UNITY is already paying dividends for Team Southampton Athletic Club, who got off to an impressive start in the opening Hampshire Cross-Country League fixture at Farley Mount.

The new club - a fusion of the old Team Solent and Southampton City ACs - supplied the individual men's winner in Angus Maclean, backed by Colin Dixon (7th) and Owen Jones (11th).

Pick of the lower age-group performers was the dashing under-15 girls' duo of Rebecca Gough and Louise Webb, who pulled off a one-two in the under-15 girls' race.

Team-wise, the new club clocked up second places in the senior men's, under-15 boys' and under-15 girls' sections, third in the under-17 men's and senior women's age-groups and sixth for the under-13 boys and girls.

This was a promising start for the newly combined club, particularly since a number of runners were competing elsewhere.

At the Junior Great South Run in Portsmouth there were great performances from Rio Brooks-Gibbs, who came third in the girls' race, and Jamie Knapp, who was 12th boy.

In the first Wessex League fixture of the season at a blustery Millfield School in Somerset, Louise Webb came in first in the under-15 girls' race, Jamie Knapp was fifth under-15 boy and Emma Renouf 11th under-17 girl. The next Hampshire League fixture is on Saturday, October 30 at Goodwood.

TEAM SOLENT RESULTS:

Hampshire League

Under-13 girls: Laura Coxhead 11th, Stephanie Oland 27th, Ellie Vickers 31st, Kathryn Webb 35th

U13 boys: Harry Fisher 11th, George Whelan 21st, John Hall 22nd, Aaron Bennett 24th, Matt Pelligrini 30th, James Witcher 33rd, Joe Whelan 44th

U15 girls: Rebecca Gough 1st, Louise Webb 2nd, Katrina Brace 18th, Sinead O'Hara 22nd, Kay Shafford 33rd.

U15 boys: Scott Legg 8th, Renato Veraj 12th, Chris Dennis 14th, Scott Gallant 21st, Matt Slade 39th.

U17 women: Sasha Mucci 7th, Lucy Bowers 9th, Catriona Whitcombe 10th, Charlotte Benning 12th, Domi Mucci 13th, Coral Macey 17th, Jodie Bowers 18th, Carol Thompson 19th, Nicole Gough 34th.

U17 men: Russell North 7th, Oliver Williams 11th, Adam Justice 17th, Chris Hamp 21st, John Slade 25th.

U20 women: Claire Gallant 10th

U20 men: Alex Wall-Clarke 44th.

Senior women: Georgie Parnell 4th, Heather Buckingham 6th, Debbie Hallett (vet) 74th, Rachel Lewington 84th, Tracey Cullen 97th

Senior Men: Angus Maclean 1st, Colin Dixon 7th, Owen Jones 11th, John Beattie 13th, Gareth Klepacz 15th, Russell Osbourne 34th,Tim Wright 46th, Mike Whit (vet-40) 118th, John MacInnes (vet-40) 166th.

Wessex League

U11 boys: Matthew Knapp 23rd

U15 girls: Louise Webb 1st

U15 boys: Jamie Knapp 5th

U17 women: Emma Renouf 11th