TYNESIDER Ryan McLeod began his cross country season with a brilliant junior men's victory in the opening Reebok Cross Challenge at Falkirk.

The 19-year-old son of former Olympic Games 10,000m silver medallist Mike McLeod was seventh overall in the main 9.6K race and held off a late challenge from Scottish junior champion John Newsom, of Pitreavie, to win the under-20 section by six seconds.

McLeod, like his father a member of Elswick Harriers, has set his sights on earning a second crack at the European Cross Country Championships after being forced to drop out of last year's big event in Edinburgh through illness.

And the run at Falkirk will give him a big boost of confidence before this year's European Championships trial at London's Parliament Hills next month, where the Great Britain junior team will be decided.

McLeod, however, was given a hard race at Falkirk by Newsom, who produced a storming finish on the last of three gruelling laps.

After pushing into the lead midway through the race, breaking away on a hill, McLeod had to call on his track speed to make sure of victory in 31 mins 50 secs.

"I knew he was coming back at me hard but I was always confident I had a little bit left in reserve," said McLeod, rapidly establishing himself as one of the UK's best young cross country prospects.

McLeod's training partner, Ryan Stephenson, of North Shields Polytechnic, was third junior.

Chester-le-Street's Stewy Bell was 16th overall and tenth (33 mins 6 secs) in the senior men's race won by Blackheath and Bromley's Michael Skinner in 30 mins 56 secs.

* Wearside builder Steve Potts, 29, led Sunderland Harriers to team victory when he won his first-ever race in yesterday's tough Derwentside 10 - despite running off course.

Potts and 43-year-old team-mate Dave Robertson had to turn round and wait for third-placed Darren Purvis to ask the way at four miles, losing about 30 seconds.

But the pair quickly went back into the lead and Potts made his winning break at seven mile when he sensed that Robertson, the 2002 Flora London Marathon over-40 champion, was being troubled by a stitch, going on to win by a comfortable 15 seconds.

But there was a dramatic finish to the women's race when the 22-year-old defending champion Stacy Brown out-sprinted Elvet Striders'over-45 Fiona Shenton to retain her title.

Results - Men: 1 S Potts (Sunderland) 54 mins 52 secs; 2 D Robertson (Sund M40) 55.07; 3 D Purvis (Birtley) 56.37; 4 S Laws (Chester-le-Street) 59.13; 5 R Barkley (Blyth) 59.28; 6 P Given (Sund) 59.36; 7 J Donneky (Derwentside) 59.43; 8 J Dobson (Sund) 61.19; 9 C McDonald (South Shields) 61.20; 10 K Allen (Crook) 62.09. M45 M Gaughan (Blyth) 63.48; M50 R Hall (Blyth) 65.18; M55 J Frazer (Blyth) 70.44; M60 F Strand (South Shields) 78.07. Team: 1 Sunderland 9 pts; 2 Blyth 32.

Women: 1 T Brown (Derwentside) 67.27; 2 F Shenton (Elvet Striders W45); 3 S Auld (Heaton) 72.43; 4 S Hunter (Blyth W35) 73.54; 5 S Laws (Derwent W50) 74.28. W40 M Paul (Ryton Tri) 78.23.