Nearly 60 young athletes staked their claim to represent team Croydon at the Virgin London Mini-Marathon next month at the trials held at Lloyd Park on Saturday.

South London Harriers’ (SHL) James Lyne won the 2.1-mile cross-country event in 12 minutes 45 seconds, breaking away from Surrey team-mate Omar Harhara to win by 21 seconds.

Both head to Blackburn for the English Schools championships this weekend (March 14) representing Surrey Schools in the intermediate boys' category.

In the U15 boys' age group Henry Stiff (SHL) was comfortably clear of Croydon's Jordan O’Dongo by 40 seconds in 14:26, while Trinity School’s Isaac Flanagan (Croydon Harriers) edged home ahead of a chasing Harry Smith to win the U13 boys' race.

Wallington Girls pupil Jessica Moore (Croydon) was first female home by more than half a minute from training partner Saarah Nawaz in 15:31.

In the U17 women’s category, Josie Kavanagh just stayed ahead of a fast finishing Atlanta Drummond to take the spoils.

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Keep going: Jessica Moore, left, and Robbie Tambling, centre, of Croydon Harriers

And Kyra Sethna-McIntosh completed the Croydon clean sweep in the girls' age groups finishing 13 seconds ahead of SHL’s Jessica Gouveia-Slatter.

The entire list of selections will be released by the Croydon sports development team in the next week.

The borough will be bidding to improve on the 10th position they achieved 12 months ago when the big day comes round on April 26.

In the senior six-mile race, Croydon’s David Brown won his first non-parkrun competition holding off the challenge from Striders’ Krzysztof Klidzia and Collingwood’s Robert Knight.

The women’s category was won by Lloyd parkrun organiser Debra Bourne.

At the CAU Inter-County Cross-Country Championships in Birmingham, Stevie Lawrence helped Surrey to fourth place overall finishing 36th in a field of 143.

In indoor action, Tony Richards scooped silver in the M65 shot putt at the British Masters Championships thanks to a 11.73m effort.

He followed this up with a 36.68m recording in the discus to bag bronze. Husband and wife team of Colin (M55 3000m) and Linda Oxlade (W60 triple jump) were fifth and third respectively.

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Alan Burn, David Brown and Mark Lynch