Cross-country runners do well in final Munster event of season

MUNSTER Juvenile ‘B’, Intermediate & U-20 Cross-country Championships took place at the Cork Athletics Grounds in Riverside, Cork last Sunday. This is the final Munster cross-country event of the year and the Kerry contingent ran well in various age-groups.

Medal winners on the day were: Girls U-13 Aoibhinn Gleeson finished 3rd with Kathryn Ryan in 9th both from Killarney Valley AC, the girls were joined by Maria Murane Kenmare AC 10th. Rachel Mulgrew Tralee Harriers 22nd, Hannah Ryan Killarney valley 24th and Noelle Dillon Lios Tuathail 26th to take county silver medal for Kerry.

In the boys U-13 Killarney Valley were in the medals again with Ted O’Gorman finishing in 5th and Oisin Lynch in 12th. Abbie Dunlop of Kenmare ran a fine race in the Girls U-15 to finish 5th. Cian Lynch Killarney Valley finished 4th with Tommy Arthur Kenmare coming home in 12th in the Boys U-15.

Kerry took a silver county medal in the Boys U-17 with Luke O’Callaghan 3rd, Oisin Murray 5th, Daire Doyle O’Brien 8th all An Riocht, and Michael O’Reilly Kenmare in 4th, with all boys winning individual medals too. Darragh Lynch of An Riocht finished 4th of four in the Junior men’s event.

Martin Dineen of An Riocht was the only Kerry athlete in the Intermediate group, where he finished 12th overall.

Other Kerry athletes competing on the day were Girls U-9 Lily Curran Kenmare AC 19th, Emma Casey Star of the Laune AC 35th; Boys U-9 Paddy Hickey Gneeveguilla AC 41st; Girls U-11 Tara O’Sullivan 21st. Naoise O’Connor 39th both Killarney Valley AC Emi Curran Kenmare 45th Rachel Hickey 77th & Kate Culloty 89th Gneeveguilla AC; Boys U-11 Seamus O’Donoghue Kenmare AC 20th; Girls U-13 Claragh O’Connor Gneeveguilla AC 57th; Boys U-13 James Dillion Lios Tuathail, 24th; Boys U-15 Diarmuid O’Connor An Riocht 28th.

THE next cross-country event is the Irish Life Health Juvenile Uneven Age & Novice Cross-Country Championships held in Navan Co. Meath on Saturday, December 15.

Kerry athletics would like to advise all clubs that the very popular Kerry Athletics Development Squads are running at the Tralee Harriers training grounds every Sunday from 11am to 1pm. These squads have helped to produce in access of 20 nationals medals this past year alone spread through all of the clubs.

There are still places available on the squads, for more info please see the Kerry athletics Facebook page.