Finn Valley had numerous teams in Belfast on Sunday at the Ulster even age Cross Country Championships and underlying their commitment and that of the parents we were able to field full teams, despite the weather conditions and the cancellation of many sporting fixtures throughout the country. The enthusiasm and commitment shown at every level to include coaches, parents and athletes is indeed very refreshing and encouraging. In the competition itself, which provided the first real test at provincial level, the highlight was the team victory of the U18 boys led by Odhran McBrearty who finished 3rd and had strong support form Ciaran McCarroll, Loran Byrne, Paraic McGettigan, Padraig Corry a new recruit from Castlederg and Jamie Gallagher from Glenfinn.
The other standout victory came via the U16 girls led once again by Andrea Reid with strong support from Aimee McElchar, Ollie McNulty and Mia Byrne, getting in ahead of Enniskillen with Dromore Co. Down in third team spot.
The other gold medal winning quartet was in the opening race of the day, the U10 girls. And they were led by Caitlyn Gillespie who finished 4th, supported by Erin Moy, Cora Clarke and Eimear Moy. Indeed we had a B team well placed int his age category in addition also. Finn Valley got in ahead of Glaslough Co Monaghan and Letterkenny in this age category. It was also a case of team silver for the U14 girls lead by Darcie Clarke whose younger sister had scored earlier in the day in the U10 race. Darcie had strong support from Saorla Gilligan, Caoimhe McNeill and Aoibhinn Greene. The Lagan Valley outscored Finn Valley on this occasion with Lisburn in 3rd team spot.
The U14 boys will be disappointed with a 3rd team spot and will hope to improve ont his position come Nationals. Their lead runner, once again, was Shay McHugh with Kyle Doherty, Evan Patton and Shea Irwin scoring also. The U10 boys took team bronze, with the two Glenfinn boys scoring, namely Jude Martin and Finn McNamee. No doubt the McNamee name will be familiar to all the Finn Valley athletes who travelled with their grandfather over the years, namely Charlie. The other members of the team, Blake Keenan a grandson of Gloria Donaghey, and Harry Houston Sessiaghoneill National School. There was also strong performance here from Luke McElchar, Anthony lynch, Logan Greene and Eoghan Moss. The U14 boys were just 3 points adrift of the medals led by Pascal McMenamin and also on board were Patrick McNulty, Danny McHugh and Dominic Cush.
In addition to the underage races, there was senior race in which Shea Carlin and Gary Gallagher competed while Sally McMenamin took in the U20 race.
At the end of a hectic day, Finn Valley now look forward to hosting the Ulster uneven age Championships on Saturday week and again anticipating large local support, excitement and enthusiasm to engender strong performances. There will be a non-championship U9 race included in the programme. Athletes are reminded to enter for these championships immediately.
Also last weekend, Eimear McCarroll was back in action in the USA having recovered from a spike injury in her previous race encounter which forced a DNF from her. But on this occasion, in a field of 267 starters, she finished 24th and more importantly was the 3rd Freshman home. The race held at Newman Golf Course saw her team finish in a strong third position. She now races in 2 weeks time and has a decision to make on whether she will return to run the Irish Championships to gain selection for the European U20 championships, or hope that her form in the USA will gain her automatic selection. This is the decision that needs to be made in the coming days.
Last Saturday in Cork, four Finn Valley members, now in attendance at various universities: Oisin Toye (ATU), Sean McGinley (DCU), Brian Quinn (Maynooth) and Amy Greene (DCU) were in action. The top performance once again came via Amy Greene who repeated her finish position of 2023 in finishing runner up in the University Championships.
Congratulations to Jasmine Barrett Doherty who is to receive an Ulster Star award at the forthcoming awards dinner
The hugely popular Little Athletics is kicking off in November with a new 6 week block of activity. Led by Coach Ann Slevin, this fun introduction to athletics is suitable for ages 4yrs to 7yrs. Booking online.
Remembrance 10k/5k takes place on November 10th. This is an opportunity run walk or jog, joining with family and friends to remember those that have left us. A contribution from the event will be made to charity. The event has a 10am start and it is recommended that people enter online to avoid a rush on the morning of the race.
Photos – U12 boys, U16 girls, U10 girls – U10 boys, 3 girls with bows