Good day for Blackrock
CROSS COUNTRY
THE annual Kearney & McBride Races hosted by Glenmore AC at Bush was the most recent destination for twenty athletes from Blackrock AC wo were competing in the juvenile events that preceded the 5K road race.
The U9 team consisting of Grace McEvoy, Niamh Rowland, Rachel Clarke, Aishling Finegan and Maeve Cuniffe kicked things off for the club over a tough 500m track.
The race started at lightening pace with all of the field jockeying for pole position however when things settled down it was Grace who performed best on the day, collecting a medal for a fine fourth place finish. The rest of the girls worked very hard and all can be satisfied with their efforts.
Emmet Kearney and Oisín Curran were the club stalwarts in the Boys U9 500 and despite finding themselves towards the back of the field early on, both lads dug deep and consistently picked off their opposition as they progressed around the course to work themselves back into very commendable positions overall.
Another large field took to the line for the Girls U11 race where Erin Braniff and Megan McEvoy flew the flag for the club. Both of the girls settled into their running early on and worked hard all they way around the course with a very strong last 100m seeing Megan surge into the top 10 and collect a medal for her efforts.
Erin finished a few places behind, unfortunately just outside the medal positions.
The Boys U11 team was made up of Dillon Rowland, Eoghan Sweeney and Oscar Conway who lined up against a big field in what would prove to be a very tough race. Despite the odds being stacked against them, each of the lads gritted their teeth and pushed themselves to complete the course in as fast a time as possible, producing individual performances that surpassed their recent efforts in the Louth championships.
Erin Finegan maintained her excellent cross country form in the Girls U13 1500m and was rewarded for her efforts with a Sean Reilly of Blackrock AC.
fine top ten finish. Just outside the medal positions were her team mates, Emmy Jeytoo Sarah Braniff and Elizabeth Uhunamunre who battled hard all the way round to finish inside the top twenty places representing an excellent effort from all four athletes.
U13 athlete Sean Reilly resumed his battle with Louth Champion Shay O’Donnell, this time over 1500m., and once again the race lived up to all expectations. Shortly after the start, a group of three athletes, including the main protagonists, pulled away from the rest of the field and exchanged positions over the next 1300m before Shay made the decisive kick 100m from home to establish a 5m lead that the Blackrock athlete couldn’t close. Nonetheless it was another good effort from Sean who will carry his good form into the upcoming Leinster championships.
Donnacha Hughes returned to winning ways with an excellent performance in the Boys U17 3000m, digging deep in the final 50m to find a sprint finish that burned off his nearest rival. Peter McGuiness and Eoghan Smyth chased hard but were unable to trouble the leaders.
Next for the club are their Leinster Cross Country Championships which are scheduled to take place in the next few weeks.