Munster u14 - u19 Championships
This weekend it was the turn of our older juveniles to shine in their Munster championships which took place in RSC Waterford, over the course of two days.
On a wet and windy Saturday, which brought challenging conditions both on the track and in the field, the u14 girls were first on the track for the middle distance race of 800m. Caoimhe Slevin lined out in the first heat, and ran a great race to finish fifth in her heat in a time of 2.38.39.
Once the 800m competitions were over, it was the turn of the race walkers. Michael Doyle performed excellently in the boys u14 2k race walk, and took home gold, storming across the line in 12.33.83, over a minute clear of second place! Michael has been going from strength to strength and will look forward now to the national championships next month. Well done Michael!
In the u17 girls 100m, Niamh Cleere competed in a straight final, running in lane 5, Niamh flew down the track in 114.45s to finish 5th. Helen Renehan then took to the track for the girls u14 75m hurdles. Running the highly technical event in heat 1, she finished in 18.47s, not quite enough to progress to the final on this occasion.
Meanwhile on the field, the girls u14 javelin took place. Isabelle Murphy’s second throw of 24.19m earned her a place in the top eight, and at the end of the competition claimed her the bronze medal, a brilliant start to the day. Following on from her successful efforts in the javelin, Isabelle then went on to compete in the girls u14 200m. Isabelle ran in lane 6 of heat 4, and put in another excellent performance, finishing a clear winner of the heat in 30.82s, earning a place in the final later that evening. She improved on her time by over a second in the final, running 29.49s and finishing 6th overall. Isabelle’s competition wasn’t over, as she returned on Sunday to compete in the girls u14 discus, a new event for her. On her second throw, Isabelle threw 21.04m, earning herself a place in the top 8 of the competition and three more attempts. On the second of these attempts, Isabelle threw 24.91m, a super throw, and enough to win the competition and gold. Well done Isabelle.
The girls u14 also started their day on the high jump where the club had two athletes competing. Helen Renehan and Grainne Daly both jumped their first two heights on their first attempt. Grainne cleared 1.20m on her second attempt and 1.25m on her third attempt. She finished the competition in 9th place. Helen went on to clear 1.30m on her third attempt, and finished in 6th place overall.
Gerard Delaney had a busy weekend of jumping and throwing - competing in four u14 events across the two days. First up for Gerard was the long jump where a third round jump of 3.90m, earned him a place in the top eight. He went on to finish eighth overall, with a best jump of 3.90m. On Saturday afternoon, Gerard took on a new event, the discus. With an opening round fault, Gerard threw 14.82m with his second throw and finished 10th overall. On Sunday, he began his day with the javelin. Gerards best throw came in the third round with a throw of 27.52, this earned Gerard a place in the top eight, where he would go on to finish 5th overall. Gerard’s performance of the weekend came in his last event however, the boys u14 high jump. Gerard entered the competition at 1.30m, with his first fault coming at 1.40m, he cleared this height on his second attempt and 1.45m on his third attempt. Gerard then claimed gold as the only athlete to clear 1.48m, and did it on his first effort. Another gold medal, in what was a very successful championships!
Also competing in the 200m was Eleanor Doyle in the girls u16 event. Eleanor toed the line in heat 4 and finished with a time of 30.65s. Unfortunately this wasn’t quite enough to progress to the final on this occasion. Dearbhla Gleeson took on the challenge of 400m, which was run as a straight final. Dearbhla finished in a time of 1.10.04, finishing in fifth place overall.
Between the heats and finals of the sprints, the 3000m race took place. Alana Spillane, coming off a great schools season competed in the girls u17 3000m, and ran a brave race, crossing the line as munster champion with a winning time of 11.06.06, 30 seconds clear of second place. Alana returned to the track on Sunday for the 1500m, where she was joined by Kate Delaney. Run as a straight final, Alana broke five minutes, finishing in 4.59.29 and adding a second gold medal to her collection, also getting closer to the club record for this event. Kate crossed the line in 5.43.16, finishing seventh overall.
The weather on Sunday was somewhat improved, but the racing wasn’t any easier. Niamh Cleere returned to the track in the girls u17 200m. Niamh’s time of 28.75s in heat 2 was enough to earn a fastest qualifier spot in the final. Well done Niamh. Helen Renehan also returned to the track in the girls u14 80m. Helen finished 6th in heat 1, with a time of 11.93s.
With the sprint heats finished, next on the track was the 1500m, where Caoimhe Slevin and Abbie Delaney competed u14. With the final standings decided on times, Abbie was in heat 1, where she finished tenth with a time of 5.55.83. Caoimhe, in heat 2, ran a strong race to finish 3rd in 5.21.49.
