Report by Tom Laffan.
The Munster UnEven age cross country championships took place in Castlelyons, North Cork on November 10th 2013. The championship which was hosted by St Nicholas AC in conjunction with the Cork Country Board was very well organised providing a fair but challenging cross country course for all athletes. This course which was new to most of us was split across 3 different fields providing a 750m, 1000m and 1500m loops. All races started from the same place with a challenging incline for the first 300m. We knew when leaving Bandon that the weather was likely to be wet and we weren’t wrong as shortly before the first race the rain made its appearance and remained with us for the duration. Regardless of the conditions our club athletes all competed very well and they all deserve the strongest of praise their excellent performances today.
The day started with the U9 competitions and for all this would have been their first Munster championship. The move up from County to Munster is significant and can be very testing for these young athletes. The Girls U9 were the first off and the team of Ciara White, Kate O’Connor, Aisling O’Connor, Erika Crowley, Maeve Kelly and Aoibheann Cotter all ran very well and just finished outside the team medal places finishing in 4th place. Ciara White won an individual medal by finishing in 8th place and also scored on the Cork team helping the County win the silver place. The boys U9 team of Eoghan Cassidy, Ciaran Hoey, John Munday, Hugh O’Mahony, Cian Walsh, David O’Donoghue, Joseph Buttimer, Conor Payne, Ronan Crowley, Luke O’Sullivan and Eoin Guinane following on from their County Championship win this team ran very well to claim the prize of 2nd club team in Munster. Their first taste of Munster XC medals was well deserved. Eoghan Cassidy also won an individual medal by finishing in 9th place and also scored on the Cork team helping the county win Gold.
The U11 age group were next up and they were the first group to cover 1 loop of the 3 field course. The Girls U11 team of Jane Buckley, Ellen Murphy, Nicola McKeon, Nicola Tuthill, Deirdre Brown, Clare Flynn, Lilly Munday, Orla O’Sullivan, and Amy O’Donoghue all ran very strongly to earn themselves 3rd club team prize. The Boys U11 team of Keelan Crowley, Mark Collins, Luke Quinlan, Callum McCourt, Ruairi Harringtion, Max Hallahan and Jacob O’Driscoll ran very well today and were very unlucky to finish outside the medal places. Keelan Crowley who finished in 19th place scored on the Cork team helping the county win the silver place.
The Girls U13 were well represented by Michelle O’Donovan, Olivia Tuthill, Grainne Mulcahy, KatieMurphy and Andrea O’Brien also ran very well but finished outside the medal placings. Grainne finished in 14th place and scored on the Gold winning Cork team. Brian Hoey, Fionn Harringtion and Andrew O’Leary ran in the Boys U13 race and all 3 finished very strong today and were unfortunate not to have a full team running today.
The Girls U15 of Laura Nicholson, Aoibh Cassidy, Niamh Munday, Caoimhe Ni Suilleabhain, Alice Symington and Moira Barrett covered their 3500m course with great courage today as conditions worsened and the ground became more challenging. The team ran very well earning themselves a well deserved 3rd club team place. Laura Nicholson competing out of age won an individual medal also by finishing in 7th place. Laura and Moira also scored on the County team helping Cork win gold.
When it came to the County Eneven championships Fiona Everard was our sole competitor in the Girls U17 race but today we were delighted when she led a team of 4 to claim 2nd club team in Munster. The team of Fiona Everard, Sinead Caulfield, Lulu Keane and Bethany Haigue all ran very well today and were well rewarded with silver medal placings. Fiona and Bethany also won individual medals finishing in 4th and 12th place respectively. Fiona, Bethany and Lulu also scored on the Cork team helping the county win the silver place.
David Laffan ran a strong race in Boys U17 race over a 5000m course while Thomas McCarthy competing in the Boys U19 race also ran well finishing just outside the individual medal placings.
All our competitors should be very happy with their performances at Munster level today. Thanks to all who helped and supported the athletes today.