MANOR School in York have no fewer than three runners competing at the English Schools National Cross Country Championships in Maidstone this weekend.

Tom Bean will race at year 11 level, Alistair Smith runs at year ten level and Iain Lynn will compete in the year eight contest.

"It's the most for any one school representing North Yorkshire in these championships," said Manor School's head of PE Dave Crane. "It's fantastic to have three from one school and credit must got to all of them."

Millthorpe and Archbishop Holgate Schools will both be represented by two runners, Laura and Sophie Hunter for the former and Vicky Graves and Philip Graves for the latter.

A large contingent from York will be heading to Kent, where the area's leading athlete could be Lara Gibbs, of St Peter's School, who was 15th in category at last year's event in Brighton and who finished 19th in the UK Championships in Nottingham last Saturday.

The boys could be headed by David McQuarrie, of Sherburn High, while Bean could also be up there in his race having finished 34th out of 260 in the UK Inter-Counties event despite giving away a year to most of his rivals.

The other runners are Charlotte Maxted (Tadcaster Grammar), Emma Willits (Fulford), Victoria Needham (Canon Lee), Elizabeth Eden (Queen Margaret's), Ed Guiver (Ampleforth), and Michael Williams (Holy Family).

RUGBY LEAGUE

MILLTHORPE School's Under 14 Rugby League side are on course for national honours.

They tackle St Cuthbert's School from St Helens at home in the quarter-finals of the Powergen Rugby League Champion Schools competition on Friday.

They booked their place in the last eight with a comprehensive 36-20 win at Parkview School, Barrow, last week.

Millthorpe started slowly and had to fight back from two early Parkview scores with well worked tries from Pat Smith and Mark Wilson.

The teams turned round level at 12-12 but Millthorpe's fitness and determination told in the second half. Playing up the slope, they scored five tries through Brian Wright (2), Pat Smith and two further tries from Wilson, who also kicked four goals.

Park View got a further two tries late in the game but Millthorpe were clear winners.

FOOTBALL

YORK Boys Under-11s warmed up for their English Schools FA seven-a-side finals at Durham on March 20 with both their sides running up impressive victories against a Hamilton Panthers' select side.

Adam Thornton netted a hat-trick as the 'A' destroyed Panthers 6-1. Sam Byram, Conor Qualter and Will Pepper scored the other goals.

The 'B' team won 3-0 with goals from Matty Dale, Tom Derbyshire and Tom Richardson.

York Boys U11s were due to play East Riding in the Yorkshire League on Saturday, but the match has been called off.

York U12s beat Derby 2-0 with a quality all-round performance at York RI's New Lane ground.

York generated a string of chances before Ben Johnson opened the scoring. Aled Griffiths pulled off a classy point-blank save in the York goal to keep Derby at bay, with Alex Fowler outstanding in the back four alongside Ryan Qualter also reducing the threat.

Adam McMahon proved a constant threat to the Derby goal but it was a sweet Gareth Fisher chip shortly after the break that sealed the win.

Rosset School's under-13s girls team missed out on a place in the quarter finals of the Coca Cola Northern Schools Cup after losing 4-0 at home to Sacred Heart from Northumberland.

The Harrogate team qualified for the tie by making the final of the North Yorkshire competition, but the Northumberland champions proved too strong.

York Primary School Football

League A: Huntington 2, Hempland 0; Clifton Without 2, Poppleton Road 0.

League B and C: No results

League D: Park Grove 1, Dunnington 2.

League E: Rufforth 2, Appleton Roebuck 1; Osbaldwick 0, Appleton Roebuck 0; Appleton Roebuck 2, Rufforth 0.

League F: Westfield A 0, Ralph Butterfield 'A' 1; Robert Wilkinson 'A' 1, Clifton Green 'A' 0.

League G: No results

League H: Westfield 'B' 0, Ralph Butterfield 'B' 1; Robert Wilkinson 'B' 5, Clifton Green 'B' 1.

League I: No results

Cup: Dunnington 4, Westfield 1; New Earswick 4, Fishergate 0; Hempland 4, English Martyrs 4aet (English Martyrs win 2-1 on pens).

Updated: 09:02 Wednesday, March 10, 2004