CLUB CALL
MENAPIANS A.C.
On the first evening of the county Senior track and field championships in Enniscorthy, Aaron Smith won gold in the 110m hurdles and silver in the 200m, while Shaun Donohue won gold in the 800m and 200m.
Shane O’Neill won gold in the Novice 100m, and Jimmy O’Neill won gold in the Masters 100m.
Suzie Brennan won gold in the Novice 100m, April Keeling won bronze, while Liadh Dwyer finished fourth.
Suzie, April, Liadh and Róisín O’Reilly won gold in the 4 x 400m. Nathan Murphy won gold in the Under-16 javelin.
Róisín O’Reilly won gold in the Senior 800m and 3,000m and was fourth in the 200m. Lee Doyle won gold in the javelin and ran in the 200m.
Senan O’Reilly ran the 5,000m and Catherine O’Connor ran the 800m and 3,000m.
The national Juvenile ‘ B’ and relay championships took place in Tullamore. Congratulations to our Under-17 girls’ relay team on winning gold. These athletes, who have been together from age ten up, set these championships as their target last September and put in the work all year so the win was very sweet.
Liadh Dwyer got a great start and rounded the first bend as if her life depended on it. The team, running in lane eight, had a lead before the first hand over to April Keeling.
April did the business down the back straight, handing over to Suzie Brennan who consolidated the lead with a safe handover to Sabia Doyle to bring the team home.
There were squeals of joy and some tears as Sabia kept the lead safe and brought the team home for a well-deserved national gold.
Well done also to Ailbhe White who made the final of the Under-14 80m and was fourth in the long jump, and to Sinéad O’Reilly who ran the Under-14 800m.
Our Senior athletes were in action for round two of the National League in Morton Stadium, Santry. The men’s team competed in the Premier League while the women’s team competed in Division 1.
Menapians fielded a young women’s team, backed up by some more experienced athletes. The ladies put in a superb performance, qualifying for the final.
Suzie Brennan was first in the 100m, fourth in the 400m, and fifth in the javelin. Róisín O’Reilly was first in the 3,000m steeplechase, beating the premier athletes, and fourth in the 400m hurdles.
Cate Wilson was second in the 1,500m walk and fifth in the shot putt. There was some great jumping from Aoife Muldoon, our guest from United Striders, who was fourth in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump.
April Keeling was third in the 200m while Catherine O’Connor was second in the 800m and third in the 1,500m.
In the relays, the 4 x 100m team of Suzie Brennan, April Keeling, Róisín O’Reilly and Aoife Muldoon finished an excellent third, while the 4 x 400m team finished fifth.
Laura Halpin was fourth in the hammer and fifth in the discus. Eimear Halpin took advantage of the competition and entered the discus as a guest, finishing second.
In the men’s Premier League it was a busy day for Aaron Smith who was third in the 110m hurdles, fourth in the 400m hurdles, and fourth in the high jump.
Conor Wilson was fifth in the 200m and fifth in the long jump, while Shaun Donohue was second in the 400m and fourth in the triple jump.
Jimmy McDonald finished fourth in a good quality 3,000m walk. Michael Deady was fifth in the hammer, gaining valuable points for the club, and sixth in the 100m.
Barry Upton looked strong in the 800m, finishing seventh, while Damien Walsh was sixth in the 3,000m steeplechase and fifth in the 5,000m.
Keith Smith was fifth in the javelin. Michael Halpin was sixth in the shot putt and fifth in the discus. Conor Wilson, Aaron Smith, Michael Deady and Shaun Donohue had a great second place in the 4 x 100m in a tough battle with Donore.
Barry Upton, Conor Wilson, Shaun Donohue and Michael Deady had a good run in the 4 x 400m again, placing second behind Donore. Unfortunately, the men missed out on qualification for the final.
Damien Walsh and Brian Reilly recently completed the Viking half-marathon. Tadhg Henderson and Brian Reilly completed the Clontarf half-marathon on an extremely warm morning, while Ger Mulhall completed the Clontarf 5 Mile. Enda O’Sullivan completed the Cahir half-marathon.
On the second evening of the county championships, Michael Deady had a great run in the 100m to take the title. Luke, Shane, Sam and Jimmy O’Neill won the 4 x 100m in 47.9. Shane was also third in the 100m and fourth in the long jump with 5.55m.
