SUNDERLAND Harriers hope to tighten their grip on the DP Furniture North-East Harrier League senior men's team trophy when they host the second fixture of the season at Farringdon.

But the defending champions, who have dominated the competition since the League was split into three divisions in the early 1980s, will be without new recruit Tom Doughty, who won the first handicap event at Meadowfield from the slow pack.

Doughty is currently in New Zealand for the World Triathlon Championships after his silver-medal winning performance in the European Duathlon Championships two months ago.

But the Wearsiders will still be fielding a very strong field and are hoping to welcome back, after injury, former Great Britain international Brian Rushworth, who won the North-East Cross Country Championship a record ten times and is the region's reigning over-40 champion.

The meeting starts at 12.30pm, with races for all age groups and the popular handicap system being adopted in the women's events for the first time, with the first five finishers at Meadowfield giving away start to the slower runners.

Meanwhile, Chester-le-Street AC's women's team have qualified for the European Clubs Cross Country Championships in Italy in February after winning the team event in the Reebok Cross Challenge meeting at Sefton Park, Liverpool.

The Cestrians have already won the English National Cross Country and Northern four and six-stage relay titles this year and their winning team on Merseyside was Morag McDonnell, who was tenth, Sarah Wilkinson (20th) and Dianne Heneghan (22nd).

* Stephen Hepples won the opening two North Yorkshire and South Durham Harrier League senior men's races but misses tomorrow's fixture at Thirsk to race in the classy Leeds Abbey Dash.

The 22-year-old Loftus AC runner was fourth at Leeds last year in a personal-best 29 mins 30 secs and was also 15 seconds under the 30 minute mark in the National 10K Road Race Championships.

* Tynedale's Scottish international Andy Caine who just missed out on automatic selection for the Great Britain team has been named as first reserve for the 10th Spar European Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh on Sunday, December 14th. Elswick Harrier Ryan McLeod, son of former Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Mike McLeod, won a place in the junior men's team.