Athletic action for the Munster Indoor Championships
Nenagh Olympic AC Indoor Arena was the place for the athletic action last weekend again, as the U9-U11 Munster Indoor Championships took place on a beautiful sunny March Saturday. Twenty nine young athletes donned the yellow and red of Fanahan McSweeney AC, many for the first time in an AAI event, and the excitement was palpable as they gathered from early morning looking forward to their chance to shine.
Aoife Hutchinson, Siún Dingivan, Beth Hegarty, Eva Horgan and Molly Thornton started the day in the U11 60m sprint. There were ten heats and the girls gave it 100%. They did not medal but the experience was fantastic. In the girls U10 60m there were eleven heats. Sophie O’Halloran ,Zoe O’Connor and Aoibh McCarthy represented the club. Zoe won her heat in a time of 10.12s, giving her a fifth place in a field of eighty eight. Unfortunately, she had a fall on finishing, which ended her competition for the day.
The boys U11 60m had nine heats with Max Thornton, Aaron Horgan and Darragh Crowley taking part. Darragh came in fourth place out of seventy two athletes in a time of 9.62s. Eoghan Finn, Hugo Sarsfield, Thomas Burke and Joey Kiernan were four of one hundred and eight U10 boys in the 60m. It was a tough field but they enjoyed the experience. Our U9s girls, Cara Hutchinson, Lauren O’Brien, Lucy Thornton and Saoirse Horgan lined up for their U9 heats and loved it. Unfortunately, there were no placings. The U9 boys of Ross Thornton, Dylan Thornton, Noah Dunne, Paddy Barry and Shane Sweetnam were buzzing from their race.
With the sprints out of the way, Molly Thornton brought home the gold in the U11 shot putt with a throw of 6.04m. Eva came in seventh place, a great result with twenty one competitors. Sophie ran the U10 500m, a tough distance for a nine year old and had a good race. A number of athletes took part in long jump competitions, Lucy Thornton, Ross Thornton and Shane Sweetnam, in U9, Niall Towey, Hugo Sarsfield and Aoibh McCarthy, in U10, Darragh Crowley, Aaron Horgan, Beth Hegarty, Aoife Hutchinson and Molly Thornton in U11. There were some high placings in extensive fields and it’s all looking positive for the outdoors, especially with the experience gained.
The relays were the pinnacle of the day. Athletics can be a lonesome sport and everyone loves the chance to team together for an event. The U9 boys of Dylan, Shane, Noah and Ross were first up and secured a silver with a time of 1:10.74. The boys U11 of Darragh, Aaron, Max and Thomas came third in a time of 1:04.73. The U11 girls of Aoife, Eva, Siún and Beth also got the bronze with a time of 1:05.72. The U9, U10girls and U10 boys (with Niall Towey, and Joey as sub) gave it a good shot but didn’t place. It was a great balance between fierce competition and fun as everyone blew the roof off with shouts and screams of support.
Another great day out for Fanahan McSweeney AC. Many thanks to the support crew who sacrificed their beach day to travel to Nenagh. More action in the coming weekend and looking forward to a great day for our little corner of Cork!