ANDY Combs, from Tonbridge Athletic Club put himself in the frame for international selection when he produced a terrific performance in finishing sixth in the UK Inter Counties Championships, at Birmingham, on Saturday.

Combs was competing in the under-20 men's race, which doubled as a trial for the Great Britain team to go the World Championships at the end of the month.

Although the GB selectors will take a squad of six athletes to the championships, Combs may well not be picked, since the selection policy means that only teams and individuals considered very competitive against the best in the world, including the Africans, will go.

However, 18-year-old Combs will be hoping to gain alternative international selection as a result of his fine run.

He was with the leaders for much of the race, on the dry, but undulating, Crofton Park course, only losing ground in the final third. He ran 25min 53sec for the eight kilometres, which was 49 seconds behind the winner, European Championship fifth-placed Richard Goodman.

James Taylor also had a fine run in 49th position, from the 192 finishers.

Tonbridge athletes achieved two more top 10 places, as Charlie Joslin-Allen showed his very best form for ninth in the under-15 boys' event, while George Duggan was seventh in the under-13 boys' race.

Joslin-Allen led the Kent team to victory, from 41 counties, in his age group and was supported in this by fellow Tonbridge athletes, Max Nicholls (24th) and Tom Devlin (39th).

For Duggan, the result might have been a slight disappointment, after his National Championships win of two weeks earlier, but it was still a very solid run, leaving him just 15 seconds behind the winner.

Tim Faes (43rd), Will Roud (85th) and Alex Kidd (90th) scored for the Kent team.

Robbie Farnham-Rose was another athlete not quite up to his national performance, as he took 18th place in the under-17 men's race, having won the bronze medal a fortnight earlier.

However, he will hope to bounce back in time for this weekend's English Schools' Championships, at Manchester. Only one place behind Farnham-Rose was Luca Russo, having his best race to date.

Henry Pearce, scoring for the winning Surrey team, was placed 31st, with Chris Lloyd 41st, scoring for the fourth-placed Kent team. Sevenoaks School pupil Ruth Bourne, who has recently transferred to Tonbridge AC membership, was the highest placed female member of the club with an excellent 11th place in the under-15 girls' race.

She was the second scorer for her home county of Surrey, who took the championship. Nicole Taylor, representing Sussex in a similar way, was 34th, while Pandora Banbury scored for the Kent team through her 49th place.

The majestic Mo Farah, the former European Cross Country Champion, dominated the senior men's race to win by 44 seconds with a world class performance.

The Kent team were placed third overall, with a fine performance, after the Tonbridge club's Julian Rendall finished in 94th place as the county's sixth and crucial final scorer.

Other Tonbridge results (all representing Kent): girls: under 13: Leah Melvin 35th, Sian Driscoll 122nd; under 15: Nicola Wilkinson 89th, Alice Wood 97th; women: under 17: Lucy Reid 56th, Lucy Blackstone 164th; under 20: Jess Owen 89th, Catherine Symons 93rd, Vicky Rukin 119th; boys: under 13: Euan Nicholls 98th, Stuart Brown 11th, Will Seymour 150th; under 15: Hanro Rossouw 43rd, Corey De'Ath 106th, Chad Bryce-Borthwick 131st; men: under 17: Tom Cox 74th, Alex King 90th; senior: Sam Bradley 96th, Huw Evans 111th.