AN EXCITING duel is on the cards at the University Sport South Africa national cross-country championships tomorrow, where Stephen Mokoka will come up against Tshamano Setone.

The event will take place at the University of North West's Potchefstroom campus.

Multiple national champion Mokoka is a student at the Tshwane University of Technology, while Setone attends the University of Johannesburg.

The duo are renowned South African athletes who have represented the country in various international competitions.

This will be the third recent meeting between the two, with Setone winning the Athletics South African cross-country championships over 12km in Bloemfontein two weeks ago.

Mokoka avenged the defeat by beating Setone in the 10km road race that coincided with the Cape Town Marathon last Sunday.

"Stephen and I are very close, but when it comes to a race we put our friendship aside," Setone said. "We enjoy running against each other because it's always a close fight."

After this weekend, he said his focus would shift to the Olympic Games, where he hopes to compete in the 5000m track event.

The triple national 5000m champion said he was working towards breaking Shadrack Hoff's 16-year-old national record next year and dipping under 13minutes, which he was still 25 seconds shy of.

Setone is one of four UJ athletes included in Athletics South Africa's provisional team for the African Cross-Country Championships in March next year.

The others are Nolene Conrad (senior women), Armin Botha and Mampielo Sibanda (both junior men), who all achieved podium finishes at the recent national championships.

UJ athletics manager Thabiso Moletsane described the inclusion of their four athletes in the team as a big achievement for the tertiary institution.

"We're especially proud of Setone's performances. He is a very versatile athlete and a national champion in multiple disciplines in the same season."