STRONG SHOWING IN CARRIGNAVAR
ANOTHER fantastic day was held at the County Uneven Age Cross Country Championships in Carrignavar on Sunday last.
The sun was shining and the underfoot conditions were good, maybe a little rough in places, but Cross Country is all about the rough and mucky ground so one out of the two was not bad.
There were two obstacles the athletes had to jump this year making the races more exciting for the athletes. Medals were awarded to the first six athletes across the line and the first three club teams.
In the Boys U13 2,500m, Jamie Hourihan ran a superb race with great heart. Jamie stayed with the lead group around the twisty course and they broke away from the rest of the field.
On the last lap Jamie battled hard and with 200m to go started his sprint for home. He battled hard with another athlete and it was an exciting finish with Jamie claiming the 3rd place medal, an achievement well deserved. Jamie’s team were just out of the medals on this occasion but all ran superb. His team were James Lucey, Conor Lucey and Ruadhan McKenna.
In the girls U11 1,500m, Eabha Ni Chonaola also had a very exciting race. Eabha sprinted out fast to get a good position in the first 200m. She then tackled the hill with the lead group. When she came through the gap with 300m to go she was battling with a group of six athletes.
In the final 100m she was in 4th place which she held all the way to the finish and was well deserving.
Eabha’s team also ran superbly and most were running up an age. They were Grace Duarte, Katie Purcell, Siobhan Ni Bhrian, Cliona O’Brien, Muireann O’Sullivan, Grace Nash, Katelyn Cronin and Hayleigh O’Shea.
In the Boys U17 5,000m race, Tadhg Manning was completely focused and determined on the start line. He put himself into a great position on the first two laps and on the final lap he made his move on closing the gaps on the lead group.
After clearing all the obstacles his sights were set on putting himself into contention for a medal. With 200m to go he had fought his way up into the 6th place position and he sprinted for home with all he had and was over the moon to be awarded the 6th place individual medal.
His team mate Dara Myres put his disappointed of last week’s race behind him and took to the line with more confidence. He too ran an outstanding race and while only just out of the medals in 9th place he was delighted with this run and is looking forward to the next race now. A great performance by both boys.
All the other athletes ran superb and battled hard through the huge numbers in each of the races and have improved enormously.
They are now looking forward to their Munster Championships in Beaufort on Sunday, October 21. They are Pippa Murphy, Emma Purcell, Lisa Carey Martin, Darragh Manning, Tristan O’Mullane, Cormac Healy, Cal O’Driscoll, Darragh Murphy, Conor Nash, Conor Hourihan, Ronal O’Neill, Dan Lyons, Ciaran O’Sullivan, Breandan O’Sullivan, Lucia Duarte, Kate Downey, Fern Mullane, Emily Cronin, Eimear O’Sullivan, Danielle O’Neill, Aoife Downey, Brigin Kelleher, Beibhinn Moynihan, Aoife Lucey, Eimear O’Leary, Jennifer Cotter, Caoimhe O’Leary, Caitlin Hurley, Sean O’Sullivan, Brian O’Shea.