THE best exponents of the winter discipline of cross-country running will head for the County Showground at Detling near Maidstone for the annual Kent Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

The recently released Kent Young Athletes League results give a clear indication of where the lions share of the gold medals might be heading in the younger age groups, with Tonbridge AC winning six team and three individual titles this season.

Only Invicta East Kent in the under-20 men's category stopped Tonbridge AC from achieving a whitewash of all the team victories available in the league this winter and the individuals who denied Tonbridge athletes were Ellie Hume (Thanet) and Jake Rogers (Invicta) in the under-13s; Frank Kilama (Bexley) in the under-17 men and Briony Walsh and Timothy Burt of Ashford AC in the under-20 categories.

Favourites for the remaining age group individual titles will be league champions Ellen Holmes and Josh Bentham (under-15s) and joint under-17 women's winners Megan Brickell and Dunia Pavlovic of Tonbridge AC.

In the senior men's title race, London champion and 2007 Kent bronze medalist Dean Lacy of Cambridge Harriers has not put a foot wrong this winter but four times Kent champion Mike Coleman will be determined to defend his title and lead Medway and Maidstone to successful retention of the team trophies.

Defending women's champion, Jenni Periera (Medway and Maidstone), has raced sparingly this season but will be hard to beat if she is on form and the Medway and Maidstone athletes look favourites to retain their team trophy.