SUNDERLAND student Patrick Martin made up for the disappointment of having to drop out of the Northern Championships by helping Durham Schools retain their overall team title with a superb senior boys victory in the Inter Counties Schools Championships at Hexham.

Sunderland Harriers had looked like retaining their junior men's title at Heaton Park, Manchester, holding a decisive lead at the halfway mark with four runners in the first 16.

But disaster struck when fourth counter Martin was forced to withdraw through injury and the Wearsiders slipped back to third place.

The Bede College student bounced back in superb style at Hexham Racecourse, however, taking the senior boys' title by beating Durham team-mate Marc Elliott by 30 seconds over the testing 8.3km circuit.

Durham City's Rosie Smith made it a senior double for the county by beating her old rival Charlotte Wickham by 12 seconds, while newly-crowned Northern champion Mary Ferrier led Northumberland to team victory in the intermediate girls' event.

Durham and Northumberland shared three victories each in the team events, but Durham retained the overall trophy, proving stronger than their arch-rivals in the younger age groups.

* Sunderland Harriers have failed in their bid for a "grand-slam" of six senior men's team victories in the Durham Pine North-East Harrier League, finishing third in the fourth fixture at Blaydon yesterday.

But the Wearsiders, after wins at Chester-le-Street, Farringdon and Durham, remain top of the table ahead of Durham City and yesterday's winners, Wallsend.

In the senior men's individual championship Morpeth Harrier Terry Wall increased his lead by recording the fastest time when he finished seventh overall in the six-mile handicap race, won by Durham City's Shaun Moralee, who received a five minute start with the slow pack.

* Former Shildon athlete Karen Johns, who now runs for Gateshead Harriers, won the 800m title in the North of England Senior Indoor Championships at Manchester.

Gemma Ferguson, the ex North Shields Polytechnic athlete now competing for Sale Harriers, added the hurdles championship to the junior title she won in Manchester two weeks ago.