CLUB CALL
WEXFORD SWIMMING
Wexford Swimming Club held their annual awards and barbeque recently at Slaney Manor in Barntown. Good weather prevailed and a great afternoon was had with long-standing members, new members, and their families.
Awards were given out to the swimmers for achievements during the 2017-2018 season. There were certificates for all swimmers who had achieved 70% and above in attendance at training.
For each of the five squads in the club, there were awards for the best girl, runner-up girl, best boy and runner-up boy, all of whom received a trophy for their dedication throughout the year.
Finally came the top club awards for the year which, on the decision of the coaches, were presented as follows: best attendance, Róisín Lawless; most achievements, Emmet Cousins; most improved, Conor Corbett; club swimmer of the year, Adam Mahon.
Mary Duggan, Senior coach with Wexford Swimming Club, thanks to the support provided by Sports Active Wexford, has been working on a Women in Sport initiative, whereby the club works with National Schools to promote swimming in our community.
In 2017-’18 the club provided opportunities to 36 girls from fifth and sixth class in five different Wexford National Schools to participate in training sessions with our swimming club.
We look forward to working with Sports Active Wexford over the coming years and thank them for the support we have already received.
The swimming club would also like to thank Aoife and James Caulfield for the use of their beautiful premises at Slaney Manor for our annual awards and barbeque, and for all their help throughout the year, in particular for the week in July when we welcomed our twinning friends from Couëron and Fleurus to Wexford.
All information about Wexford Swimming Club can be obtained on the club website - www.wexfordswimmingclub.ie - and on the club Facebook page. New members are always welcome to come and try out.
ST. KILLIAN’S A.C.
A small but great team headed to JFK Park in New Ross for the county Senior cross-country championships on Sunday.
Conditions could not have been better with the sun splitting the trees. If you were to design a cross-country course from scratch, you would find it hard to beat this one.
Niall Sheil had a fine run to make the podium in third place, with Brian O’Shaughnessy having the run of his life. They were well supported by club legend Nicky Cowman and club coach Pavel Kolesnikov.
Well done to United Striders for being super hosts and well done to S.B.R. who took the team gold in a nail-biting finish.
The Juvenile athletes too have been competing in the cross-country season.
On day one which was held at Davidstown on Sunday week, Chloe Reck and Emma McCarthy were first to compete for the club in the 2,000m Under-12 category. Both ran great races with Emma coming fourth and Chloe finishing very strongly down the field.
Barry Cloake had his first-ever cross-country race in the 4,000m Under-16 event. He finished in a creditable sixth place, earning his first county athletics medal.
The youngsters were also out in action at the JFK Park on Sunday at the county uneven cross-country events.
Chloe Reck was running out of age competing in the 2,500m Under-13 category. She ran very well, finishing as strong as she started.
Pride of place must go to Emma McCarthy who showed us exactly how to run in the 1,500m Under-11. She stormed up to the finishing line, leaving her opponents in no doubt of her determination and finishing power, as she took the county gold medal for first place.
She will be progressing to the Leinster championships in a couple of weeks as part of the Wexford team. Well done to both girls.
Congratulations to Jack Forde who competed for Wexford C.B.S. in the Intermediate boys’ All-Ireland combined competition in Athlone last week. Jack competed well, recording two P.B’s in the 200m and 800m and finishing overall in a very respectable sixth place. Being one of the youngest in this age group, Jack will compete again next year at this age.
Juvenile training continues at the community field at Crossabeg every Monday and Thursday from 7 until 8.15 p.m.
ST. PAUL’S A.C.
Maeve Hayes was competing for Loreto Wexford in the All-Ireland Schools combined events in Athlone on Saturday.
She started well with a new P.B. in the 60m hurdles of 9.62, folllowed by 4.97m in the long jump.
Next up was the high jump where she cleared 1.59m to place joint first. After three events she was lying in second place.
She lost a little ground in the shot putt and was in fourth place going into the 800m where she ran a brave race and did enough to hang on to her fourth place overall.
In doing so, Maeve automatically qualified for the Irish Schools international team travelling to Glasgow in November.
Results from the Mr Oil Wexford cross-country (Juvenile uneven ages and Senior): Catherine O’Leary, second, Under-9 girls; Peter Stefenova, eleventh, Under-11 boys.
Ciara Martin was competing in the Under-16 girls but was unable to finish. Jenny Higgins placed 14th in the Senior ladies’ race.
KILMORE A.C.
