County titles for Falmouth's Issy Steele (Under 17 Women), Helston's Katie Hughes (Year 7 Girls) and the Year 7 Boys team from Penryn Sports College were the local highlights at the recent Cornwall Schools Cross Country Championships held over a tough and challenging course at Truro School.

Issy, on the comeback trail after a six week hip injury, was delighted with her performance over the demanding four kilometre course, finishing comfortably ahead of two of the county's most promising up and coming young runners, Molly Long (Truro School) and Newquay Tretherras' Charlotte Cayton-Smith. The Year 7 races once again attracted large fields with sixty lining up in the Girls event and waht a thrilling race this turned out to be, with Katie and Ellie Ringwood (Mounts Bay Academy) fighting for victory until the closing stages, when Katie inched clear and despite a fast finish from Ellie, the Helston schoolgirl held on to win by four seconds. The equivelent Boys race was less dramatic, with Bertie Holdsworth, running on his home course, finishing strongly ahead of the Penryn Sports College pair, Felix Hartley (2nd) and Sam Bray (3rd), who enjoyed further success, leading their Penryn team to clear cut team victory and the county title.

As very classy Senior Boys race provided one of the highlights of a busy eight race programme, with Dan Nash (Liskeard School), Conor Robinson (Truro College) and Hobie Martin (Newquay Tretherras) producing the expected mouthwatering 'Clash of the Titans' over a tough 5790m course.

On the first medium lap there was little to choose between the main protagonists, with Callum Jones (Helston School), keeping pace in fourth place. On the second lap Robinson, a three times English Schools Cross Country international, forged ahead of the inform Nash, who finished third in the Senior Men's race at the recent South West Cross Country Championships, with another English Schools Cross Country International, Martin, drifing slightly off the pace.

Had Robinson, who is still in the comeback trail after a long term injury, made his move too soon? The final lap provided the answer, as Nash closed the gap and moved into the lead, sprinting hard for the finish and crossing the line five seconds ahead of Robinson, with Martin, who was second in the Under 17 race at the previous weekend's UK Cross Challenge in Cardiff, a further eleven seconds adrift.

Results - Year 7 Girls: 1 Katie Hughes HS 8.31, 2 Ellie Ringwood MBA 8.35, 3 Jasmine Bray CCC 8.53, 4 Molly Caudery RS 9.22, 5 Scarlett Buck HS 9.39, 6 Hannah Smith RL 9.43. Teams: 1 Helston School 49 points, 2 Newquay Tretherras School 52 points, 3 Mounts Bay Acadamy 65 points. Junior Girls: 1 Annie Trotter NT 14.39, 2 Lily England BC 15.00, 3 Tess Masselink CCC 15.07, 4 Yo Yo Barnsley THS 15.16, 5 Charlotte Emsden FS 15.50, 6 Abby Cayton-Smith NT 15.52. Teams: 1 Newquay Tretherras School 24 points, 2 Bodmin College 40 points, 3 Truro School 83 points. Inter Girls: 1 Issy Steele FS 15.13, 2 Molly Long TS 15.42, 3 Charlotte Cayton-Smith NT 16.06, 4 Yvonne Chart TS 16.22, 5 Finlay Bray PEN 16.46, 6 Tamsin Gummow PEN 17.47. Teams: 1 Truro School 16 points, 2 Penair School 19 points, 3 Truro School 'B' 40 points. Senior Girls: 1 Alice Rogers CCC 16.53, 2 Charlotte Williamson THS 18.16, 3 Caitlin Mulroy TC 18.36, 4 Jess Behennah CCC 18.43, 5 Mollie Erskine TC 19.03, 6 Marissa Hornabrook TC 19.09. Teams: 1 Truro College 14 points.

Year 7 Boys: 1 Bertie Holdsworth TS 10.48, 2 Felix Hartley PSC 11.04, 3 Sam Bray PSC 11.08, 4 Will Savage HS 11.10, 5 Byron Wood PSC 11.27, 6 Tom Pryor NT 11.29. Teams: 1 Penryn Sports College 17 points, 2 Truro School 37 points, 3 Penair School 91 points. Junior Boys: 1 Sam Parham CCC 15.05, 2 Max Caddy MBA 15.22, 3 Ben Rogers PEN 15.23, 4 Ryan Parsons WS 15.54, 5 Jordan Walklett PA 15.56, 6 Francis Lowry TS 16.01. Teams: 1 Truro School 56 points, 2 Pool Academy 94 points, 3 Penryn Sports College 97 points. Intermediate Boys: 1 Danny Old TRV 21.00, 2 Oscar Holdsworth TS 21.18, 3 Sam Lane De Courtin CCC 21.43, 4 Kieran Rowe PCC 22.02, 5 Sam Heslop-George FS 22.11, 6 Tom Wood HDS 22.22. Teams: 1 Callington Community College 18 points, 2 Truro School 27 points, 3 Richard Lander School 48 points. Senior Boys: 1 Dan Nash LS 19.18, 2 Conor Robinson TC 19.23, 3 Hobie Martin NT 19.34, 4 Callum Jones HS 20.06, 5 Tom Rawet TC 20.50, 6 Steven Sims LS 20.13. Teams: 1 Truro College 17 points, 2 Truro School 36 points, 3 Truro School 'B' 48 points.