Four Sussex athletes have been selected for international cross-country duty next weekend in Spain and Ireland.
Seventeen year old Stephen Ferroni has been selected to run for the England Junior cross-country team and will be competing at Atupuerea in Spain on Sunday and at seventeen the Brighton & Hove youngster is at the bottom end of the age group.
Last month, at Goodwood, he just failed to become the youngest ever winner of the senior race at the Sussex Cross-country League event when he was beaten into second place by Chris Zablocki a visiting American athlete.
Last season he seemed assured of second place in the Intermediate (U17) race at the English Schools championships when he collided with an iron post in the finishing straight and failed complete the course.
A second Brighton & Hove athlete will also be on International duty next weekend when Peter Witcomb dons the England vest in the annual Master’s cross-country match in Dublin on Saturday.
Witcomb is now known more as a coach and the Brighton & Hove U13 team manager but he is a holder of a gold medal for the National Junior Cross-country team championship and was a frequent Sussex team member.
Witcomb is now one of the leading British 065 runners.
Witcomb will be joined in Dublin by Arena 80’s Caroline Wood, now getting an old hand at International competition.
She will be running for England for the third time, and will be competing as a W50 while Worthing’s Pauline Rich will race in the W70 group.