Dedicated Blackrock crew shine
ROUND-UP
DAY two of the Louth Cross Country Championships was held at the home of St Fechins GFC, and once again Blackrock AC was well represented by a group of dedicated competitors.
The early morning rain may have made conditions tricky underfoot however it certainly didn’t dampen the spirits of those taking part.
The first race of the day was the Girls U9 600m where Rachel Clarke produced her best run of the season so far, finishing comfortably inside the top ten to collect the clubs first medal of the day.
Aaron Broe and Zach Healy were next out on the course and both lads gave their all in the Boys U9 600m coming in 6th and 9th place respectively, with both lads picking up medals for which they be justifiably proud.
The prospect of the wet and mucky 1500m course didn’t faze any one of the Girls U11 team which was made up of Aisling Finegan, Jenny Hawe, Sophie Skelly, Fia Healy and Faith Scanlon.
Each athlete in this fine group stuck to their task and got to the finish line and although there may not have been any medals on the day it was a great effort nonetheless.
Following in the footsteps of the U12 Boys on day one, the Boys U11 Team produced the goods to collect a fine team bronze in their 1500m race. The athletes in question were James Scanlon, Sam Jeytoo, Danny Delasa and James Morgan with each man busting a gut for their team and getting their just rewards.
The U13 Girls team consisting off Erin Finegan, Sarah Braniff, Emmy Jeytoo and Erin Braniff fancied their chances of a team medal and were right in the thick of things until an error on the course by one of the race marshals saw Erin Braniff redirected off the track which ultimately meant disqualification. Individually the girls performed superbly with Erin Finegan coming home 6th followed very close behind by Emmy and Sarah who finished just outside the top 10.
U13 athlete Maciek Dobros found the going tough in his very first country race however there is no doubt that he will live to compete another day whilst Sean Reilly was the last athlete out on the course for the club going up in age to compete in the Boys U15 3500m race. As usual he left nothing out on the track, digging in all the way around to come home in an excellent 6th place overall.
A week previously, a bright and breezy Darver was the place to be for twenty hardy Blackrock athletes who were competing on day one of the Championships.
Aisling Finegan, Rachel Clarke, Niamh Rowland and Faith Scanlon kicked things off in fine style for the club, giving their all in a tough Girls U10 800m race. All four girls delivered top class performances over a very testing course and were unluck to be pipped for a team medal. The same can be said for the Boys U10 team made up of Aaron Broe, Zach Healy and Oisín Curran, all of whom ran solidly on their competitive cross country debuts.
A team bronze was the reward for the efforts of Sean Speight, Eoghan Sweeney, James Scanlon, Dillon Rowland, Hugo Nolan and Sam Jeytoo who made up the Boys U12 team. Each member gave their all and to a man can be proud of their performance over a very challenging 2000m.
It was Sean who led the charge coming home inside the top ten followed closely by Eoghan with James, Dillon, Hugo and Sam packing well and crossing the line not too far behind.
Fia Healy was the clubs only representative in the Girls U12 2000m and despite not challenging for a medal, she was never far off the pace, running a
solid race and gaining valuable experience against older athletes that will stand to her when she is back competing in her own age group.
Erin Finegan and Emmy Jeytoo competed out of age in the Girls U14 3000m in order to get some running in their legs over long distance in advance of day two of the championships. Both girls battled hard all the way around and both were rewarded with excellent top 10 finishes. Sean Reilly produced a typical gutsy performance in the Boys U14 3000m and collected the clubs first medal of the day, a bronze, just missing out on a higher placing by a few metres.
U18 athlete Donnacha Hughes produced another championship winning performance, leaving the field in his wake as he stormed to gold over 6000m metres.
Team mate Peter McGuiness dug deep, worked hard and was rewarded with a very creditable 7th place overall. Closing things out on day one for the club was Oisín Hughes who competed in the Novice Men’s 600m coming home in an excellent 6th place out of an overall entry of 44 runners.