freya Perkin (6th) in the winning club team.

Jemima Pratt, making her debut for Cornwall AC after recently moving from Essex to Cornwall, completed a successful day for the club, becoming the club’s fourth individual winner of the day.