Whitney Institute's Deanne Lightbourn set the tone for a thrilling night of racing on Front Street when she opened proceedings with a record-shattering run in the first race of the evening for under-12 girls.

But had there been a prize for sheer guts it would have gone to Saltus student Mark Morrison who led from start to finish, hanging on grimly over the last few yards to beat school-mate Henry Talbot in the closest race of the night, the under-18 boys.

Also grabbing gold last night were CedarBridge's Tiffany Eatherley, who showed her class in the under-18 girls, and West End's Trey Simons who ran away with the under-12 boys title.

Lightbourn warmed the large crowd early on as she set a torrid pace to finish in five minutes, 45.26 seconds, slashing almost eight seconds off the under-12 record set by Flora Duffy in 1999.

Danlia Martin of Somerset Primary placed second in 6:05.59 and Charlene Grant of Prospect Primary third in 6:26.57.

As it turned out, Lightbourn's was the only record to fall until the final race.

Duffy herself, now competing in the under-18 division, came desperately close to adding another title but couldn't quite haul in Eatherley, who pipped her Warwick Academy rival by just over a second.

Eatherley, winner in 1999 and 2000, finished in 5:46.39 and Duffy in 5:47.76, some 13 seconds outside the record she set last year. Jenny Palmer took third in 5:55.45.

"It was a wonderful race, I enjoyed it," said Eatherley afterwards. "I didn't encounter any breeze until I was nearing the finish where there was a slight head wind, but it wasn't a hindrance. The competition was tough, Flora (Duffy) was relentless. But I was fairly confident and determined to hold her off at the tape."

Determination was also the hallmark of Morrison, bronze medal winner in the junior division of the CAC cross-country championships held in Bermuda in November.

He stamped his authority on the boys' under-18 race in the first quarter of a mile but then had to repel a fierce late charge from Talbot. Morrison won in 4:50.24 with Talbot a step behind in 4:50.73 and Clearwater's Taijuan Talbot third in 4:57.65.

"I was fully aware of Henry's ability to finish strong, and he was determined to the end," said Morrison. "I figured that if I managed to get a considerable lead during the early going, I might increase my chances down the stretch.

"It definitely feels good to win because I haven't won this race before."

Trey Simons took the younger boys' race in 5:45.39, edging out Whitney's Nakhi Wells (5:49.67) and Brentwood's Kijuan Hodson (5:50.9).