PB puts Carolan in good nick for debut marathon

BOYNE AC athletes were in great form on Saturday last as the buildup to next month’s Airtricity Dublin Marathon continued with the Half-Marathon in Phoenix Park.

This 13.1-mile race was a sellout, with almost 9,000 competitors taking part, and Boyne AC had a small but mighty crew in amongst them.

First to cross the line for the club was Rebecca Carolan, who achieved a new PB of 1:37 and now has her eyes firmly set on a good result in her debut marathon in a month’s time.

Crossing the line in 1:42:38 was teammate Sally Clarke, while close behind was Andrew Coyle who finished in a super 1:43:46, a good sign of things to come for his first marathon also.

Another marathon first-timer, Ryan Holcroft, also ran a new PB in 1:52:57, while Ruth McCabe, fresh from the Great North Run recently, chopped a huge six minutes off her time, crossing the line in 2:19:53.

A little closer to home on Sunday, Star of the Sea AC held their annual Cross-Country event, the first of the season.

It’s always a tough and challenging course at the Stamullen venue and this year was no exception, but some fine weather for the juvenile races certainly helped.

Getting the day off to a great start, the Under-9 Girls scooped the silver team prize thanks to a fantastic win by Sholah Lawrence who was followed closely by Kate Culhane in fourth and Paige Gargan who also ran well.

Not to be outdone by the girls, the Under-9 Boys also took home the silver team medal, with yet another first-place finish for Oliver Carolan and fine performances from Lorcan Forde Dunne and Cormac McEvoy to make up the dynamic team.

In the Under-10 Girls 500m race Emer Cooney finished in a fine fourth place, while in the Boys Under-11 1,000m Paddy Price had a super run to take third, with Aaron Fennell close behind in fifth.

The Under-12 Boys had a tough 1500m distance to contend with and a strong run from Neil Culhane saw him finish second.

The Under-13 Girls also scooped team medals - bronze - with Anna Faulkner having a fantastic run to finish in fourth place, with good backing from teammates Caer NiGibne and Lily Cummins.

The distances increased dramatically as the ages went up, and in the Under-14 Boys event Killian McLoughlin ran a great race over a tough 2,500m course to finish in sixth place.

The Under-17 Girls had 3,000m to contend with, and Eva Cummins did a great job when finishing in third place overall, while in the Boys 4,500m race Lorcan Hughes took fourth position, with Tadgh Everitt Thompson just behind in fifth. GREENHILLS’ senior and juvenile combination struggled to contain a strong Collon senior side in a challenge match played last Friday night.

In the first rinks game played over nine ends under IIBA rules, there was little difference between the two teams in the early stages, but Collon skip Paul Carry’s team got their noses in front after four ends, two up.

Greenhills cut the gap to one and then squared the game in the next end, but the hosts’ skip Paul Carry responded by restoring Collon’s two-shot advantage with two ends remaining.

Greenhills skip Jack Howell’s team reduced the gap to one again, but some superb draw shots to the head saw Collon prevail by two shots.

In the second game Greenhills got off to a disastrous start, conceding four shots in the first three ends. However, skip John Hurley settled his team down eventually and after five ends the deficit was down to one.

Jim Harmon’s team put a halt to Greenhills’ progress in the sixth end and their lead was now back up to three. The visitors narrowed the gap back to two, but in truth the visitors never looked like bridging the gap and eventually lost out by five shots.

In the last game of the night Greenhills probably panicked a little in the first few ends and one more they found themselves trailing by four after three ends.

Eugene McKenna’s team recovered well in the fourth end and fought back to square the match, only for Collon skip Dermot McKenna’s team to edge one up after two further ends.

There was no shortage of drama in the next two ends, with both teams attacking the head, leaving bowls short and putting them in the ditch. But it was the hosts who found their rhythm in the seventh to extend their lead to four. There was no way back after that as Greenhills resorted to putting in blockers in an attempt to keep the score down.

Collon’s stand-out performers were Paul Carry, Jim Harmon, Gerry McGinn and Tom Bannon, while Ciara Floyd, Anna Farrell, Alan Thornberry and Jimmy Flood were best for Greenhills.

Collon chairman Tom Bannon welcomed Greenhills to the club and thanked them for a very sporting game, while Greenhills chairman John Hurley thanked Tom for his very kind words and the club for their hospitality.

The Club Championship singles draw will take place this Thursday at 8.30pm. Any person unable to attend should contact a committee member to allow for the smooth running of the competition. Any member wishing to travel to the Cooley Pairs Open next week is asked to put your name on the club noticeboard.

Times of play are Tuesday 7 to 8pm for juveniles, Tuesday and Thursday from 8 to 10.30pm for seniors.