Back in action
Our juvenile athletes were back in action again over the last two weeks. A change of seasons could sum up the last two weekends, harsh easterly winds turning to beautiful warm sunshine, and our athletes certainly enjoyed the change in temperatures. The event was the East Cork Division Juvenile Track and Field Championships, which were held over two days on 23rd and 29th April.
It’s great to see so many young boys and girls participating, especially when there are so many other sporting activities on the go at the moment.
Day 1 of these championships were held in the Mardyke in Cork. There were some terrific performances from some of our athletes. Some of our athletes competed in several events and dominated in those races, none more so than Mary Jane Casey.
Mary Jane won the clean sweep of her track races in the U12 category managing to win at 80m, 300m, 600m and 800m and also took the honours winning the long jump. That’s an incredible feat and amazing achievement.
Charlotte Norman ran brilliantly in the girls U16 1,500 metre race to take 1st place. Kenneth O’Connell won the U13 boys 600m, came 3rd in the 80m sprint, 2nd in the long jump. Ronan Geaney won the U11 boys 600m, the 300m race and the 80m sprint. Superb stuff, Ronan. Aoife O’Connor finished 2nd in the U12 girls 600m, 2nd in the 80m while Sophie O’Connor came 3rd in the U11 girls 300m and 3rd in the U11 girls long jump. Molly Casey was 2nd in the U11 girls 300 metre race and won the 80m dash.
Meanwhile Grace O’Connor came 2nd in the U12 girls long jump while Ciara O’Connell finished 1st in the U11 girls long jump. Our U12 girls were dominant in the relay races coming home 1st and 2nd in the 4 x 100 metre event. Reece Coffey was a busy young man competing in several competitions. He came 2nd in the U9 300 race, 1st in the 60m sprint, 3rd in the 200m and 2nd in the long jump. Adam Fitzgerald came 3rd in the U11 boys long jump and also 3rd in the 600 metres races.
Ailish Bourke finished 1st in the U11 girls 300m while Caoimhe Burke picked up 3rd in the U14 girls 800m and 2nd in the 1,500 metres. Great running. Sean Cummins won the U11 boys long jump. The U11 boys relay team also picked up 3rd place in the 4 x 100 metre race. Lara Byrne finished 2nd in the U13 high jump while Emily Broughan Healy and James Beecher both finished 2nd in their U12 turbo javelin competition.
Well done to all the juveniles for participating, and congratulations to the many medallists. A special word of gratitude to the club coaches for their work and encouragement and thanks to the families for all their continued support.
Many of these competitors will now be competing in the County Track and Field Championships, so good luck to everyone taking part.