Claragh second in major test
Byrne and Hewlett advance to Intermediate All-Ireland
SANTRY DEMESNE hosted the Leinster schools cross-country on Wednesday. Located just behind the Billy Morton Stadium on Dublin’s northside, the parkland grounds are ideal for cross-country running with long flat stretches, some low-grade but stamina-testing inclines, and good firm sod throughout.
Mind you, the recent heavy rainfall meant that the going was a little tougher than usual in some spots.
The main objective at the Leinster championships is qualification for the All-Ireland schools which, this year, take place on the same course on March 7. The top 15 in each race qualify as individuals, with the top three teams also going through.
The first real excitement of the day from a Wexford point of view came in the Intermediate girls’ 3,500m race in which Claragh Keane (Presentation Wexford) was the county’s main prospect.
Claragh took on the running at an early stage and led the race, side-by-side, with Emer Maher, who recently competed in the European Junior cross-country - good company to be keeping!
Emer moved ahead on the second lap but Claragh kept it nice and steady and stayed on to take a good second.
Also competing in the same race was Elizabeth Gahan of
Gorey Community School. She tucked into the chasing pack from early on and ran strongly on the last lap to place an excellent seventh. Both qualify for the nationals. Claragh’s schoolmate, Uisce Moroney, had a good run to finish 30th.
Expectations were also high for the county in the Intermediate boys’ 4,500m race. Joe Byrne of Gorey Community School won the South Leinster schools race in Carlow, and Myles Hewlett of New Ross C.B.S. placed fifth in the same race.
A decisive break by two runners opened a gap on the chasing group which included Myles, with Joe some places back again in around 20th. The canny Joe eased his way through the field until he found himself ahead of this group.
No doubt that may have run his batteries down somewhat, but he battled gamely all the way to the end, finishing seventh.
Myles worked solidly throughout the race before considerably upping the pace on the last lap. In the final eyeballs-out sprint to get inside the top ten, a group of three, which included Myles, crossed the line together.
The finish judges gave Myles twelfth place. Both Joe and Myles did what they had to do, namely finishing inside the top 15 and advancing to the nationals.
In the Junior girls’ 2km race, Clíodhna Kearney of Loreto Wexford finished 13th and so progresses.
There were two Wexford athletes in the Junior boys’ 3km race, with Eoin Shannon of Good Counsel (New Ross) finishing eleventh, and William Park of Ramsgrange C.S. twelfth.
These were excellent results in what was a very competitive race. Seán Lennon of Kennedy College missed out on qualifying, finishing in 26th place, and Macdara Kavanagh of St. Peter’s was 76th.
Róisín O’Reilly of Loreto Wexford was the only Wexford representative in Senior girls. With the race distance reduced to 2.5km (it’s usually 3.5k), Róisín and South Leinster winner Laura Moore decided to throw caution to the wind.
The pair took off at a hot pace and had soon put a good gap between themselves and the chasing pack. Halfway through the second of two laps, it looked to be a twohorse race.
Then they hit the hills! They both paid for their early pace, with Laura crossing the line in fourth and a weary Róisín fading to eighth.
Both girls deserve credit for their aggressive running. Let’s see if they go for the same tactic at the All-Irelands!
Corrine Kenny of Gorey Community School just missed qualification by one second, finishing 16th, with Eve Furlong of F.C.J. Bunclody in 26th.
Emmet Cousins had a good run for St. Peter’s in the Minor boys, finishing 21st, with Luca O’Connor of New Ross C.B.S. 75th.
In Minor girls, Cara Kelly (Presentation Wexford) was at the receiving end of a sharp elbow and fell but recovered well to finish 31st.
Freya Thompson (Presentation Wexford) also had an eventful race, losing a shoe but still finishing in a respectable 43rd.
In Junior girls, Sophia Tkacheva (Gorey Community School) was 32nd, while Caoimhe Byrne (F.C.J. Bunclody) was 33rd, and Maeve Bookle (Our Lady’s New Ross) finished 34th.
Wexford C.B.S. were ninth team in the Senior boys’ 6km, with Conor Keane 53rd, Darragh Collins 72nd, Oliver Gould 75th, Owen McNulty 77th, and Shane Sweetman 84th.
Best overall of the Wexford athletes was Cathal Dowd of St. Peter’s in 43rd. Schoolmate Ronan Griffin withdrew from the race.
The Irish Inter-Varsity indoor championships took place at Athlone I.T. on Saturday. Many of those competing were no doubt inspired by the record-breaking exploits of Bandon girl Phil Healy who, a few days earlier on the same track, broke the 200m record which had stood for 22 years.
Phil is coached by Shane McCormack, a member of Menapians A.C. and coach at W.I.T.
Moving from the shelter of a home/club environment to third level education is a challenging and exciting step in any athlete’s development. Many colleges provide a good training environment with scholarship support.
All offer the opportunity to be part of a team chasing glory and points to add to the great history of athletics at third level education in Ireland.
Wexford was well represented with some very encouraging results. Lystus Ebosele, competing for U.C.D., broke two college records.
In shot putt she came second with a throw of 11.53m. In the 8kg for distance, not an event she does too often, she threw 7.73 and was rewarded with another silver.
Menapians athlete David McDonald, a member of W.I.T’s ambitious sprint group, ran a P.B. of 6.89s in the 60m to take silver. David is delighted to be back running injury-free and building on the great potential he showed under-age.
His clubmate and college mate, Aaron Tierney-Smith, took a very good silver in the hurdles, running 8.64s, beaten only by the talented
Shane Aston.
Both David and Aaron ran the relay for W.I.T., with the team finishing just outside the medals in fourth.
Pádraig Hore of D.M.P., competing in the red and black of U.C.C., was happy with his second place in shot putt, his best effort of 12.75m being a P.B. He placed eleventh in the 16kg for distance.
Ryan Carthy-Walsh of W.I.T. was third in the high jump with a best of 1.95m. James Fortune (D.C.U.) was tenth, jumping 1.65m. He was twelfth in the long jump with a best of 5.42m.
Enniscorthy’s Ross Daly, competing for A.I.T., ran 23.91s in the 200m. Katie Daly of Kilmore, representing I.T. Carlow, ran a P.B. of 27.79s in her 200m.
Ciara Wilson of D.M.P. ran a P.B. of 9.43 minutes to place 29th in the women’s 3,000m at the Armagh International road races last weekend. The races, which take in the beautiful Mall in Armagh city, always attract high-quality fields.
Fixtures: February 22 (10 a.m. start), Leinster Junior, Senior and Masters indoor championships, N.I.A., Abbotstown; February 23, Leinster Juvenile relays and some field events (Junior and Senior men), Abbotstown - high jump and shot putt (Under-17-19), pole vault (Under-15-19), combined events (J.S.M.), triple jump (Under-14-19).