CIARÁN O LIONÁIRD feels that the Irish under-23s are ready to compete for the team gold medals at next month’s European Cross-Country Championships in Albufeira.

MARY CULLEN managed to win back some pride for Ireland with a fine fourth place in the senior women’s race at the SPAR European Cross-Country Championships in Brussels yesterday as Martin Fagan could only watch from his knees as his medal hopes faded after a crashing fall in the senior men’s race.

THE Irish teams for the European cross-country championships in Brussels will be finalised tonight following the NCAA championships in Indiana where a number of Irish athletes will be in action.

HOLLY KNIGHT will be a new face on the Irish U23 women’s team for the European cross-country championships in Brussels on December 14.

GARETH SHAW is destined to bow out from collegiate golf with the coveted status of an All-American after reaching the final round of the 111th Men’s NCAA Division I Championships in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Danielle McVeigh saw her challenge at the NCAA Women's Championship halted by high winds yesterday in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Gareth Shaw and Johnny Caldwell, Ireland’s collegiate golfing stars of the 2007-08 US season, enjoyed contrasting fortunes as the NCAA East Regional Championship got under way in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Irish golfer Ann Marie Dalton saved her best for last on Wednesday as she took her first US collegiate individual title in the final tournament of her career with High Point University.

Niall Turner led home Ireland's quartet of golfers and helped his team to a US collegiate national top10 finish at the season-ending NCAA Championships in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Gareth Shaw was the leading Irishman in the individual standings after the opening round of the NCAA Championships in Williamsburg, Virginia on Wednesday but Niall Turner's University of Minnesota team were right in the hunt for the team title.

There were some anxious moments for Irish golfers this week as both the University of Minnesota and East Tennessee State needed play-off victories to reach the men's national collegiate golf finals.

There was disappointment all round for Ireland's trio of golfers at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Regional Championships this week, despite some good individual performances.

IRISH collegiate athletes in the United States have some tough acts to follow as the latest round of conference indoor track championships get underway this weekend.

Curtis Cup player Tara Delaney led Kent State University home in their opening tournament of the spring collegiate golf season as the Golden Flashes placed 12th in the 54-hole Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at Palos Verdes, California.

Carlow sisters Tara and Karen Delaney tee it up next week for the first time in 2007 as Kent State University begins its bid for a return to the US collegiate national finals, the NCAA Championships.

The pros may have their majors to aim for but if you’re a student golfer on the American college circuit, there is no bigger tournament than the NCAA Championships.

MARK CHRISTIE (Westmeath) claimed his first national senior title with victory at the inter-counties cross-country championships at St Augustine’s College, Dungarvan, yesterday.

SEAMUS POWER bids to win the National senior inter-counties cross-country title for a sensational 10th time at St Augustine’s College, Dungarvan, on Sunday.

Irish golfer Niall Turner took his place at US collegiate golf’s top table with a top 10 finish at the prestigious NCAA Championships in Oregon last night.

LIMERICK man Liam Reale added his name to the growing list of qualifiers for the European championships when he finished second in the elite men’s 1,500m race at last weekend’s Boston High Performance meeting.

Three Irish golfers successfully negotiated the NCAA men’s regional championships to earn a tee time at the US national collegiate finals.

Two finals, three semi-finals and an awful lot of heartache; the near misses are scratched into the soul of every Munster supporter. Yet a dip into the sporting archives reveals that those who follow the advice of ancient Scottish king Robert The Bruce, to try, try and try again if at first they do not succeed, are very often rewarded. Eventually. SIMON LEWIS investigates.

Three Irish golfers will be aiming for the NCAA Championships when their colleges tee it up in the United States today.

STUDENT distance runner Mary Cullen continued her brilliant start to the outdoor track season at the weekend with a 5,000m victory at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

PETER O’KEEFFE and Aaron O’Callaghan, two of the most promising young golfers in Ireland, have been awarded scholarships to the University of South Eastern Louisiana.

JAY HAAS did not quite get the Father Day’s present yesterday he had been hoping for on Friday evening but it came pretty close.

ANDREW BREE is looking to further improve his Irish 200m breaststroke record at the NCAA Championships which begin in Long Island, New York, today.

SUSAN MORAN’S Saint Joseph’s University basketball team face an anxious wait to see if they have qualified for the prestigious NCAA Championships later this month.

CATHERINA McKIERNAN was back in full training yesterday, within hours of winning the women’s race at the Margate International.

KEITH KELLY may be in flying form right now, and Seamus Power and Peter Matthews are back on track, but Ireland will have to wait for news of Alastair Cragg’s plans before assessing the medal hopes in the men’s race at next month’s European cross-country championships in Edinburgh.

SEAMUS POWER will fulfil a lifetime's ambition when he lines up for the final of the men's 10,000m at the European championships in Munich next Wednesday night, but it will be the first and last major track championship appearance by the Clareman.