Medals galore as Boyne AC star on the county stage
THE cream of local juvenile athletics showcased their talents at the recent Louth Track & Field Championships and Boyne AC members were right up there with the best of them.
More than 60 Boyne juveniles took part and the Under-9 Girls got things off to a great start, with Chloe Cooney taking gold in her 60m and 300m races, while Ally Fennell jumped 2.56m to take silver in the long jump.
In the U-13 events it was gold for Siofra Devine in the 600m, with clubmate Saran Meite taking the silver to add to her gold in the shorter 100m.
The U-14 girls swept the boards in their races, with a win for Sophie Gartland in the 100m, followed closely by Lily Cummins who took silver, adding to her bronze in the 200m.
An amazing performance from Anna Faulkner in her 800 and 1500m race saw her take a well-deserved gold in both, and she also added a silver in the 200m to her ever-growing collection of medals. Boyne dominated the podium in those two events, as Pelumi Fanifosi took silver and Caer NiGhibne bronze in each race.
Lily O’Connor was another double gold winner in her 80m hurdles and 200m events, while Kate Kelly took silver in the hurdles and dominated the field events with silver in the long jump and shot putt, and bronze in the javelin.
Making a great return to competition following injury, Tara Meier easily won the U-16 80m hurdles and 200m sprint, while talented middle distance runner Cliodhna Nolan took silver in her 800 and 1500m races.
Finally for the girls, it was yet another gold for Eva Cummins, this time in the U-19 1500m.
Calum Byrne was all smiles as he graced the podium on no fewer than three occasions, taking gold in the U-9 60m and bronze in both his turbo javelin and 300m race. Cormac McEvoy stood alongside his clubmate, with silver in the 60m and 300m, while Tadgh Forde Dunne took silver in the long jump.
The U-10 Boys saw Oliver Carolan take the top spot once again with a super 3.43m effort in the long jump, adding to his gold in the 60m sprint and bronze in the turbo javelin. Clubmate Lorcan Forde Dunne led from start to finish in a superbly executed 500m race.
Shea O’Donnell was another double gold winner, finishing first in both the turbo javelin and 600m race, and he also took bronze in the long jump, as did Sean Cummins in the turbo javelin. Emmet McEvoy ran a super 600m to take a wellearned bronze medal.
In the U-12 Boys it was a sea of yellow. Talented Killian Ekhator took gold in both his sprint and long jump, while Alex Devine took silver in the sprint, followed closely by Amitesh Bala who took bronze, adding to his bronze in the long jump and silver in the 600m.
Paddy Price continued his dominance at middle distance as he took gold in the 600m and silver in the long jump. Aaron Fennell was another big winner, with a gold in his 60m hurdles, shot putt and turbo javelin, throwing a championship best 33.58m. He also took silver in the high jump.
The U-13 Boys events saw Max Kingston finish second in the javelin with 23.01m, Adam Byrne silver in the 100m and Danny Nugent silver in the 600m. Joey Meehan ran a super 800m to finish third in the 800m, while Sam Cleary jumped 3.92m to take bronze in the long jump.
Cathal Monaghan was yet another big medal winner, with gold in his javelin (thanks to a new championship best throw of 31.87m) gold in the long jump and shot putt, and a silver in the 100m.
Euan Canniffe took double gold in the U-15 javelin and high jump, while on the track it was yet another Boyne-filled podium in the 800m as Calum Sheedy, Killian McLoughlin and Christian Quinn took the first three places respectively, while Sheedy and McLoughlin also took silver and bronze in the 1500m.
Tadgh Everitt Thompson ran a solid race to take bronze in the U-17 800m and Ruarcan O’Gibne enjoyed impressive wins in the U-19 400, 800 and 1500m.
Meanwhile, another superBoyne athlete, Amy McTeggart, has been selected to represent Ireland in the CSIT Games in Latvia next month.