Athletes out in force for Louth pre-champs
BOYNE AC athletes were very much to the fore as more than 500 from across the county turned out for Saturday’s pre Louth Championships in the Lourdes Stadium.
Viewed as a warm up for the upcoming championships proper, the day gave all the youngsters the opportunity to test themselves over a variety of disciplines, and check out the opposition in the meantime!
Eddison Ekhator got Boyne’s campaign off to a great start with a win in the boys U-8 60m, while the boys U-9 60m saw Cormac McEvoy take gold and Callum Byrne silver.
In the girls U-10 80m race, Sholah Lawrence was just taken on the finish line, settling for the silver medal, while in the boys race Oliver Carolan dominated the field to take gold. A relative newcomer to athletics, Ronan Thompson impressed in the boys U-11 80m as he took gold in 11.9, followed closely by Shea O’Donnell in third with a time of 12.4.
Unsurprisingly, it was a sea of yellow in the boys U-12 final as national relay champions Killian Ekhator, Amitesh Bala and Alex Devine took the podium places respectively, with super times of 10.3, 10.5 and 10.7.
In the U-13 80m sprint, Neil Culhane, better known for his distance running, took a well deserved bronze, while in the girls race Saran Meite made light work of the opposition to take gold in 11 seconds flat.
The U-14 girls had the slightly longer 100m to contend with, and in the final Sophie Gartland crossed the line first in 13.1, followed closely by Lily Cummins in second with 13.3. In the boys race, Cathal Monaghan finished in a fine third.
Killian McLoughlin took silver in the boys U-15 100m, as did hurdler Tara Meier in the girls U-16 equivalent.
As the sprints drew to a close, it was then the turn of the middle distance runners to showcase their talents and, much to her surprise, young Chloe Cooney battled it out to the bitter end to take the well-deserved top podium spot in the U-9 300m, while in the boys race Cormac McEvoy was back on the podium for silver, with Tadgh Forde Dunne taking bronze.
It was another double win for Boyne in the U-10 500m races, with Sholah Lawrence dominating the girls race from the outset, and likewise Lorcan Forde Dunne in the boys.
Boyne once again dominated the podium in the boys U-11 600m as Shea O’Donnell took a commanding lead from start to finish. Ronan Thompson proved he can handle the longer distance as he took a fine second place, while Emmet McEvoy ran a super race to finish in third.
A super 1.48 saw Paddy Price easily win the U-12 600m, while in the girls U-13 race Eabha Cosgrave and Saran Meite battled it out for second and third respectively. Back to his more familiar distance, Neil Culhane crossed the line in pole position in the U-13 boys 600m, with Danny Nugent not far behind in third.
The U-14 girls 800m race saw a fantastic run from Pelumi Faniforcee, earning her the gold medal, while a super sprint finish from Anna Faulkner saw her claim a well deserved silver, with clubmate Caer NiGibne taking bronze.
It was like for like in the boys U-15 race, where Calum Sheedy, Killian McLoughlin and Christian Quinn took the top three spots respectively. Tom Cummins won the boys U-16 800m, while Cliodhna Nolan took silver in the girls race.
Tadgh Everitt Thompson took the final medal on the track for Boyne, with a third-place finish in the U-17 800m.
The attention then turned to the field events, and as the weather remained unseasonably good Boyne once again showed their dominance as they took home yet more medals.
Eanin Gregory threw 5.04m to take bronze in the U-8 girls turbo javelin, while a huge 16.81m throw saw Oliver Carolan as the clear winner in the boys U-10 event.
Aaron Fennell continues to reign supreme in the U-12 boys turbo javelin as he threw 30.80 to take gold, with Paddy price in second with 23.44.
In the U-9 long jump, Cormac McEvoy took silver with a jump of 2.70, while in the U-11 boys it was a 1,2,3 for Boyne again as Shea O’Donnell took gold with 3.39m, Oliver Carolan, out of age, second on countback and Ronan Thompson jumping 3.36 to take bronze.
The U-13 boys long jump saw Killian Ekhator jump 3.97 to take gold and Adam Byrne jumped a super 3.87 to take bronze.
A lead of just 1cm gave Kate Kelly a win in the U-15 girls long jump, and she also took silver out of age in the U-16 shot putt.
In the final field event of the day, Cathal Monaghan took silver in his long jump with a jump of 4.13m.
Boyne’s relay teams finished the day on a high for the local club, as they scooped a grand total of three gold and three silver medals.
Not content with Saturday’s medal haul, a small troupe of Boyne athletes also took part in Cushinstown ACs annual sports day, where Callum Byrne took gold in the U-9 60m and Oliver carolan took gold in the U-10 80m, long
jump and turbo javelin.
Aaron Fennell took gold in the turbo javelin and silver in the long jump, sprint and shot putt. Adam Byrne took silver in the U-13 sprint and bronze in his 600m, while Cathal Monagahan took silver in the U-14 javelin with a new PB of 33.19.