Joe walks away with title

JOE MOONEY of Adamstown A.C. won the Under-23 3,000m walk at the National Indoors held on Sunday in Athlone.

Ross Daly (Enniscorthy A.C.) placed fourth in the Junior 200m (23.13). He also ran an impressive 7.3s in the 60m.

Clubmate James Fortune clocked 7.6s in the Under-23 60m. He also came fourth in the long jump (6.15m).

Chris St Claire, also Enniscorthy, ran 51.21s for the Under-23 400m in the heats, just missing out on a place in the final.

Aaron Tierney-Smith (Menapians) came fifth in the Junior 60m hurdles in 8.5s (P.B.). Clubmate Conor Gaffney was fourth in the Under-23 race, also running a P.B.

Sammy Delaney (St. Paul’s) placed fifth in the Junior men’s long jump (5.92m).

The Menapians club was in action in Athlone last weekend at the second round of the indoor track and field National League.

Michael Deady placed fourth in a strong 200m line-up. Two Menapians athletes guested in the same race, with Conor Wilson running a quick 22.61s and young Adam Leahy running 25.63s.

Michael heroically (for a sprinter!) went on to run the 1,500m and pick up some valuable points for the team.

Emmanuel Ogbonna reached a mark of 12.52m in the triple jump which was good enough for second place.

Conor Wilson added a few valuable points in the high jump and followed up with a win in the 400m, running a solid 50.59s.

A totting up of the scores at day’s end saw the club move up from eighth, after round one, to fifth and a place in next weekend’s final in Abbotstown, Dublin.

Wexford-born and based national sprints coach Shane McCormack had the pleasure, last weekend, of watching one of his athletes, Phil Healy, setting the track on fire at an indoor meet in Vienna.

Healy, from Bandon in Cork, not only knocked a full second off her 400m P.B., but her superb time of 52.08m was the fastest of the year so far.

Shane, an I.A.A.F. Level IV coach, is one of the most respected and in-demand sprint coaches in the country.

Fixtures: February 3, Irish Life Health National Indoor League, Abbotstown; February 4, Irish Life Health A.A.I. Indoor Games, Abbotstown; February 10, Leinster Juvenile indoor championships day 1Â (sprints, 1,500m, walks), Athlone (programme also includes Junior, Senior and Masters walks); February 11, Irish Life Health Intermediate, Masters, Juvenile ‘B’ and Juvenile cross-country relays, Kilcornan Estate, Clarinbridge, Co. Galway; February 11 (12 noon), Enniscorthy 10k, Clonhaston, Enniscorthy, organised by Slaney Olympic; February 16, Wexford Athletics annual awards night, Riverside Hotel, Enniscorthy; February 17-18. Irish Life National Senior indoors, Abbotstown; February 21, A.I.T. Grand Prix, Athlone; February 24, Leinster Juvenile (day two), plus Junior, Senior and Masters indoor championships, Abbotstown; February 25, Leinster Juvenile indoor championships day three, Abbotstown (relays plus older ages field events).