It was a gorgeous autumn day in the JFK Arboretum for the county Senior cross-country finals after Storm Callum.
The ladies’ race was very fast and very hot on a dry, but hilly, course. Unfortunately, sickness and injury had kept some of our members on the sideline.
As a result, K.A.C. ladies lost their county team title for the first time in 20 years. However, congratulations to D.M.P. and get well soon Helen and Sinéad! The second team prize was won by Fiona Kehoe, Jackie carthy, Fidelma Rossiter and Sinéad O’Brien.
There were some titanic battles encouraged by excited spectators in the men’s race all the way through the field, with some strong sprint finishes from Michael O’Flaherty and Nicky Foley, who ran a 10k P.B.
Representing Kilmore were: Fiona Kehoe (first individual), Jackie Carthy (second individual), Fidelma Rossiter, Sinéad O’Brien, Suzanne Foley, Michael O’Flaherty, Nicky Foley, Adrian Reville.
The Juveniles yielded further success following on from their exploits in Davidstown the previous week, with so many stand-out performances.
Faye Barry was in the top ten in the girls’ Under-9 race. Her sister, Ava, who was eleventh in Davidstown, was in the top ten in the Under-11 race.
Also competing at Under-11 was Rayna Thompson, the first of the ‘Thompson Trio’ to run. Rayna finished a great third. This brought the girls to team silver.
Katie Foley was sixth in the Under-13 race. She was joined by Niamh Fortune who came a very impressive eighth, and Freya Thompson who came third. The girls finished second team overall.
Our Under-15 girls were led home by Kate O’Flaherty. Having come third in her age group one week earlier, Kate did the exact same thing on Sunday. Also running were Arwyn Thompson, Eimear Fortune and Katelyn Boggan.
In the Under-15 boys’ race, Ross O’Flaherty finished tenth, with Senan Murray being slightly further back.
Liam O’Flaherty and Cian Doyle ran the Under-17 race and both put in good runs.
In the Under-19 race, Rory Cassidy finished a strong silver, just losing contact from the D.M.P. athlete with about 300m to go.
Next stop for our Juveniles and some of our Seniors is the Leinster Novice cross-country in Navan in two weeks’ time.
Senior training is in Kilmore G.A.A. grounds at 6.30 p.m. All adult members are welcome as well as experienced runners.
Juvenile training is in Kilmore G.A.A. Grounds on Mondays and Thursdays at 6.30 p.m. We also train on The Burrow in Kilmore Quay (Sofrimar end) on Sundays at 10 a.m.
Strength and conditioning with Fiona is on Wednesday in Kilmore G.A.A. Centre at 6.30 p.m. for Juvenile members. See the training programmes for details.
Young runners must be seven years old already this year to qualify under Athletics Ireland rules. New members are welcome, and parents can contact us by e-mailing kilmoreathleticsclub@gmail.com.
The new ‘Couch to 5k’ programme is on Tuesdays in Kilmore G.A.A. grounds at 7 p.m. It’s still not too late to join!
For further queries contact Mary (087-7564888) or kilmoreathletics@gmail.com. See you there! Get active with Kilmore A.C.
WEXFORD HOCKEY
It was a busy weekend for Wexford Hockey Club as their adult and under-age teams were in action, with mixed results.
There was disappointment for the ladies’ firsts on Saturday when they suffered their first loss of the season to Weston firsts.
The team was on the road to Dublin for the third week in a row, having recorded back-to-back wins in their first two Division 4 games.
With some changes in personnel and wet conditions, the game was a scrappy affair and Wexford took a while to settle with some players in new positions.
Wexford did have one early chance when a high ball was scuffed by the Weston goalkeeper but cleared off the line by one of her defenders.
The deadlock was broken shortly before half-time when Weston won a short corner. The straight shot from the top of the circle took a deflection off a Wexford stick and hit the back of the net.
Wexford re-grouped at half-time and came out fighting in the second-half, piling the pressure on the Weston back line.
Their reward came when Wexford won a short corner. Ciara Pettitt took the ball at the top of the circle and held possession before slipping the pass to Miriam Lambert for the shot to the bottom corner.
Wexford pushed hard for the winner in the remainder of the half with the returning Chloe O’Connor, Ciara McGrath and Muireann McCarthy pushing through the wings searching for the break.
At the back, another player returning to the fray, Sinéad Dempsey, was solid as sweeper, with Avril Jones, Anna Corcoran and Joanne Grant policing their players well.
