Medal joy for Drogheda club in Tullamore

THERE were some great results in the Leinster Seniors & Masters Championships for Drogheda & District athletes from a sweltering Tullamore on Sunday - in particular a senior medal for Lee McGuinness in the 200m event in 22.92.

Earlier in the day McGuinness had finished sixth in his 100m race.

Also doing the sprint double were Karl Carton - second in his 100m in 12:63 and third in the 200m - and Frank Cruise who finished fifth in both events.

In the men’s sprint relay the Drogheda & District team of Carton, O’Connor, Cruise and Hugh O’Reilly combined well to win the silver medals.

In the 400m Hugh O’Reilly was second in 58:63, Gerry O’Connor was third in 60:68 and Pol O’Murchu came third in his 400m race and also won his 800m in 2:26.

In the Senior Men’s 800m Kieran McGrath was second in a fast 2:03 and Tomas O’Heriben also finished second in the B race, while David Walsh beat some good athletes to claim a bronze medal in the 1500m.

For the Drogheda & District ladies, Mary McDonnell took home gold in both the 100 and 200m and Mary Flanagan almost did the double when winning her 200m and finishing second in the 100. Roisin Coade, who has really come good this year, had a fabulous run to finish in second place in her 400m in 67:58.

Orla O’Connor, who’s getting stronger by the week, won silver in her 800m race in a speedy 2:20 and Erin McHugh showed just how well she’s running at the moment by winning silver in the 800 and later in the day winning her 1500m event.

Others who ran well but didn’t figure in the medal placings were Hugh Callan, Shane Larkin, Lynn Browne, Phillipa Donnelly and Andrea McCabe.

Elsewhere, the sun came out to play for last Tuesday’s BHAA Government Services 5 Mile Road Race in Dunboyne, County Meath.

This very popular race, which is run over a flat course, attracted almost 500 runners and first home for Drogheda & District was Shane Larkin, who raced round the course in a fine 29:34, good enough for 58th place overall.

Next in was Gerry Mullins who used this race to sharpen up for next week’s Cork Marathon. His time of 33:52 shows he’s in good shape for the longer event.

Jackser Reilly had to run really hard to finish a mere four seconds ahead of Michelle Hughes in a time of 34:35 - good going with temperatures in the low 20s. Conor Cooney’s run of 35:08 earned him third place in his category.

It wouldn’t be a race without Nuala Reilly in it and she took first place in her age category in 35:34, while also back in shape was Jim Nolan, the man who puts everyone in good form, who ran 36:36 for the distance with no real distress.

At the All-Ireland Schools Championships, Cormac Canning was fourth in the Junior 1500m last Saturday in Tullamore with a big PB of 4:20. This was a great performance to match his fourth place in the Schools Cross-Country earlier in the year, his first in the sport, and a credit to his coach Ian.

Closer to home, the latest Drogheda & District Summer Graded Meeting saw lots of good times and plenty of close races on a perfect evening.

The stand out performances in the mile races were Sam O’Neill winning his race in a fast 4:35, with Kieran McGrath second in 4:47 and young James Nolan enjoying a fine run to finish third in 4:52. For the ladies, first home was Yasmin Canning in 5:44, with Ciara O’Reilly not far behind in 5:50. Aimee Corcoran just dipped under the seven-minute mark with 6:59.

The Drogheda & District juveniles ran well, with Ronan Devine running 5:54 for his mile and Kate O’Reilly 6:45. Club Captain Rob Power ran hard to get a new PB of 5:56.

However, the run of the night probably belonged to Artur Kuwik who ran a speedy 5:33 to finish just ahead of Paddy Murphy and Declan Monaghan (both 5:35).

In the 400m Andrew Kelly ran 55:70 to finish in second place, with Hugh Callan third in 56:30. Orla O’Connor ran 63:60 which was good enough for third place, with Roisin Coade running a useful 67:30.

Harry Caffery ran the 100m in 13:60, with Robert Kierans clocking 13:80 and Lynn Browne finishing sixth in 16:40.

Elsewhere, Simon Gregory had a fine run in the Balbriggan Roadrunners 5k race last Thursday evening. His time of 18:07 was good enough for fifth place overall, with Jane Glynn finishing in 23:31, Gerard Fay 27:33 and Janella Clarke 33:15, while also running well was Director of Coaching Declan Monaghan who finished Friday’s Spraoi agus Sport 5k race in Carndonagh, Donegal, in 18:40.