Jane, 20 from Hartford, was Birmingham University's best placed athlete in the British Universities Sports Association cross-country championships.

The Vale Royal AC runner's fifth place finish was enough to earn Birmingham second place behind Loughborough, the country's finest sporting university in the Oxford based event.

Sean McGrath, a coach at Vale Royal AC, said: "Jane is hoping to get picked to compete in the World University Championships.

"It will be the first time the event has been held in this country when Luton plays host on April 4 and Jane's chances of selection will be very strong after her result in the nationals."

The man made circuit on the outskirts of Luton will be the setting for the World University Championships. It was to have played host to the Inter Counties finals in January but was called off due to torrential rain over the christmas period.

The inter-counties has now been rescheduled for Sunday, March 1 in Cardiff.

Sean McGrath added: "The inter-counties being rescheduled for March 1 now means there are three major cross-country events in three weeks. The following Saturday is the English Schools, which is followed on March 14 by the National finals. Combined with the fact that the day before the inter-counties Vale Royal runners are due to compete in the season's last league meeting it means there is little chance of athletes being able to run in all of the events. It is an example of poor planning."

In last week's Vale Royal AC Sports Hall races at Runcorn the highlight was Fiona Hill's win in the two lap 7A race and Laura Lambert's win in the 7B race.

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