Report by Richard Hawkins
And we’re back…A nice break since Carraig Na BhFear AC athletes last competed in Championship competition but we were back with a bang this week with competitions far and wide. The Munster Junior, U23, Senior and Masters competition were held in Nenagh on Monday 3rd February with some excellent performances from our athletes. Caoimhe Geoghegan got her indoor season underway with a 4th place finish in the U23 women’s 60m in a time of 8.68s. Isobel O’Meara executed a well-paced 400m in 1.07.14 to win silver in the U23 women’s race. Orla Coffey had a best jump of 5.59m to win gold in the Senior women’s long jump competition and also won gold in the Senior women’s 60m hurdles in 10.38s. Caoimhe-Gray Walsh doubled up in the Junior Women’s 400m and 800m, finishing in 3rd place in Heat 1 of the 400m in a time of 1:05:88 and followed up in the afternoon with a 4th place in the 800m in a time of 2:41:58. Ciaran Nugent has been building his race sharpness in recent weeks and finished a competitive Senior mens 400m with silver in a fast 51.29s in a tight finish. Brian and Peter Hawkins competing in their first indoor competition finished in 4th and 5th places respectively in a tactical Junior men’s 1500m. Our last competition involvement of the day was Sonya Walsh in the Women’s Weight for Distance. Sonya had a best effort of 6.07m in the third round of throws to win Gold in what was a very enjoyable contest for the onlookers. Well done to the athletes and coaches who made the trip to Nenagh.
The Carraig Na BhFear AC racewalking squad made the trip to XXXVI Gran Primo de Marcha Atletica in Guadix, Spain where there was a significant presence of Irish Athletes. Aoife Martin got her season off to a solid start finishing in 6th place in the Girls U18 race in a time of 27:38. Competing up in age, Robyn Maher (9th) and Anna Mullins (10th ) showed excellent form finishing in 28:28 and 28:51 respectively. Well done to the girls and coach Martin Hurley!
The South Munster Schools cross-country took place in Tramore Valley Park on Thursday 31st January. Allie Philips (7th) and Hannah Coffey (8th) were part of the St. Angelas College team who were an impressive 1st place from 31 teams! Emma Johnson (Scoil Mhuire, Cork) finished in 15th place and qualifies for the Munster Championships which will also be hosted Tramore Valley Park on February 14th. In the Senior Girls Race Faye O’Riordan (St. Angelas college) finished in 10th place overall and will join Caoimhe Gray-Walsh (17th) and Laura Moore (19th) who were part of the Loreto Fermoy team who qualified for Munsters as 4th place team.
In the final race of the day, the Senior Boys race, Aidan Maher (St. Colmans, Fermoy timed his finish to perfection to finish 2nd Overall winning the silver medal. Peter Hawkins (Bruce College) finished in 11th place overall to also qualify for Munster. Cian Ryan ran up in age to score for Glanmire Community College and secure a silver team medal. Well done to all Carraig Na BhFear athletes in qualifying for the Munster Finals!
The conditions were near-perfect in Dungarvan for the John Treacy 10-Miler in Dungarvan on Sunday 2nd. Tadhg Crowley led the way with a great PB time of 58.53, congratulations Tadhg! Great running also from Conor Kelly (1:06;41), Diarmuid Kiely (1:08:35), Una Reidy (1:22:58), Cliona Hurley (1:29:52) and Cora Lynch (1:31:5).
Look Ahead: Best of luck to all travelling to the All-Ireland ‘B’ Cross-country Championships in Westport and also to our athletes who will compete in the Inter-Varsity Indoor Championships in Abbotstown next Sunday 9th .