Munster Track and Field Championships - u9 to u13
This weekend in Castleisland, a number of our juvenile athletes represented the club at the Munster Track and Field Championships and children’s games. In what was a great weekend for the club, we saw medals, PB’s and excellent performances across the two days. Well done to all of the athletes who made the journey and competed so well over the two days, and a huge thank you to the parents and coaches who made it all possible.
U9 Boys and girls
In their first outdoor Munster track and field championships, our youngest athletes certainly shone. On Saturday, after what was a long wait, the girls started out with their 60m. With ten heats in the competition, Aisling Costigan was first up in heat 3, winning her heat in an incredible time of 10.29s. In heat 4, Harriet Ely finished 5th in 11.93s, followed by a 2nd place finish for Caoimhe Quinlan in heat 7 with a time of 10.39s and Éilís Shanahan finished the group with 12.99s in heat 8 for 7th place.
The girls then combined their talents to compete in heat 1 of of the girls u9 4x100m relay. With four super legs run, the girls finished their heat in 4th place, with a time of 1.15.99, 9th overall. Well done girls. No sooner were the girls off the track, when they were called to their long jump. The girls have worked hard at the long jump over the last few weeks, and that work was definitely on show in Castleisland, as they posted best jumps of 3.15m (Caoimhe), 2.91m (Aisling), 2.51m (Eilís) and 2.45m (Harriet). As the results were tallied, the club was delighted to hear that not only had Caoimhe claimed an individual silver medal, but the pairs team of Caoimhe and Aisling had earned their first Munster gold!
Not to be outdone, on Sunday it was the turn of the u9 boys, with two boys representing the club on the day. James Delaney got the day off to a flying start with an opening throw of 14.68m which he followed up with two more excellent throws of 14.51m and 13.70m. James’s super first throw saw him clear in the lead and claim his place on top of the podium as Munster champion. Well done James! Glen Phelan was next on the track in the 60m, where he lined out in heat 4 and posted a great time of 11.64s to finish 5th in his race. Both boys finished their day with the long jump, where James had a best jump of 3.03m and Glen had a best of 2.25m.
Well done to all of our u9’s who competed at the Munster championships, and congratulations on your excellent performances.
U10 Boys and girls
The girls u10 had a busy day on Saturday, with four athletes representing the club. First up for the girls was the 60m, where there were 11 heats. Aoibheann Doyle was first up for the club, finishing 3rd in her heat in 10.15s, next up was Daisy Lyons in heat 8 with a time of 10.94s, in heat 9, Beibhinn was 2nd with a time of 10.14s, and Grace Cantwell in heat 10, broke 10 seconds to finish 3rd with a time of 9.88s. It is great to see these young athletes posting such fast times, and a number of them PBs - well done to them all.
The girls then moved on to their long jump, where all four girls were in group 2. Aoibheann Doyle, led the group on this occasion with a PB jump of 3.29m. Daisy had a best jump of 2.99m, Grace 2.80m and Beibhinn 2.79m. Well done to all the girls in what was a very tough competition. Finally, the girls stormed around the track as a relay quartet. Their excellent time of 1.05.60 was just outside the medals on this occasion, but represents a huge improvement for this group, who have worked hard in recent weeks on their baton changes.
Finally, Tom Esmonde represented the club on Sunday in the boys competition. Tom ran in heat 8, where his time of 9.82s placed him 3rd in his heat. A super consistent performance over three jumps in the boys u10 long jump, saw Tom finish with a best jump of 3.40m. Two great performances over the course of the day.
U11 Boys and girls
On Saturday, our u11 girls were amongst the second group in the long jump. Lily Murphy, Meadhbh Hall and Órlaith Costigan represented the club in this event. Jumping first of the three, Lily’s final jump was her best of three at 3.67m, Meadhbh followed her with a best final jump of 3.68m and Órlaith’s best came in the second round at 3.33m. With their jumps done, the girls waited for the third group to be finished before results could be calculated - and what a result. Meadhbh claimed a silver individual medal, with Lily joining her on the podium in third. The girls combined jumps were enough to take the gold in the pairs competition.
The 60m in this age group had an incredible 13 heats, Lily was the first of the girls to run in heat 9, finishing 3rd in 9.22s, Meadhbh in the following heat was 2nd in 9.27s and Órlaith in heat 12 finished 3rd in 9.65s. All three girls were delighted with a new PB. After some calculation, the combined times of Lily and Meadhbh (who were 4th and 5th individually in the competition) earned them their second podium place of the day - and a silver medal.
With just the relay left to run, the three girls were joined on the track by Annie Ely. Here the girls were in the final heat, and with fast times in the previous heats, and results decided on times, the girls knew they had to run their hearts out. A new best for the group saw them finish with a time of 1.01.86, a bronze medal, and a place in the national children’s games. Well done girls!
