ATHLETICS Victoria launched their 2007 winter season with a bang, attracting a record number of athletes for its opening cross-country relay at Jells Park last month.

More than 900 distance enthusiasts hit the ground running, tracing their way around a punishing 3km course for younger teams while older athletes had to gather their endurance for a 6km stretch.

The men’s under 18 3km was a hotly contested affair between Williamstown and Keilor St Bernards, with a 9.28-minute opening leg to Keilor’s David Ireland giving his side an early lead.

With Williamstown sitting sixth after the first changeover, Michael Masseni ran an awe-inspiring 9.44 minutes to get seven seconds ahead of the pack.

Not even a tough encounter with Keilor’s Mark Blivcav in the third leg would cost Williamstown the lead, with the side finishing first a full four seconds ahead of the opposition.

However, Williamstown could not keep up in the momentum in the men’s under 14 relay, which was run in a similarly tight fashion.

Second-leg runner Keiran Thompson took Williamstown to within a second of Athletics Essendon at the last changeover, only for Essendon’s Keedan Mickelborough to scrape a four-second margin to get his club over the line.

Williamstown also tasted success with the men’s division four team, with Eero Keranen, George Malekakis, Colin Drake, Tim Carroll and Frank Kresse running a combined 1:54.54 to snare third.

Meanwhile, Keilor St Bernards’ under 20 women Elise Aplin, Siobhan Lane and Lisa Stanton-Smith followed in the footsteps of the men’s under 18 team, coming in second to Frankston in their relay.

Western Athletics veterans welcomed new recruits Kirsten Shaw, Sarah Hardiman, Adrian Wilson, Adam Knowles, Randall Wee and Greg Farrell to the fold, with Farrell running the fastest 6km leg for the division six men to bring the team home third with a combined time of 1:35.05.

Hardiman also put on an impressive show for her debut, covering the 6km course in 30.58 minutes and helping the division seven side to fourth, while Wilson, Wee, Knowles and Shaw showed early promise with their performances.

The sides will meet again in a road race this Sunday at Bundoora’s La Trobe University.