Under-11s lead the way for St Peter’s

HIGHLIGHT of Sunday’s Louth Cross-Country action from a St Peter’s AC perspective was the performance of the Under-11 Boys who won the County title with a superb display of running.

The underfoot conditions were perfect on the wind-swept course that was excellently put together by Glenmore AC, and all four of the boys ran to the best of their ability and got their just deserts by earning team gold.

The St Peter’s team was led home by the ever-improving Jack McLaughlin who ran a very brave race to finish second, while Harry O’Reilly was equally impressive in finishing fourth considering he is still eligible for Under-10. Conor Litchfield also saved his best race of the year for the Championship when he finished in seventh place and he was closely followed by the excellent newcomer Padraic Tinnelly.

The Under-13 Boys team were also in the prizes when they finished in third place, and again all four of these boys ran very bravely over the 2,500m course, with all but one of them still eligible to run in the Under-12 age group.

The team were led home by Sean Allen - who is beginning to rediscover some form - in fifth place, closely followed by Rory McLoughlin. And with Mark Litchfield and Cian Loy battling their way through the field, team bronze medals were secured.

The Girls Under-11 team finished outside the medals, with Ellie Smyth leading them home in eighth place, and next in for the girls was Dearbhla Allen - who is still Under-10 - closely followed by Isabel Fitzpatrick and Katie Mulligan.

St Peter’s didn’t have enough for a team in the Under-13 Girls race, but they did have Niamh Brady who rediscovered her form to produce a third-place finish which was a great run out of her age. Both Lucy Smith and Julie McLoughlin also had decent runs amd indeed all three are still eligible to run Under-12.

Catherine Carey and Mia Finnegan were also in action in the Girls Under-9 race and both girls performed admirably.

The last athlete in action for the St Peter’s club was Eoghan Smith when he took part in the Boys Under-15 event, and in a strong field Eoghan ran very well to finish in 11th place.