SOPHIE MEAD and Christina Hargreaves are two of the brightest stars in the Mountbatten School's athletics galaxy.

Following their individual success in the recent Hampshire Athletic Association's Sportshall Athletics Championships at Portsmouth - Mead winning gold and bronze medals in the two-lap sprint hurdles and the two-lap sprint finals, while Hargreaves struck silver in the four-lap time trial final - the two athletes have been invited to attend a high performance training day for potential county athletes.

Mead has battled back to fitness and form after breaking an ankle three times in six months. Slowly and surely she is rediscovering the form that makes her look a very exciting prospect in track and field athletics.

To extend and to enhance her athletic potential, the North Baddesley youngster has joined Team Southampton. Recently, competing for her club, she won the gold medal for the U14 girls 100m in an open meeting at Portsmouth.

Meanwhile the multi-talented Hargreaves has worked hard throughout the winter on developing her endurance and competitive edge by competing for both the schools cross country and sportshall athletics teams. In the latter, as the team captain, she has led the team to a third place finish in the Hampshire Athletics Association League.

During the winter, both girls have embarked on a series of coaching sessions at the school in order to develop their all round ability for track and field. The coaching sessions have included sprint hurdling, high jump, shot putt and sprinting.

It is envisaged that both girls will compete the county Under 15 multi-events competition (hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot putt and 800m) in the summer. Peter Faulkner, the school's Director of Sport believes that 'both Sophie and Christina have the potential to go a long way with their athletic and sporting careers'.