PROMISING pentathlete Samantha Fraser hopes to produce another five-star performance this weekend.

The record-breaking Widnesian can give herself an early present for her 14th birthday next week by qualifying for the national finals again.

Samantha, of Bilton Close, will represent Cheshire Schools in Stoke-onTrent and is determined to win through to September's English Schools Pent-athlon Championship final in Exeter.

The St Helens-Sutton competitor reached the national stage last year in an event encompassing 70m hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot and 800m.

Under-15s star Samantha had already qualified to represent Cheshire in the shot at next month's English Schools Athletics Championships at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham.

This followed the all-rounder smashing the junior girls' outdoor club record - her new mark of 10.82 being set at the Cheshire Schools AA Track and Field event in Macclesfield the weekend before last.

She already held St Helens-Sutton's indoor best with 10.78.

The forthcoming Midlands trip will see a return to the scene of Samantha's triumph in last Saturday's Mason Trophy inter-counties event when she again shot putted to victory.

At the Northern Championships earlier in the campaign, she had won a silver medal for the shot with 10.25m while matching the bronze-medal-winning height of 1.50m in the high jump - only to miss out on the podium position on countback.

She also claimed fifth place at 75m hurdles and long jump.

* Another Halton Schools athlete to qualify for the English Schools is Tony Corrigan - intermediate 200m winner.

His Cheshire Schools Championship time of 22.70 was more than two seconds faster than his nearest rival.