GUERNSEY athletics was yesterday celebrating unprecedented success at the annual 4 x 2-mile team relay at L’Ancresse. Taking full advantage of the rare absence of an Aldershot Farnham and District squad the GIAAC virtually cleaned up.

Paul Ingrouille brought home the GIAAC senior men’s team in 42min. 24 sec., nearly a minute quicker than Aldershot’s winning time of 2003.

Steve Dawes had set up victory with a personal best of 10-16 on the first leg, Jonathan Robbins added to the lead and on the penultimate leg, Alan Rowe pulled further clear with the day?s fastest time, 9-56.

GIAAC also took the women’s honours from Havant AC but the big story was the success of the two all-boys’ teams and the local junior girls’ squad.

The Return of the Batty Boys have remained unchanged for four years as they come through the ranks and having finished fifth in 2003 yesterday came through to take the silver medal position, ahead of a strong GIAAC veterans squad and an equally-talented under-15 boys’ squad that had remarkably held third place at halfway.

Charlie Cottam, club president and the man whose training schedules has under-pinned the club’s recent county junior successes, was delighted with the performances.

‘Aldershot not being here did help, but to fill the first five places is fantastic.

‘All ages of the club were represented in the top three – it’s been a really great day,’ he added.

Thirty-seven teams came to the Lucksall start line and Dawes wasted no time in giving the GIAAC A squad a comfortable advantage.

He handed a 29sec. advantage over to Robbins who was being chased by the Falkirk Victoria Harriers mixed team.

Behind them under-15 Simon Touzeau had run a stormer, his 11-38 leg having given his squad third place, ahead of the GIAAC Veterans and the Return of the Batty Boys.

By halfway, Robbins had extended the A team’s lead to 1min. 37sec. on Falkirk with an 11-09 leg, while Matthew Allen, as powerful a 12-year-old runner the island has seen in recent years, had handed over in third place after an 11-37 two-mile stint.

The Return of the Batty Boys were still sixth at halfway but Michael Batiste had kept them in contention and with their two quickest runners on the last two legs Matt Loveridge, just 14, began the chase.

Loveridge had been saving himself all weekend and he overhauled Chris O’Neill and junior Mark Le Conte before turning his attention to the veterans Peter Wickins.

By the final changeover Loveridge had closed the gap on the veterans to just 9sec. having come within six seconds of breaking the 11min. barrier.

With Rowe having ensured overall victory for the senior men the attention had switched to the minor placings and where the junior boys’ teams would finish.

Mark Mercier was 50m behind in third as he began the final leg but was soon hunting down and passing veterans’ guest Mike Yarnall.

Ingrouille, though, was way clear and the gap at the finish between first and second was three-and-a-half minutes.

Not that it was of any concern to Mercier, whose 10-55 final leg had clinched the Return of the Batty Boys second spot by almost half-a-minute from the veterans with the second junior boys’ squad an excellent fourth after Danny Carre’s fine closing leg of 11-31.

On the women’s side the GIAAC A squad (Gail Merrien, Tracey Dowinton, Janette Shepherd and Sara Queripel) romped to victory and their time of 52-37 was within half-a-minute of the time posted by the talented 2003 Aldershot squad.

Havant, with local Belinda Lanyon guesting on the last leg, took second and there was a big cheer for the GIAAC junior girls’ squad of Kelly and Remi Loveridge, Gemma Mauger and Sarah Mercier, who claimed third.