NCAA Outdoor Season Heats Up For Irish Athletes With Wins & PBs

The NCAA outdoor track and field season burst into life in a serious way this weekend, with Irish athletes spread right across the United States and delivering wins, personal bests, and a number of eye catching early season performances.

Florida State Relays Open The Weekend 

Action began on Friday at the Terry Long Florida State Relays.

Nicole Dinan (Florida State) competed in the Women’s 800m, clocking 2:07.97 to place third overall. Dinan also doubled up later in the day as part of Florida State’s B team in the 4x400m relay, where they finished sixth in 3:57.30.

Teammate Lucy-May Sleeman produced a solid performance, finishing second in the Women’s 200m in 23.56. Sleeman then played a key role in Florida State’s relay success, helping the Women’s 4x100m team to victory in 44.09, before returning again as part of the 4x400m A team, which placed third in 3:48.00.

Raleigh Relays Deliver Across The Board

The Raleigh Relays, one of the biggest meets of the weekend, saw Irish athletes competing across three days of action.

Thursday’s racing featured a breakthrough from Liam Lyons (Holy Cross), who finished third in the Men’s 1500m in 3:38.38. The performance marked both a personal best and a new school record.

Elsewhere in the same event, Seán Cronin (La Salle) ran 3:43.72 for 31st, while Nathan Cremin (Montreat College) clocked 3:48.00 for 76th. Cormac Dixon (Providence College) finished 203rd in 3:56.37.

Over longer distances, Noah Harris (University of Tennessee) ran 14:07.19 for 42nd in the 5000m, while Scott Fagan (Iona University) placed 94th in the 10000m in 32:11.39.

Friday shifted the focus to the women’s events, where Cara Laverty (Providence College) led the Irish contingent in the 1500m, placing 30th in 4:20.64, with teammate Gemma Galvin finishing 48th in 4:24.15.

In the steeplechase, Roisin Treacy (Loyola) produced a strong run to finish 14th overall in 10:16.13.

Over 5000m, Grace Weigele (Stony Brook) dipped under 16 minutes with 15:57.24 to place 16th, while Jane Buckley (Providence College) ran 16:31.27 for 47th.

The 10000m Invitational saw two Irish athletes in action, with Grace Richardson (Kilkenny City Harriers) finishing 16th in 33:13.41, and Heather Murphy (Montreat College) placing 27th in 33:38.48.

Saturday’s action saw Conall Rogers (Northeastern University) run 1:51.68 in the 800m for 42nd overall, while Killian Fahy (University of North Carolina) helped his team to second place in the 4x400m relay, clocking 3:09.24.

Sprint Success In Texas And Beyond

At the Victor Lopez Classic, Seán Aigboboh (University of Houston) delivered one of the performances of the weekend, winning the Men’s 100m in 10.33. The time marks a personal best and moves him up to eighth on the all time Irish list.

Aigboboh also featured on Houston’s B team in the 4x100m relay, where they secured victory in 39.69.

At the Charles Austin Classic, Victoria Amidamen (Texas State University) came within a fraction of her personal best in the Women’s 400m hurdles, winning in 58.57. She returned later to help her team to victory in the 4x400m relay in 3:46.72.

PBs Continue To Fall Across The Meets

At the Jack Christiansen Invitational, Gavin Cougle (University of Wyoming) produced a pair of personal bests across the sprints. He ran 10.43 to finish second in the 100m before returning to win the 200m in 21.12.

The Hurricane Collegiate Invitational saw David Davitt (University of Pennsylvania) clock 47.76 for eighth place in the Men’s 400m.

At the Clyde Hart Classic, Friday’s action saw Kate Doherty (Dundrum South Dublin AC) finish third in the 400m hurdles in 1:00.27. She returned on Saturday to run 53.90 in the flat 400m, placing 12th.

Also on Saturday, Conor Kelly (University of Texas) ran 48.20 in the Men’s 400m to finish 16th overall.

Distance And Field Results Round Out The Weekend

At the WashU Invite, Friday’s 1500m saw Eimear McCarroll (Bradley University) run 4:31.54 for eighth place, just ahead of Sarah Hosey (University of Tulsa), who clocked 4:33.16 for tenth.

In the field events, Una Brice (UMass Lowell) secured victory in the pole vault at the D’Amour Invitational, clearing 3.30m to take top spot.

Finally, at the Joyce Morton-Kief Invite, Irish interest came in the javelin, where a throw of 34.99m was enough for seventh place.

Image: Andrew Brown Media