UNITED ST RIDER SA. C.

When most of Wexford were at Croke Park, three Striders were competing at the national Masters track and field in Tullamore.

Despite standards being obviously quite high, all three finished in the medals. Aine Cullen improved on her recent Leinster success to win silver in high jump and bronze in discus.

On the track, Sonya Byrne finished in third place in her 400m and 800m events. John McGrath was the last Strider in action and finished the day on a high, winning bronze in a very competitive 1,500m race.

On Wednesday the senior Striders were competing at the Wexford track and field championships in Enniscorthy, for the first of two evening competitions. There were many fantastic performances, including some wins and lots of medals.

National under-age javelin champion, Joshua Hewlett, who was recently selected for an Ireland squad, won the county event for his age group, as did Cian Flanagan in the next age group.

Staying with the field events, Aine Cullen won silver in the shot putt. On the track, there were wins for Sonya Byrne and John McGrath in their respective 400m events and Aedan Rogers in his 1,500m event.

Striders newcomer Colin Carney made a sensational competitive start, winning medals in two sprint events. The Strider ladies took the sprints by storm, with Paula Freeman, Linda Barry and Sandra Young all winning medals.

More success arrived in the middle distance events with John McGrath second in the 1,500m Masters and second in the 5,000m Senior events. Alan O’Connor picked up a further two medals in his distance events and Pat O’Callaghan won silver in his age category 1,500m event.

The evening finished with some great 4 x 400m relay performances from Linda Barry, Sandra Young, Catríona McLoughlin, Sonya Byrne, Liz Keating, Maria Ronan, Beth O’Connor and Paula Freeman, whose teams came second and fourth place.

The men’s team of Aedan Rogers, Colin Carney, Alan O’Connor and John McGrath finished third to win the final medals on a great evening.

Also on Wednesday the Striders Juveniles finished in third place in a track and field challenge evening at Rosbercon. The squad included Isabella O’Connor, Moya Corbett, Ciara Murphy, Kelly Corbett, Eve Byrne, Erinn Shannon, Gearóid Byrne, Seán O’Brien, Jack Murphy, Keelan Ryan, Luca O’Connor, Eanna Grennan, Ronan Shannon, Eoin Hannan, Sam Myers, Ben Myers, Finn Kelly, Seán Lennon, Oisín Mac Eochaidh, Owen Lennon, Darragh Flannelly, Aidan Shannon, Adam O’Connor and Cian Flanagan.

All athletes performed wonderfully well in a number of disciplines, including race walking, where there were some flawless techniques on display. Thanks to the hosts, St. Joseph’s A.C., for a great evening.