Great day at Cork County Championships
Day three of the Cork County Championships saw our younger athletes take centre stage for a morning of action. For some, it was their first time competing in an AAI event and the mood was nervous excitement.
In U9 girls, Sophie Cohen came 6th in the 60m sprint. Sophie, Saoirse Horgan , Rachel Lynch and Lauren O Brien ran a great 300m. Cara Hutchinson, Rachel, Lauren, Saoirse and Lucy Thornton joined a huge field and had a great competition in the long jump. Eeorann Donegan joined the girls in the turbo javelin. They gave it 100% but numbers were huge and they did very well.
U9 boy Thomas O’Sullivan was the sole Fanahan McSweeney athlete in the 300m and ran his legs off to the cheers of his clubmates. Ross Thornton, James Downey, Shane Sweetnam and Thomas joined 42 other boys in the long jump. You definitely learn the athletic requirement of patience and filling in time with these numbers, an essential skill for anyone interested in the sport. Ross and Shane medalled in the U9 turbo javelin with gold and silver.
In U10 girls, Zoe O’Connor got bronze in the 60m with 0.05sec between first and third places. Clubmate Aoibh McCarthy was just behind her in fourth. Aoibh got her medal with her first place finish in the turbo javelin with a throw of 10.62m, a convincing win and did well in the 500m with a sixth place finish.
Boys U10 was again heavily subscribed, with the ‘smiliest’ fella in a race, Niall Towey running in the 500m and doing well. He was joined by Thomas Burke in the long jump and Eoghan Finn in the turbo javelin and they all enjoyed the experience.
In the U11 girls, Beth Hegarty and Molly Thornton were neck in neck with 0.01cm between their best long jumps. Aoife Hutchinson and Eva Horgan also jumped in this 60 strong group. Again, there are great numbers coming up in the underage categories, a good sign for the future of athletics in Cork. Eva, Molly and Sadhb Donegan competed in the turbo javelin but the competition was fierce and extensive.
U11 boys Saw Darragh Crowley and doing well in the 60m sprint, but saving his best for the long jump and bringing home a bronze with 3.51m. Aaron Horgan also had a great long jump competition with 3.48m. Aaron was just outside the medals again in the turbo javelin with fourth place, but is a hard worker and will do well moving forward.
Sunday afternoon saw a huge crowd of Fanahan McSweeney athletes descend on MTU for the U9-U19 relay competition. The girls U9 quartet of Lucy Thornton, Saoirse Horgan, Cara Hutchinson and Sophie Cohen got silver in their age group. Boys U9 of Ross Thornton, Shane Sweetnam, Paddy Barry and James Downey won their heat and came in silver in the final.
U10 girls Aoibh McCarthy, Zoe O’Connor, Lauren O’Brien and Rachel Lynch came fourth in their heat but did not run in the final. It’s a long day for young athletes and sometimes rest is more important. Eoghan Finn, Niall Towey, Thomas O’Sullivan and Harrisson Culleton were up against tough competition in the U10s but gave it their all. Girls U11 of Molly Thornton, Aoife Hutchinson, Beth Hegarty and Eva Horgan came second in their heat and sixth in the final. Boys U11 of Darragh Crowley, Aaron Horgan, Max Thornton and Thomas Burke came fourth in their heat. In U12 girls Rachel Moriarty, Ruth O’Flynn, Muireann Dingivan and Eva Horgan were in a three heat competition and didn’t progress despite their hard work. The boys in this age group, Michael Quirk, Ronan O’Driscoll, Charlie O’Brien and Jack O’Rourke had a great heat but didn’t progress, as did Hannah Doyle, Lucy Dennehy, Cara Burke and Jane Horgan in the U14.
Boys U13 team of Sean Riordan, Oran Hegarty, Eoin Toland and David Towey brought the gold home in their competition with a convincing victory. This team have been together since their U9 days of athletics and work together very well as a team. They have qualified for the All-Irelands in Tullamore, and will no doubt be looking to show that they are still a very real threat. Girls U15 team of Katie Linehan, Vanessa Burke, Cara Burke and Lucy Dennehy made the final. They made a late substitution, following an injury, and came together very well.
The South Munster Schools competition also took place last week. Kotryna Pacerinskaite, Louise Mullins and Katie Lenihan represented Presentation in Mitchelstown, and Orla MacCallum, Diarmuid Towey and Eadhaoin Towey represented Colaiste an Chraoibhín in Fermoy. They have qualified for the next stage of the competition, the Munster Schools, so watch this space for updates.
All in all, a busy week. It’s the turn of the County Bs and the combined events next week in MTU again. A thank you to Cork Athletics and the marshals and helpers at last weekend’s events. The support and encouragement they give these athletes starting on their journey is immeasurable. Also to the parents who shout and holler and cheer, Thank you.