For City of Norwich AC athlete Mitch Goose the European Cross Country Trials, held in a blustery Sefton Park, Liverpool proved to be a happy hunting ground on Saturday.

Goose led from the front when seeking selection for the GB U23 team that will be competing in Slovenia in two weeks time.

Competing over a rapidly drying three-lap, 10km course, Goose was always in the leading group and it was in the latter stages of the final lap that he made the move which took him to the front, a position he retained to the finish to guarantee him a place in the GB team.

Goose, under instruction from the sport's governing body, UKA, was informed he must return from his studies in the USA to be considered for team selection.

In the same race Ashley Harrell suffered the first of the club's hard luck stories. With the first six across the line making the team for Slovenia he was the unlucky seventh and finds himself as first reserve.

Hard luck story number two came from Iona Lake, who was seeking a place in the U20 team. Racing over 4.4km she was always well up the field and in contention. Sadly, after a valiant effort, she finished seventh and will also be first reserve.

In the U17 girls' race, Tasha Potgieter, also competing over 4.4km, dug deep to finish in 30th position. Alice Cheverton battled her way to 33rd in the U15 girls' 3km race.

U17 boy Tom Hook's future in athletics looks bright. His confidence is gaining with every outing and this was confirmed over 5.5km when he finished in a close order fifth place in a quality field. Another youngster who is showing a great deal of promise is U13 boy Alfie Linstead. Competing over 3km he finished in a praiseworthy 12th position.

In Glasgow, Jane Clarke represented England in the Home Countries Masters Cross Country International. In atrocious conditions she won silver in the O50 category and led England to team gold.

The City club's red and gold stripes were also making their presence felt in Oxford. Nick Earl and Josh Entwistle, competing in the Maylarch Eynsham 10km Road Race, both produced personal best performances. Earl proved to be a worthy winner when, despite very windy conditions, he recorded a time of 32:02 while in third spot Entwistle posted 32:54, knocking over two minutes off his previous best.