KEHOE AND SHIELS TAKE THE CROWNS

THE Senior Cross Country Championship took place on Sunday in scenic Kilrane looking on to the Irish Sea.

The ladies 5km race saw the biggest entry in a number of years and the big clubs of Kimore, SBR, Slaney Olympic and DMP all had good numbers competing for the team awards.

The Kilmore ladies of Fiona Kehoe, Jackie Carty and Sharon Clooney all hit the front from the starting gun and dominated the race. Ann Sullivan of DMP and the ladies of SBR Lillian Lawless, Ciara Bowe and Belinda Kehoe with all in the front pack.

The ladies had two laps of 2.5km track and has they came round to the bell for the last bell Fiona Kehoe led with Jackie Carty closely following. Both ladies had just returned from successful races at national level with Fiona Kehoe winning the National Novice Championship and Jackie Carty coming third at the Masters Championship in Scotland.

The final result of very competitive race was clean sweep for Kilmore with Fiona Kehoe (first), Jackie Carty (second) and Sharon Clooney (third). The team results: Kimore (first), SBR (second) and Slaney Olympic (third).

The men’s senior event followed with a 10km race ahead of the field of 37 entrants. Again, a strong field faced four laps of the 2.5km course and novice and intermediate champion Pedro Clavo from SBR and St Killian’s Niall Sheils led from the start.

The duo battled it out for the first three laps while a large group followed, including the United Striders trio of John McGarth, Alan O’Connor and Matt Flannelly, SBR’s Noel Kennedy and Croghan’s Pat Foley.

As the men headed into the last lap, Niall Sheils broke away from Pedro Calvo and held the lead to take the Senior Championship, followed by Pedro Calvo in second and Noel Kennedy, SBR, in third place.

The senior men’s team event went to SBR in first place, United Striders in second and Slaney Olympic finishing in third place.

Wexford Athletics would like to thank St Pauls for hosting the event and we wish all the athletes a merry Christmas, a well earned rest and we look forward to a great year’s athletics in 2017.

The start of the women’s race in the Wexford Cross Country Championships.

Emmet Malone (Unted Striders), Myles Gibbons (SBR), Luke Butler (Unites Striders) and Denis Moynihan (SBR).

Valarie Murray, Meriva Neville, Margaret Cahill and Sarah Walsh from Slaney Olympic.

Jackie Carthy (second), Fiona Kehoe (first) and Sharon Cloney (third), all from Kilmore AC, after the women’s race in Kilrane.

Fiona Kehoe, Sinead O’Brien, Jackie Carthy, Sharon

The men get underway.