A depleted Cornwall AC team, missing nine of their top athletes who were returning from the English Schools Track and Field Championships in Gateshead, performed with great credit in the season’s third South West League Division One match at Exeter recently, writes Alan Rowling.

Cornwall AC finished in third place,behind the clear winners Yeovil AC and only a handful of points behind the runner's up, the Dorset club, Poole AC.

Going into this match the Cornish club held a four point advantage at the top of the table but fortunately the performances from the weekend team did little damage to the team standings with Cornwall still three points clear at the top and gearing up for the last match 'showdown' at Yeovil on Sunday 4 September.

The team managers Karen Mulroy (Ladies) and Mandy Sinden (Men) were understandably delighted with the outcome.

“The entire team were exceptional in the way they supported each other and pulled together. Every team member worked so hard in our bid to retain the Division One team title.”

The top individual performance came from Abbie Hewitt, who gained the narrowest of wins in the Under 15 200 metres (27.0) before setting the track alight in the 300 metres with a new league record, clocking a very swift 42.6, beating the old record by half a second. There were also impressive 'A' string wins for Daniel Hubble in the Under 15 pole vault, whose best clearance of 2 metres 55 propels him to the top of the county rankings and Georgia Doyle-Lay, who won the Under 13 long jump, leaping 4 metres 19, with Eleanor Lloyd jumping 4 metres 10, giving the club a valuable maximum points haul. Both girls were also in action in the winning sprint relay team.

Both Senior squads made a huge contribution to the club's performance, in their respective categories. Victory in the Ladies section was all the more remarkable as all the points came from just four athletes with Sarah Williamson (5 events), Alice Vage (5 events) Caitlin Mulroy (4 events) and Tamsin Gummow showing true commitment to the team.

A much more balanced Men's team of nine athletes finished forty nine points ahead of their closest rivals, Poole AC, led by just more invaluable contributions from James Hill (five events) and Phil Warwicker (4 events). The real damage was done in the 'B' string competition where the Cornwall AC athletes finished first in six events and second in the other three, in addition to winning the 4 x 400 metre relay.

