Big shot Katie does club and school proud

ST PETER’S AC athlete Katie Murphy had reason to celebrate on Saturday last when medalling at the All-Ireland Schools Athletics Championships in Tullamore.

The Dromiskin-based club had two athletes that qualified and both did themselves, their schools and clubs proud.

Katie, representing Dun Lughaidh once again delivered a good performance on the big stage when she threw 11.81m in the Shot to win bronze. Gabriel Bell also had an excellent performance in the Intermediate Long Jump when he leaped 6.13m to finish in fifth place which was a very creditable result as Gabriel is eligible for this age group again next year.

The following day the same venue hosted the Leinster Senior Track and Field Championships and again the club had two athletes in action.

Conor Durnin followed up his victory in Scotland the previous week when he became Leinster champion in the Triple Jump with a leap of 13.50m.

Veteran club thrower Tom McGrane was also in action as he took part in three events. McGrane, best known as a shot-putter, won bronze in his main event with a throw of 9.29m and then won bronze in the discus with a throw of 20.05m. McGrane finished off his hectic day when he took part in the Hammer competition and performed admirably with a season’s best throw of 17.35m to finish in sixth place.

On Friday the annual Blackrock Beach Races took place in glorious sunshine and the club had some good performances on the evening.

In the Girls Under-8 event Emily O’Reilly finished third, with her twin sister Hannah not far behind her in sixth.

In the Girls Under-10 race Dearbhla Allen and Orla McLoughlin ran very well in a very competitive field and Harry O’Reilly ran very strongly to finish second in the Boys Under-10.

In the Girls Under-12 Niamh Brady and Judith Bell finsihed sixth and eighth respectively and in the final underage race involving the club Sean Allen put his recent injury frustrations behind him when he won Boys Under-12 gold and was closely followed by Jack McLaughlin.

This most enjoyable evening concluded with Fit4Life relays where club chairperson Brendan Rogers, running with his native Annagassan, ran a very strong leg in the men’s relay race, as did his wife Catherine in the ladies relay.

This week club training resumes as the younger athletes prepare for Saturday’s Leinster Championships in Tullamore.