TONBRIDGE Athletic Club produced some superb displays taking two Kent Cross Country League Championships on Saturday, the senior men's and the women's titles.

Grace Nicholls and Robbie Farnham-Rose led the way with brilliant results in their respective races at Parkwood School, near Swanley.

"The club has won the men's and women's Kent Cross Country Leagues before, but to have so many young athletes contributing, hopefully, shows that there is a bright future ahead," coach Mark Hookway said. "As examples, Grace Nicholls, who won the women's race is just nineteen years old and Robbie Farnham-Rose, second in the men's event is just eighteen.

"For Robbie this was his first ever senior league race and this winter, with his team-mates, he has increased his training to be able to cope with the longer races. Even at the National Championships next Saturday, the under 20 men's race is over a tough 10 kilometres. Also, we hope that the gradual increase in training volume will set him and others up for continued improvements on the track in the summer."

Both leagues were in the balance going into this final race. Tonbridge were equal with Medway and Maidstone, at the head of the men's category and just two points ahead of Blackheath and Bromley AC in the women's contest.

The women's race over five kilometres was first away and it was Grace Nicholls, from Tonbridge, who was soon to the fore and pushing the pace along.

Nineteen-year-old Nicholls was never headed and went on to win by 19 seconds in 20min 34sec. Behind her was a race-long tussle between Elaine Murty, of Blackheath and Bromley, with Nicholls' club-mate, Deirdre McDermot. In the end it was Murty who finished the stronger to take second place.

With two women in the first three home, Tonbridge were set up well, but then had to wait for their final scorer, Pippa Blackstone, in 20th and having her best race of the winter, to total 24 points.

Meanwhile, Medway and Maidstone placed their three scorers inside the first 11 to capture victory on the day by just a single point. However, the second place for Tonbridge earned them the league title.

Also running well were Rachel Fagg in 25th and Helen Cohen in 43rd.

The way the fixture list had fallen meant that Tonbridge could field some of their talented 18- and 19-year-olds in the senior men's race and this went a long way towards giving them the required team win. Such was Tonbridge's dominance that all four scorers were placed in the top six, with the club also having seven of the first nine coming home. They also captured the 12-to-score league trophy, with all the scorers inside the top 31 on the day.

Luca Russo was the early leader around the initial small loop, before the race headed out into the woodland for three large laps to total around 8,500 metres.

He was soon joined by a group of his team-mates, with first Dan Bradley and then Robbie Farnham-Rose taking turns at the front. Meanwhile, pre-race favourite and league individual leader Dean Lacy, of Cambridge Harriers, held back a fraction in the early stages.

After the first of the large laps, Lacy took control at the front to inject more pace and only Farnham-Rose was able to go with him. As Lacy drew the two of them clear of third-placed Tom Collins, of Medway and Maidstone, the younger challenger kept in close contention in his first senior league race.

At the finish, there was just 13 seconds separating the first two, with Collins another 34 seconds back.

Tonbridge had the next six athletes home: Ben Cole, Tom Cox, Dan Bradley, Julian Rendall, Ryan Driscoll and Luca Russo.

In total, the club had 21 men finishing, their most this century in a league race, with Graeme Saker (16th), Chris Lloyd (18th), Greg Cole (22nd), Karim Habibi (26th) and Jack Keywood (31st) completing the 12-to-score team.

Other Tonbridge men's results: Adam Styles 32nd, Cain Bradley 68th, Phil Coleman 71st, Tony Cohen 88th, Brian Buckwell 101st, Boris Skulczuk 103rd, Frank Czarnowski 118th, Jim Maitland 125th, Maurice Marchant 127th.