AN AMAZING debut on the senior circuit was had by teenager Katie Hughes as she finished seventh at the St Levan 10k on Friday.

The Helston Community College student was competing for the first time in Cornwall Athletics Club colours in a Grand Prix Series race and was not put off by the standard of the field, which featured a who's who of great runners from the county.

Hughes got round the course in a time of 42.59, which helped her secure victory in the Under 20s age group by more than six minutes from Launceston's Jessica Goldberg.

She was also the fourth scoring member for Cornwall AC's women as they picked up the team prize with a score of 38 points, a whopping 65 ahead of their nearest challengers Newquay Road Runners.

In the men's race, there was an incredible strong field with Dan Rodgers, Colin Snook, Mike Birchmore, Adam Thomas, Neil Eddy and Peter le Grice joined by Irish holidaymaker Declan Power.

They set the pace and splintered away from the pack with pre-race favourite Rodgers making a dash 800m from the line to win.

At this stage Birchmore was second, but before he reached the line the Newquay runner was passed by Snook and Eddy as both timed their finishes to perfection.

Emma Stepto was making her return after four weeks on the sidelines through injury and the comeback would prove to be tentative as another England international, Elsey Davis, came first among the women by two minutes.

In the age categories, Paul Whear, who lives in Helston, won the 45-49 section after finishing eighth overall in the men's race.

Tom Slattery also had a good day as the 16-year-old finished second in the male U20s section, missing out on first by just eight seconds.

There was a third win of the year for Mile High's Katherine Martin in the 50-54 group, putting her just one victory away from the overall title.

Falmouth Road Runners member Jackie Cope claimed the 60-64 section top spot while her clubmates Kathryn Dormer and Christine White came second and third in the 65-69 category.

RESULTS

KEY FOR CLUBS

B&MH Basingstoke & Mid Hants, BRR Bodmin Road Runners, CAC Cornwall AC, CR Carn Runners, CRC Cheddar Running Club, FRR Falmouth Road Runners, HE Hedge End, HR Hayle Runners, LRR Launceston Road Runners, MBH Mounts Bay Harriers, MH Mile High, NRR Newquay Road Runners, STA St Austell Running Club, TAV Tavistock AC, TRC Truro Running Club, TT Tamer Trotters, U Unattached.

MEN: 1 Dan Rodgers LRR 33.25, 2 Colin Snook CAC 33.31, 3 Neil Eddy MBH 33.37, 4 Mike Birchmore NRR 33.43, 5 Adam Thomas CAC 33.56, 6 Peter le Grice MBH 34.00, 7 Declan Power U 34.07, 8 Paul Whear CAC 34.47, 9 Jordan Morant HR 34.49, 10 Tony Wright NRR 4.51.

AGE CATEGORIES: Under 20: 1 Ben Hicks MBH 35.35, 2 Dominic Bateman BRR 36.23, 3 Josh Blake TAV 36.46. Under 35: 1 Dan Rodgers, 2 Neil Eddy, 3 Mike Birchmore. 35-39: 1 Colin Snook, 2 Jonas Gummeson NRR 36.21, 3 Matt Curtis HR 40.45, 40-44: 1 Declan Power, 2 Alex Daniels NRR 36.07, 3 Simon Knowles HR 38.00. 45-49: 1 Paul Whear, 2 Tony Wright, 3 Justin Day CAC 36.40. 50-54: 1 Chris Harry CAC 37.24, 2 Andrew Eddison CAC 39.55, 3 Andrew Hickson MBH 40.01. 55-59: 1 Michael Wilson TRC 42.19, 2 Peter Allen NRR 42.25, 3 Michael Hickey B&MH 43.31. 60-64: 1 Malcolm Roberts STA 42.44, 2 Richard Morton TT 46.15, 3 Colin Martin NRR 46.31. 65-69: 1 Tom Polglase CR 43.06, 2 Brian Wiles LRR 45.59, 3 Pete Sargent NRR 53.21. 70-74: 1 John Lillis NRR 49.20, 2 Stewart Townend HR 49.36, 3 Clive Hibbert MBH 51.59. 75+: 1 Norris Kington CAC 60.22.

TEAMS: 1 Cornwall AC 72 points, 2 Mounts Bay Harriers ‘A’ 95 points, 3 Newquay Road Runners 113 points, 4 Hayle Runners 148 points, 5 Mounts Bay Harriers ‘B’ 226 points.

LADIES: 1 Eleanor Davis NRR 35.09, 2 Emma Stepto CAC 37.05, 3 Heidi Tregenza CAC 38.21, 4 Carol Randall MBH 39.37, 5 Donna Raggett CAC 40.38, 6 Karen Andrews HE 42.02, 7 Katie Hughes CAC 42.59, 8 Bethan Gay CAC 43.03, 9 Caroline Drew MBH 43.53, 10 Georgina le Grice U 44.10.

AGE CATEGORIES: Under 20: 1 Katie Hughes, 2 Jessica Goldberg LRR 49.04, 3 Sophie Talling NRR 49.24. Under 35: 1 Eleanor Davis, 2 Heidi Tregenza, 3 Karen Andrews. 35-39: 1 Claire Longman TRC 48.00, 2 Jo Staves TRC 49.39, 3 Naomi Gorvin U 51.33. 40-44: 1 Donna Raggett, 2 Marie Gould CAC 47.40, 3 Helen Thomas CR 48.21. 45-49: 1 Emma Stepto, 2 Carol Randall, 3 Karen McClay MBH 44.42. 50-54: 1 Katherine Martin MH 46.28, 2 Debbie Nugent CR 46.38, 3 Liz Trebilcock U 49.07. 55-59: 1 Sara Stobart CRC 53.15, 2 Ann Senior HR 53.58, 3 Janet Lathom LRR 57.22. 60-64: 1 Jackie Cope FRR 52.00, 2 Andrea Simmons U 53.19, 3 Diane Warren HR 53.21. 65-69: 1 Jackie Jenkin CAC 58.20, 2 Kathryn Dormer FRR 64.54, 3 Christine White FRR 1.34.36. 70+: 1 Timothea Cardell HR 59.50, 2 Lisa Wright NRR 1.03.36.

TEAMS: 1 Cornwall AC 38 points, 2 Mounts Bay Harriers 103 points, 3 Newquay Road Runners 166 points, 4 Hayle Runners 223 points, 5 Carn Runners 229 points.