However, a late break for Weston, against the run of play, saw the home team win a series of short corners.
Despite best efforts of the defence, Weston managed to scramble a ball over the line to put them 2-1 up with just a few minutes left on the clock.
Having spent the second-half hunting for a winning goal, Wexford now found themselves pushing forward desperately, in the dying minutes, trying to snatch an equaliser, but the clock went against them in the end.
The team has a day off from travelling next week when they host old foes Kilkenny at home.
Team: Anna Hayes, Chloe O’Connor, Ciara McGrath, Anna Corcoran, Joanne Grant, Avril Jones, Ciara Pettitt, Clodagh Walsh, Catherina Corcoran, Miriam Lambert, Muireann McCarthy, Sinéad Dempsey, Sally Bruen. Coach: David Williamson.
On Sunday, the South Eastern Sunday League continued with Wexford ladies’ seconds taking on Enniscorthy thirds in the Astro Active, Enniscorthy.
Wexford got off to a good start with plenty of possession. They took the lead about halfway through the first-half when, from a short corner, Rosie O’Brien hit a sweet strike to the back of the net.
However, Enniscorthy were quick to grab an equaliser in an attack that saw Wexford lose their centre back, Sinéad Dempsey, to injury. Her loss was felt considerably by the team for the remainder of the game.
Enniscorthy went 2-1 up early in the second-half before grabbing a third later in the half.
Wexford dug deep in defence and showed some promising play going forward, narrowly missing out on converting twice in front of goal.
However, it wasn’t to be Wexford’s day and the game finished 3-1 to Enniscorthy.
Also in action on Sunday was the Wexford Under-14 squad who travelled to Donnybrook for a game against Muckross.
The girls started very strong, combining well up front. Their hard work paid off in the 14th minute when Heather O’Leary slotted the ball past the Dublin ’keeper. The Wexford girls remained on top for the rest of the first-half.
The second-half started in reverse fashion with Muckross dominating the play. Wexford’s Lizzie Walsh was much the busier ’keeper with a brace of fine saves to keep her side ahead. The girls traded goalmouth action with short corners awarded at both ends.
Wexford remained strong in their defence. Centre back Gia Coyne was rock solid and swept up much of the Muckross attack.
The Wexford girls were deserving winners and were happy to come away with the points.
Finally, the first ‘Super 8’ blitz of the season was held in Enniscorthy on Sunday and saw two Under-14 Wexford teams taking on their neighbours, Enniscorthy.
The first team worked really hard and while they conceded a few early goals, they grew in confidence the whole way through to finish very strongly. They had chances and were unlucky not to get on the scoresheet.
The second team also played two games against Enniscorthy who came out on top in the first bout. But Wexford settled into their game, grew in confidence, and were victorious in the second fixture.
MENAPIANS A.C.
Well done to all our athletes who competed at the even ages and Novice county cross-country championships recently, hosted by Adamstown AC.
First up for the club was Orla Dolan who ran a great race in the Under-10 non-championship race to finish seventh.
Eimear Halpin, who went up an age, and Ciara Dolan ran well in the Under-16 4,000m, with Eimear winning silver and Ciara winning bronze.
John Dier was the club’s sole representative in the Novice races, finishing 27th in a strong field.
Well done also to our athletes who competed at the uneven ages and Senior county cross-country championships on Sunday, hosted by United Striders in JFK Park and Arboretum.
After a very wet and miserable few days, it was not expected conditions would be great for running, but they were fantastic. The ground was solid underfoot throughout and there was glorious sunshine for the entire event.
First in action was Grace Kelly, her first time representing the club. She got off to a great start in the Under-11 race and was involved in an exciting sprint finish, crossing the line to win silver.
Ailbhe White and Eimear Halpin ran in the Under-15 race. This was Ailbhe’s first time competing over this distance and she acquitted herself well, finishing eighth. Eimear found the going tough and showed great character to finish the race.
Nathan Murphy and Róisín O’Reilly made it an Under-17 double for the club by winning their races.
Róisín had a comfortable victory but Nathan had to work hard all the way to the line to win his race, fighting off a brave challenge from the second-placed athlete. This is Nathan’s first county cross-country title.
Ciara Dolan had another good weekend, finishing fourth in the Under-17 girls’ race.
In the Senior women’s race, Catherine O’Connor represented the club and finished 16th.
Congratulations to Menapians trio Aaron Tierney-Smith, David McDonald and Shane O’Neill on their selection for the 2018-2019 Leinster track and field performance squad.