Results - Under 13 Girls: 100m 3A Kerenza Hurr 13.8, 2B Eleanor Lloyd 14.6. 200m 2A Kerenza Hurr 29.3, 3B Georgia Doyle-Lay 31,0. Guest Katie Jones 31.3. Guest Ella Buzza 33.7. 1500m 5A Katie Jones 5.36.0, 3B Ella Buzza 5.40.7. 70m Hurdles 4A Eleanor Lloyd 13.3, 2B Alice Piper 13.7. Guest Georgia Doyle-Lay 13.8. Guest Molly Caudery 14.3. 4 x 100m Relay 1 Cornwall AC 57.4. High Jump 3 A Alice Piper 1m 30, 1B Kerenza Hurr 1m 25. Guest Molly Caudery 1m 25. Long Jump 1A Georgia Doyle-Lay 4m 19, 1B Eleanor Lloyd 4m 10. Guest Alice Piper 3m 92. Shot 2A Zoe Dewar 7m 29, 3B Chanice Sheffield 5m 30. Under 15 Girls: 200m 1A Abbie Hewitt 27.0, 3B Emily Eddison 30.6. 300m 1A Abbie Hewitt 42.6 (League Record), 2B Emily Eddison 47.1. 1500m 4A Yo Yo Barnsley (Under 13) 5.39.9, 3B Danielle Burton 5.57.8. 4 x 100m Relay 4 Cornwall AC. High Jump 3A Yo Yo Barnsley 1m 20, 3B Emily Eddison 0.95. Long Jump 5A Yo Yo Barnsley 3m 57, 3B Danielle Burton 3m 03. Javelin 6A Abbie Hewitt 15m 05. Under 17 Women: 300m 3 Lottie Jose 45.7. 1500m 2 Lottie Jose 5.22.0. 1500m Steeplechase 2 Alice Vage 6.35.4. Triple Jump 2 Lottie Jose 9m 19. Senior Ladies: 200m 2A Sarah Williamson 27.5, 7B Caitlin Mulroy 33.9. 400m 2A Sarah Williamson 63.1, 1B Alice Vage 64.0. 1500m 3A Tamsin Gummow 5.40.7, 1B Caitlin Mulroy 5.58.3. 4 x 400m Relay 2 Cornwall AC 4.38.8. High Jump 5A Sarah Williamson 1m 35, 1B Alice Vage 1m 35. Triple Jump 2A Sarah Williamson 9m 33, 1B Alice Vage 8m 97. Shot 2A Sarah Williamson 7m 22, 4B Caitlin Mulroy 4m 21. Javelin 3A Alice Vage 22m 30, 2B Caitlin Mulroy 12m 41. Under 13 Boys: 100m 6A Jonathan Wilson 14.6, 7B Tyler Thompson 15.7. 200m 7A Saul Fairman 32.0. 1500m 5A Jamie Canavan 6.01.9. 75m Hurdles 6A Tyler Thompson 17.3, 4B Fyn Caudery 17.4. 4 x 100m Relay 5 Cornwall AC 63.1. High Jump 5A Fyn Caudery 1m 20, 1B Saul Fairman 1m 20. Long Jump 5A Jonathan Wilson 3m 91, 2B Jamie Canavan 3m 79. Shot 2A Saul Fairman 7m 69, 5B Jamie Canavan 5m 03. Under 15 Boys: 200m 7A Jack Trewhella 29.0, 5B Matthew Wilson 29.2. 400m 6A Matt Robinson 60.7, 4B Matthew Wilson 68.7. 80m Hurdles 3A Daniel Hubble 15.1. 4 x 400m Relay 5 Cornwall AC 4.21.6. Pole Vault 1A Daniel Hubble 2m 55. Long Jump 5A Daniel Hubble 4m 65, 2B Matthew Wilson 4m 60. Discus 2A Jack Trewhella 26m 02, 2B Matt Robinson 19m 95. Hammer 3A Jack Trewhella 17m 96, 1B Matt Robinsob 15m 89. Under 17 Men: 200m 3A Liam Littlejohn 24.4, 2B Sam Trevena 25.0. 400m 4A Liam Littlejohn 55.8, 2B Dale Trigg 59.0. 1500m 3A Sam Heslop-George 4.29.8, 4B Dale Trigg 5.05.0. 100m Hurdles 3A Sam Trevena 19.4. Shot 3A Sam Heslop-George 4m 29. Javelin 5A Sam Trevena 14m 92, 3B Sam Heslop-George 11m 62. Under 20 Men: 200m 3 Peter Conway 25.5. 400m 3 Sam Harry 53.6. 1500m 2 Sam Harry 4.29.7. Guest Aaron Jose 4.42.5. 200m Steeplechase 4. Jay Hussaini 9.22.5. Long Jump 5 JayHussaini 5m 22. Shot 5 Peter Conway 8m 22. Javelin 5 Peter Conway 14m 64. Senior Men: 200m 3A Phil Warwicker 23.8, 1B James Hill 24.7. Guest Dave Willis 24.9. 400m 4A Dave Willis 53.5, 2B Neil Tunstall 55.5. 1500m 2A Ollie Gibson 4.11.1, 1B Dave Buzza 4.25.5. Guest Nathan Kitchen 5.53.7. 110m Hurdles 2A James Hill 17.6, 1B Neil Tunstall 19.1. 2000m Steeplechase 3A Gareth Massey 6.48.6, 1B Stuart Caudery 7.31.8. 4 x 400m Relay 1 Cornwall AC 3.39.8. Pole Vaule 2A Stuart Caudery 3m 20, 1B Phil Warwicker 2m 80. Long Jump 2A James Hill 6m 12, 1B Phil Warwicker 6m 11. Discus 4A James Hill 31m 67, 2B Phil Warwicker 30m 76. Hammer 5A Nathan Kitchen 23m 72, 2B James Hill 23m 08.

Team Result: 1 Yeovil Olympiads AC 1162 points, 2 Poole AC 1048 points, 3 Cornwall AC 1038 points, 4 North Somerset 936.5 points, 5 Taunton AC 680.5 points, 6 Exeter Harriers 670.5 points, 7 Armada 625.5 points.