Suzie Brennan won the 100m, Liadh Dwyer won the 400m, and Róisín O’Reilly won the 1,500m in a new P.B. of 4.48m. The girls, joined by Catherine O’Connor, ended the night with third in the 4 x 100m.
David McDonald travelled to Finland for the the I.A.A.F. world Under-20 championships. David was a member of the 4 x 100m team which finished third in their heat with a time of 40.51 but unfortunately didn’t qualify for the final.
Last week David was selected to run on the Irish Senior 4 x 100m relay team at the prestigious Diamond League on Sunday, July 22, in the London Olympic Stadium against some of the world’s best sprinters.
At the national Juvenile track and field championships in Tullamore, Róisín O’Reilly won gold in the Under-17 2,000m steeplechase with a massive championship best performance.
Ruby Reynolds won gold in the Under-13 60m, Aaron Smith won silver in the Under-19 110m hurdles, and Nathan Murphy was fourth in the Under-16 discus. Eimear Halpin capped off a brilliant year with seventh place in the Under-15 discus.
The Menapians 5k road race takes place on Friday, July 20, and online registration is now open at www.njuko. net/menapians5k
WANDERERS CRICKET
Wexford Wanderers firsts lost by five wickets to Merrion in a high-scoring Leinster League game played at Rathmines.
Wanderers batted first and scored 228 runs for nine wickets off their 45 overs, with young Khalid Shirzada hitting an impressive 55 not out and skipper Umar Tarar rowing in with 50 runs to his name.
However, a very strong home side had little difficulty reaching their target and had eight overs to spare at the finish. Best bowlers for Wanderers were Azhar Syed with three wickets for 45 runs, and Sharjeel Shaikh with two for 37.
Meanwhile, the second eleven recorded their second league success of the season with a convincing 46-run win over Knockarley at Park.
Wanderers batted first and were all out for an impressive total of 178 runs, with Sami Jan top scoring with 40 and useful contributions from Javid Shirzada (19 not out), Paul Wise (15) and Stefan Carty (13).
In reply, Knockarley started well but the introduction of spinners Anjith Varghese and Paul Wise into the attack soon changed the course of the game and the visitors finished well short on 132 for nine off their 40 overs.
Next weekend the firsts are home to Merrion on Sunday, while the seconds have an eagerly anticipated local derby against Gorey at Park on Saturday.
Next Frida, July 20, coaches from Cricket Leinster will be at Wexford Wanderers R.F.C. to provide cricket for girls and boys aged from seven years old up to 14.
The morning session will run from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and will involve soft ball cricket for Under-11s, and the afternoon session will be from 1.15 to 3.15 p.m. and will use a hard ball for the older children.
All girls and boys are welcome to attend whether they have any experience of playing cricket or not. Further information may be obtained from Herbie Honohan (087-6535985).
KILMORE A.C.
Well done to Katelyn Boggan who was eleventh in her first nationals in the Under-15 girls’ long jump in Tullamore with a best of 4.52m - a fantastic achievement Katelyn!
An overcast evening in Enniscorthy on Wednesday brought this year’s Mr Oil county Senior track and field championships to a close.
For various reasons we didn’t have our usual numbers but our four athletes who competed put in great performances once again.
Sam Molyneux and Luke Walsh lined up for the Novice men’s 200m. Sam, who finished second in the 100m and third in the 400m one week earlier, was looking to make it a trio of sprinting successes. His fourth place in the 200m was yet another impressive achievement.
Luke was fourth in the 100m one week earlier and, like Sam, was part of the silver medal 4 x 400m relay. In the 200m on Wednesday, Luke placed fifth but he continues to go from strength to strength as every race comes.
In the Masters women’s 800m, Helen Doyle took the win. Helen followed this up with a third place finish in the 3,000m.
This rounds off a great county championships for Helen who was fourth in the Senior 800m and second in the Masters 1,500m one week earlier.
The ever-consistent and reliable Jackie Carthy once again was the class of the field in the aforementioned Masters 3,000m, taking home gold. Jackie continues to impress on the county, national and international scene and really is top class.
