Athletics: Chipper Toon in indoor final.

Byline: By BILL MCGUIRK

TEAM Newcastle pulled out all the stops to qualify for the McCain UKA Indoor City Challenge final.

At the EIS Indoor Arena in Sheffield, the Newcastle team, consisting of athletes from the North East, Cumbria and Humberside, finished in fourth place in the semifinals, but their huge points total puts them into the Cardiff final in three weeks' time for the first time since the competition began three years ago.

Individually there were wins by Jonny Taylor in the 1,500m (3:51.80), long jumper Chris Kirk (7.44m) and Kevin Sempers in the combined events.

Keeping the points total ticking along were second places for Lewis Moses (800m) and Melissa Carr (12:12m) in the triple jump, while the Team Newcastle medley relay quartet, which included former North East long jump champion Kirk, also finished second behind Team Edinburgh.

Overall victory went to home side Sheffield with Manchester and Edinburgh filling the minor placings ahead of Newcastle.

MATCH RESULT: 1 Sheffield 158.03pts; 2 Manchester 149.29; 3 Edinburgh 133.25; 4 Newcastle 120.12; 5 Cardiff 117.32; 6 Glasgow 113.64.

AFTER the British Universities Cross-

Country Championships were cancelled in Aberdeen due to the weather, Morpeth's Nick Swinburn, a student at Bangor University in North Wales, switched his attention to racing on the roads of Llandudno and came away winning the Nick Beer 10k race.

Swinburn's winning time of 30min 34secs knocked 12 seconds off his previous best for the distance, as he came home over a minute ahead of Altrincham's Andy Norman in second place.