If Thurrock Harriers didn't perform quite as well as expected in the team competition they at least had the individual star at the Essex Road Relay championships on Saturday.

Neil Bangs recorded the fastest time over the 3.7 miles Chelmsford course of 17mins 54secs , which will be a great confidence-booster for the upcoming track season.

His winter campaign has been interrupted by injury, but this run announced that Bangs was back to the type of form that saw him win a first Great Britain international vest last summer against France when he ran the 1500m for a combined senior and U/23 team.

His target this coming season will be to win a place at the European U/23 championships.

Bangs had run the third leg for the Harriers in the relays to pull them up to fourth place, which was where they were to remain.

Daniel Patten, following on from his perfromance as the top Essex intermediate in the English Schools Cross Country, enjoyed an impressive senior road relay debut. His time of 19.28 was among the top 20, while another youngster, Jonathan Briggs, recorded a decent 20.07.

Harriers fielded an incomplete B team, but there were a couple of decent performances from Lee Crispin, whose 20.04 was his best in the championships, and Gary Mills, 20.48.

The veterans, who like the senior men, had harboured medal hopes were seventh.

Thurrock's Essex Cross Country League champion, Sarah Bridger, took her so consistent form to the harder surfaces by being the fourth quickest (22.52) in the women's race after finishing second on the opening leg.

Harriers were fifth, but were below strength in the absence of Katie Smith, Juliette Nicholass and Gail Dawson.

Special mention must be made of 15-year-old Vicky Bangs in the B team whose time of 23.43 was the seventh fastest on the the day. In the team event Harriers were tenth.

Published Wednesday, March 20, 2002