Overall the championships were very positive for the club. With a number of our Juveniles making the step up to the Novice ranks, the future looks very bright!
Also newcomers such as Nicky Foley and Suzanne Foley as well as reliables Jackie and Helen took home medals, so there’s plenty to be proud of.
Registration is now open for this year’s Saltees Fish 10k. Please see kilmoreathleticsclub.wordpress.com for more details. The race is on Saturday, September 15, at 5.30 p.m.
‘Meet and Train’ on The Burrow (Sofrimar end) returns this Wednesday at 7 p.m. New members are welcome as always of all fitness levels. Juvenile training returns on August 9.
UNITED STRIDERS A.C.
The Senior and Juvenile Striders were in action recently, as the track and field season ramps up.
Congratulations to Adam O’Connor on a brilliant victory in Tullamore in the national ‘B’ championships.
Competing in the boys’ Under-16 800m event, Adam raced to an impressive win in a great time of 2.09, continuing the strong tradition of middle distance running in New Ross.
The Senior Striders were competing over the past two weeks at the Wexford track and field championships, with a strong squad that contained many athletes who have progressed through the club’s under-age system.
On the first night, Rebecca Bawden was a real hero in the last leg of the 4 x 400m, helping team-mates Sonya Byrne, Catríona McLoughlin and Paula Freeman to a thrilling silver medal.
In the men’s equivalent, Gavin Kelly showed that father time has not blunted his speed, helping youngsters Nic Walkden, Paul Doran and Aaron Browne to an impressive win.
Other highlights included Alan O’Connor, Joe Lillis and John McGrath filling the first three places in the 5,000m event, and Eve Byrne and Cian Flanagan both winning their javelin events.
Medal winners also included Paula Freeman, Aine Cullen, Aoife Muldoon and Brendan Lyng.
The second night of action, also at the Enniscorthy track, provided more excitement and medals for the Striders.
Aoife Nic Eochaidh was the golden girl, with a thrilling last leg winning gold for the Striders ladies’ 4 x 100m team which also included Paula Freeman, Aoife Muldoon and Rebecca Bawden.
Paul Doran led home a Striders one-two-three in the men’s 1,500m, ahead of Joe Lillis and John McGrath.
Paula Freeman had to battle hard down the home straight to hold off Sonya Byrne as the Striders won gold and silver in the 200m event.
Other medal winners, on a very successful night, included Aaron Browne, Anastasia Cash, Rebecca Bawden, Pat O’Callaghan and Conor Murphy.
A big thanks to Theresa, Nora, Gráinne, and others from the club, who helped out, and thanks to Wexford Athletics and the county Secretary for hosting a fantastic event.
ST. JOSEPH’S A.C.
Once again, Shane Power placed St. Joseph’s on the national stage two weeks ago in taking on the best athletes in the country and finishing joint second in the Under-23 national championships with a superb pole vault clearance of 4.10m. Congratulations to Shane from everyone in the club.
Another club athlete consistently taking on the best athletes in the country in his age group over the track and field season is Jordan Knight, and his dedication reaped deserved rewards with fantastic medal-winning performances at last weekend’s Irish Life Health Juvenile national championships.
Like Shane a few weeks earlier, Jordan won a silver medal in the boys’ Under-16 long jump with a best jump of 6.04 metres. A superb second medal followed in the 100m hurdles final with a third place finish in 14.71 seconds.
Another athlete coming close to a national medal was Evan O’Toole. He eventually finished fifth in the Under-15 high jump championship, just five centimetres off a bronze medal. He also finished sixth in the Under-15 long jump championship.
Also wearing the St. Joseph’s singlet at the national championships was Katie Taylor who finished tenth in the Under-15 long jump competition.
A week earlier, Tullamore was again the venue for the national club relay All-Irelands. Two St. Joseph’s teams had qualified from the hugely competitive Leinster championships.
Particularly unlucky was the boys’ Under-16 team of Danny Glennon, Eoin Kennedy, Evan O’Toole, Jordan Knight and Cathal Beirne who finished in an agonising fourth position.
The girls’ Under-15 team of Rachel Foley, Katie Taylor, Ciara Mullally and Erin Foley finished a valiant third in their heat but failed to qualify for the final on times.