and Jessica Palmer are the respective boys' and girls' division leaders after three races of the new KPMG Junior Running Series.

And the stage is set for more exciting competition when the series continues this Sunday with junior events to be held alongside the MRM five-miler in Somerset.

The recent Ocean Spray 3K marked the third race in the series and was run by school year which saw some youngsters competing outside their regular age group. However, as all juniors in the race ran the same course and distance, each runner's time was taken and new positions given in each age group. In the 13-15 division the leading contenders among both boys and girls ran against each other. As expected, over the shorter distance, Mark Morrison had to pull out the stops to hold off Henry Talbot by just a few seconds to make it three wins in a row.

Morrison now has a maximum 150 points with Talbot on 130 and needing to win the last two races of the series to stand any chance of catching his rival.

Only the best four of five races count towards the final points standings.

Chris Conway took another third and has 110 points.

The girls 13-15 race produced an unusual finish when Tiffany Eatherley, the winner of the first two races, came in hand in hand with schoolmate Shar-dae Whitter to tie for first place.

A win for Eatherley, who now has 145 points, would have all but guranteed her victory in the series and a trip to the USA. Whitter is in second place on 120 points and if she wins the remaining two races in the series she can tie Eatherley for points which would mean implementing a tie-breaker system to decide the overall winner.

Robyn Dickinson is in third place behind Whitter on 110 points and a good finish in the MRM race this weekend could lift her into second.

Chayce Smith, winner of the first race, easily won his primary seven event but had to wait for Terrance Dill to finish before knowing his position in the series. Dill also ran a strong race to beat Smith's time and, with 135 points, is well clear of Smith on 90 points.

Smith, who missed one race because of illness, could close the gap if he beats Dill this weekend, as there is one result to be thrown out. Then it could come down to the track meet in April to decide the winner.

The girls 11 and 12 year old division produced a surprise in the Ocean Spray when Latroya Darrell, whose best previous finish was fourth, had an outstanding race to push favourites Flora Duffy and Jenny Palmer out of first place. Palmer also produced something of a surprise by beating Duffy's time by two seconds to take second. Duffy has 135 points, Palmer 120, Chloe Kempe 100 and Darrell, who missed the first race, 85.

The eight to 10 division of the series continues to draw large numbers.

Kor-von Tucker, who finished third behind schoolmate Carlo Paynter in the first two races, outsprinted Paynter in an exciting finish to win the primary four and five race. However, they both had to wait for Cody Lima, the winner of the first two races, to run in the primary six and seven to determine their finish.

Lima showed why he will be difficult to catch with another impressive performance which took him to 150 points while Paynter has 115 with Tucker a close third on 110.

In the girls eight to 10 division, Jessica Palmer leads the way with a maximum 150 points and a 50-point cushion over Shelicia McKenzie in second. Ashley Brookes is third on 90 points.

Kimberley Fisher, daughter of well known runners Eddie and Jennifer Fisher, had another solid run to take second after missing the first race.

Series standings see Scoreboard.