Saidhbhe wins Minor schools title
SAIDHBHE BYRNE (Coláiste Bríde, Carnew) won the Minor girls’ competition at the Leinster schools indoor combined events championships on Thursday at the Abbotstown indoor arena.
An excellent series of performances saw her comfortably in the lead, on a margin of 341 points, with only the fifth and final event, the 800m, remaining.
She started with 9.68s in sprint hurdles, following up with 9.55m in shot, 4.64m in long jump, and 1.48m in high jump.
A pain in her side midway through the 800m had Saidhbhe gritting her teeth just to finish the race. Notwithstanding this, she held on to take the gold with 2,809 points, a winning margin of 100 points.
High jump specialist Orlaith Deegan (F.C.J. Bunclody) placed fifth in Minor girls on 2,587 points.
She was the top scorer in the high jump with a P.B. of 1.51m. She also bagged a P.B. in the long jump (4.26m).
Eimear Halpin (Loreto Wexford) was ninth on 2,268 points with new bests in the high jump and shot and a win in the 800m (2.34 minutes).
Maeve Hayes (Loreto Wexford), another high jumper, took the silver in Intermediate girls on 2,899 points, just 83 points behind the winner, Shauna Leydon of Loreto Mullingar.
As well as having the best effort in the high jump (1.56m), Maeve was tops in the long jump (5.06m). Her other results: 9.78s in hurdles, 7.96m in shot, and 2.48 minutes in 800m.
Jack Forde (Wexford C.B.S.) placed second in Inter boys with 2,890 points behind the winner, Alan Miley of St. Kevin’s (Dunlavin), on 3,283 points.
Miley trumped Jack in four of the five events - 9.99s v. 11.86s in hurdles, 6.22m v. 5.65m in long jump, 23.40s v. 25.20s in 200m, 2.13 v. 2.15 in 800m. Jack bettered him in the shot: 11.86m v. 9.99m.
Cross-country championship action recommences in Wexford next Sunday with the Juvenile even ages and Novice races in Adamstown. The first race is at 12 noon.
Róisín O’Reilly and Nathan Murphy, both of Menapians, have been named on the A.A.I. 2018/2019 Endurance Performance Squad.
Selection is based on national/international performances over the preceding twelve months. The squads aim to bring top young athletes from across each province together for opportunities to train collectively.
Whilst this undoubtedly has some performance benefits, it also gives athletes a chance to get to know each other while helping to build a strong, vibrant endurance community.
Fixtures: October 7, Mr Oil Wexford Juvenile even ages and Novice cross-country championships, Adamstown; October 13, Irish Life Health All-Ireland Schools combined events, Athlone; October 14, Mr Oil Wexford Juvenile uneven ages and Senior cross-country championships, JFK Park and Arboretum, hosted by United Striders A.C.; October 27, Leinster Juvenile cross-country (even ages), Navan Adventure Sports at Navan Racecourse; October 28, A.A.I. National Marathon Championships held in conjunction with the Dublin City Marathon.