Cross Country Report from Conna Oct 12th 2014 By Tom Laffan
The UnEven age and Masters Cross Country championships took place in Conna on October 12th 2014. The championships which were hosted by St Catherine’s AC on the excellent grounds of Siobhan and Frank Hayes. The course was split over three fields which provided a mix of terrains for the athletes to complete. There were ample flat sections to allow for much faster running but there were also number of sections in the outer loop which presented a number of gradual climbs which tested many of the athletes. The weather conditions were excellent and we were graced with a lovely sunny day.
The first race of the day was the women’s Masters race with Carmel Crowley and Ronnie Barry representing the club. Both athletes had great races with Carmel taking the county masters title with Ronnie following closely in 3rd place. This was great running from these master athletes.
The juvenile races day started with the U9 competitors which is the youngest age group that are eligible to compete so for most this was their first county championship event. At 8 years of age this can be a daunting challenge for many but full credit to both U9 teams as they produced great performances. The Girls U9 were the first off and the team of Amy McCarthy, Maia McCourt, Aoibhinn McKeogh, Niamh Cotter, Claire Riordan, Aoife Tuthill, Ailbhe Gibbons, Jane Horgan and Ava Troy won 1st county team prize with Amy McCarthy also winning an individual medal by taking 4th place. The boys U9 team of Daire Walsh, Adam Barry, Conor Creswell and Luke Casey were next up and they also impressed by winning 2nd team prize. Daire Walsh led the lead the team home and also earned himself an individual medal by finishing in 6th place overall. There was a large number of athletes in this race and there is often a lot of rough and tumble to contend with. Conor Creswell took at bad tumble at the start but he bravely picked himself up and continued to race on for the team managing to score on the team.
The Girls U11 team were next to race and they were the first group to complete the challenging loop which covered 3 fields. The team of Lucy T McCarthy, Aishling McKeogh, Ellen Murphy, Hannah Buckley, Erica O Mahony all raced very well and were unlucky to finish outside the team medals. The Boys U11 team of Callum McCourt, Jack Cullen, Adam Casey, Eoghan Cassidy, Joseph Buttimer were next to race and with two of the boys competing up an age they did extremely well to win 2nd team prize with Callum leading the team home by also winning an individual 3rd place medal.
As we move up the ages the distances increase with the U13’s having to complete 2500m. The Girls U13 competing were Clare Flynn, Sarah Buckley, Jane Buttimer, Olivia Tuthill, Caoimhe Deasy, Lauren McCourt, Katie Murphy, Nicola Tuthill, Amy O Donoghue and Nicola McKeon. They worked really well as a team and earned a well deserved 1st team place. The Boys U13 team of Tim McCarthy, Fionn Harrington, Ruairi Harrington and Josh Mahony ran very strong races today and were unlucky to finish outside the medals.
The U15’s had 3500m to complete and the club were delighted to field two strong U15 teams. The Girls team of Niamh Calnan, Laura Nicholson, Michelle O’Dononvan. Moira Barrett won 1st team place. Laura Nicholson won gold and took the County U15 Girls title followed in 6th place by Moira Barrett with Niamh Calnan in 8th and Michelle O’Donovan who was competing out of age finishing in 14th place. The Boys U15 team of Christain Buttimer, Michael Laffan, Naoise O’Fhaitheartaigh, Conor Calnan, Killian Coghlan and Jude Donegan also won the 1st team place with Naoise finishing in 4th place earning himself an individual medal.
Fiona Everard, Bethany Haigue and Carina Crowley competed in the U17 race over a 4000m course. The girls ran very strongly from start to finish with Fiona taking 3rd place, Carina 5th and Bethany in 7th place.
Well one to all competing athletes today. The training continues as we gear up for the next round of competition. Thanks to all who helped and supported the athletes today.