Darragh Joyce ran on Sunday in the boys u11 competition, in both the 600m and 60m, our only athlete to take on both the sprint and middle distance events. The middle distance, his preferred distance, was first and Darragh ran an incredible race, winning his heat in 1.54.66, finishing 6th overall in the competition. He then went on to compete in the 60m, running in heat 5 of 12, he ran a time of 9.65s to finish 5th in his heat.
U12 Boys and girls
Darragh Maher, the first of our u12 boys competed on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. He started his competition with the turbo javelin on Saturday, where he threw a best of 6.94m. Returning on Sunday, Darragh was joined in the high jump by Matthew Esmonde and Geoff Morrissey. All three boys cleared the opening heights on their first attempt. At 1.15m, Darragh and Matthew jumped clear on their opening attempt, with Geoff clearing the height at a later attempt. Darragh went on to also clear 1.20m on a third attempt and the boys finished the competition with clearances of Darragh - 1.20m, 8th, Matthew 1.15m, 9th and Geoff 1.15m, 10th. Brilliant results at this level of competition.
Matthew, Daniel Delaney and Geoff then went on to compete in the boys u12 shot putt, Daniel was the first of the boys to throw, with a best throw of 5.87m, Matthew was close behind with a best of 5.80m and Geoff threw a best of 4.52m.
On the track, Daniel first competed in the 60m. Daniel broke 10s in heat 5 to finish 6th in 9.96s. The boys then worked together to compete in heat 2 of the 4x100m, where they finished 5th in a time of 1.06.51. Well done boys.
U13 Boys and girls
Faye Murphy was the first of the athletes to compete this weekend in the u13 girls javelin, and she set the bar high! Faye, having just moved up to javelin from the turbo javelin, Faye threw an opening mark of 20.26m, which was not only enough to qualify her for the last eight of the competition, but as her best throw of the day, earned her a bronze medal and a place at the national championships.
Faye returned on Sunday to compete in the 80m event. She ran in heat 6 where her time of 11.68s was enough to finish second and qualify her for the semi finals. She was joined in this event by Saoirse Joyce, who ran in heat 7 and her time of 11.80, meant she finished third and also qualified for the semi-finals. Faye improved her time further to 11.51s in the semi-finals, while Saoirse ran 12.07s, with both girls unfortunately outside the qualification for the final on this occasion Saoirse also competed in the long jump on Sunday, she jumped really consistently with jumps of 3.63m, 3.61m and 3.71m - finishing 12th overall in the final standings.
Sights for these athletes now turn towards the National Children's Games and underage championships, where the club will be represented by Caoimhe Quinlan, Aisling Costigan, Meadhbh Hall, Lily Murphy, Annie Ely, Órlaith Costigan and Faye Murphy, thanks to their performances this weekend. We wish all of the athletes the best of luck in their preparations over the next few weeks.
Tailteann Games
Congratulations to Alana Spillane who following her superb 3rd place in the Munster post-primary schools and subsequent brilliant 6th place finish in the Irish Schools T&F Championships has been selected to represent Munster in the historic Tailteann Games in the 3000m.
This is a testament to Alana’s hard work and an incredible achievement. Alana is the first athlete from the club selected to represent their province since Aaron McLaughlin competed in the race walk in 2018. The competition will take place in Morton Stadium, Santry on June 22nd and we wish Alane the very best of luck.
U14 - U19 Munster Championships
Next weekend it is the turn of our older juveniles, as their Munster championships take place in Waterford over the course of Saturday and Sunday. The very best of luck to all of the athletes who are making the journey to compete in Waterford. Below are the athletes representing the club;
Girls and Boys u14
Isabelle Murphy (200m, Discus and Javelin)
Helen Renehan (75m Hurdles, 80m and High Jump)
Caoimhe Slevin (800m and 1500m)
Grainne Daly (High Jump)
Abbie Delaney (1500m)
Gerard Delaney (Discus, Javelin, High Jump and Long Jump)
Michael Doyle (2k race walk)
Girls u16
Eleanor Doyle (200m)
Girls u17
Niamh Cleere (100m and 200m)
Alana Spillane (3000m and 1500m)
Dearbhla Gleeson (400m)
Kate Delaney (1500m)
Relays;
The club will also be represented by a girls u14 4x100m and girls u17 4x400m team on the day. Best of luck everyone.
The Mile Marker 2024. Kilkenny.
What a run from the Moyne AC ladies today in the Mile Marker in Kilkenny this morning. A historic 1,2,3 finish from the Moyne ladies. First home for Moyne AC was Louise Fogarty in 19.34, followed by Angela Fogarty in 21.06 in second, and Edel Delaney in third with a time of 22.30. Well done ladies.
Featured Image: James Delaney Moyne AC winner of the Boys U/9 Turbo Javelin, Cillian Walshe, Bandon AC 2nd. Ruarc Colgan Bantry AC 3rd. at the Munster Juvenile Championships last weekend. Courtesy of Martin Flynn.