The end of the weekend was marked by the relay events, with the girls u14 4x100m team first up. The team of Caoimhe Slevin, Faye Murphy, Helen Renehan and Isabelle Murphy, worked well together over the lap to finish with a time of 58.37, fifth in their heat. The girls u17 stepped up to the longer 4x400m, where a time of 4.40.06, run by Alana Spillane, Emma Delaney, Kate Delaney and Dearbhla Gleeson claimed a Munster gold medal for the girls.
A hugely successful championships for the club, with 6 gold and 1 bronze medal as well as superb performances from a number of our athletes. Well done to the athletes, parents and coaches involved.
National Children’s Games
Best of luck to the athletes who have qualified to compete at the National Children’s Games in Tullamore next Sunday. Competing on the day are;
Caoimhe Quinlan and Aisling Costigan (Girls u9 long jump)
Lily Murphy and Meadhbh Hall (Girls u11 60m and long jump)
Girls u11 relay (Meadhbh Hall, Annie Ely, Órlaith Costigan, Lily Murphy, subs; Ella-Mai Drennan and Daisy Lyons)
Tipperary B Championships
The Tipperary B championships also take place next Sunday in Clonmel, best of luck to all the athletes who are competing on the day.
Spraoi Games
Next week is a busy week with our youngest athletes from u8 to u11 traveling to Three Castles GAA to compete in the Spraoi games on Tuesday evening. Best of luck to all involved.
Moycarkey Coolcroo A.C 5k Road Race.
After a mixed day of showers the weather finally broke to give a perfect evening for running. Perhaps not as warm as you would expect for this time of year but overall you couldn’t ask for much more.
A great crowd gathered at the Littleton community centre from far and wide and the atmosphere was building nicely as the Galtee Mountain Boy played in the background. Numbers were collected and off the athletes went to make their way to the start, which was a mile from the village.
The whistle was blown and the athletes made their way back towards Littleton village on the old Dublin road. As the athletes passed through the village a large crowd of supports encouraged the athletes on their way. A left was taken at Centenary with a mile gone. The athletes continued on their way around the course which was suited to fast running. At 3km a short sharp hill met the athletes but this was no challenge for the Moyne A.C athletes. Another left was taken and then the athletes made their way back towards Littleton village. Once the village was reached it was downhill from there.
First across the line for Moyne A.C was Jake Bowe in a time of 18:30 to finish in 24th position overall, fresh from completing his Leaving Certificate exams on Thursday. Patrick Bowe was the next Moyne A.C athletes across the line with another consistent performance over the 5km distance. Patrick finished in 33rd position with a time of 19.08. Angela Fogarty was next home for Moyne A.C with a great time of 20.21, in 50th position. Edel Delaney was next home for Moyne A.C. Edel finished the 5k with a time of 21.13, in 65th position, knocking 5 seconds off of her previous personal best time. Well done Edel. Ollie Spillane was next home with a great time of 22.00 to finish in 78th position. Aisling Maher finished in 87th position with a time of 22.41. It was great to see Aisling back racing in the green and gold. Cora Doyle was next home for the club with a time of 24.52. Cora finished in 104th position overall. Excellent running Cora. Mindy Doyle was the first across the line from our Fit 4 Life group. Mindy ran her second fastest 5k to date with a time of 28.02 to finish in 137th position. Eamonn Cornally with encouragement from coach Dylan McLaughlin crossed the line with a personal best of 30.42 to take 162nd position on the night. A mighty performance from Eamonn knocking almost a minute off of his previous personal best.
Well done to each and every athlete that represented the club on Friday night.
A special thanks must go to Moycarkey Coolcroo A.C for hosting and organising such a well run and enjoyable event. We will sure to be back next year.
Upcoming Fixtures.
A busy week in store for Moyne A.C once again. Best of luck to everyone competing.
Wednesday, T&F Live, Clonmel.
Thursday, Dave Fogarty 4 Mile road race, Thurles.
Saturday, Alana Spillane, Tailteann Games, Morton Stadium.
Sunday, County B T&F Championships, Clonmel, National Juvenile Children Games, U12 Championships & U9 - U12 Inter Club Relay’s, Tullamore.
Irish Runner National 5 Mile 2024, Phoenix Park.
Spilt the Bucket.
Congrats to Ann Healy who won €99 in this weeks split the bucket draw. The ticket was drawn by Olive Lyons . Envelopes are available in the clubhouse, Quinlans pub and Tigh Maighne or join online today at moyneathleticclub.com.
The draw takes place each Friday after training. We thank you for your kind support.
Featured Image: Isabelle Murphy (L) and Alana Spillane (R)