Lisa and Thomas Houlihan set Championship Best Performances
The Houlihan family once again dominated the pole vault events at the national track and field championships. On Saturday Lisa cleared 2m 85 which was a new personal best jump, won her the gold medal and was also a championship record. On Sunday Thomas showed he was fully recovered from his recent injury when he cleared 4m 41 to take the gold medal and set a new championship record. This has been a busy time for Thomas as last Monday he headed to Waterford to collect the Combined Credit Union award for May and on Thursday next he will travel to Tempere in Finland to compete at the European Youth Olympics. This is a very prestigious event with just thirteen athletes from Ireland competing. Everyone in West Waterford wishes Thomas the best of luck and we hope that he can improve on his best performance of 4m 50. For good measure younger brother Laurence kept up the family tradition with a silver medal in the under 16 boys event. West Waterford’s Katy Laffen won a bronze medal in the girls under 17 event.
Gold for Kate Hickey and Zoe Scanlon in the Discus Events
Kate Hickey has been threatening a big throw all year and what better place to throw it than at the National Championships. On Saturday Kate threw over 36m adding a whopping four metres to her previous best to add the under 15 Discus title to the under 14 she won last year. On Sunday Zoe Scanlan was in action in the under 17 girls throwing the heavier 1kg discus over 36m she was well clear of the rest of the field to win her fourth national discus title in four years.
Silver Medal for Sinead Flynn
Sinead Flynn had her first taste of track running when she competed in the girls under 12 600m final. With the first 100m in lanes judging the starting pace was going to be crucial. As they came off the first bend and crowded into the inside Sinead was in 5th position over the next 200m she made her way up in to third place and came with a great run over the final 200m to win the silver medal. Later in the day Declan Power set a new personal best in the under 19 boys 3000m, Lisa Houlihan made it to the finals of both the long and the short hurdle event and Laura Connors equalled her personal best of 1m 30 in the high jump. Well done also to Claire Collins, Laura Cummins, Michelle Kenneally, Martin Houlihan, Alex Lai and David Earley who were all in action over the weekend.
Schools International Next Weekend
Lisa Houlihan, Zoe Scanlon and Kate Veale are all members of the Irish Schools team that will take on the English, Scottish and Welsh school in the Schools International in the Antrim Forum next weekend. This is a great honour for the girls themselves, their schools St. Augustines and Ard Scoil na nDeise and we wish them the best of luck in their events. Lisa will compete in the Pole Vault, Zoe in the Discus and Kate in the Walk. All three have already shown that they are the best in Ireland in their events and now they will try to improve their performance on the international stage.
3rd Weekend of National Championships
On Saturday July the national relay finals will be held in Tullamore. Our under seventeen boys team will be in action first in the morning section. Brandon Barry will lead off the tem with Micheal Tutty on the back straight. We will be missing Alex Lai from the third leg but will be drafting in a sub and William Keane will anchor the team. In the afternoon session the under 12 girls will take on some of the best relay teams in Ireland. First out for the team will be Laura Cusack followed Kate Mc Grath on the back straight who will hand over to Lorna Cummins on the top bend and then to Sinead Flynn for the final leg. Both teams have put a lot of work into their baton changing over the last few weeks and we wish them the best of luck.
On Sunday the final session of the A championships takes place in Tullamore and the following athletes will be in action for West Waterford
Ciara Scanlan under 16 Hammer, Declan Power under 19 1500m, Zoe Scanlon under 17 Shot and Javelin, Kate Curan under 15 Walk, Kate Veale and Aoife Kiely under 16 Walk, Brandon Barry under 16 Triple Jump, Kate Hickey under 15 Shot and Javelin, Lisa Houlihan under 16 Triple Jump, Joe Conway under 16 Walk and our final competitor on the day will be Claire Collins in the under 18 High Jump. Best of luck to all competing.
Season Coming to a Close
We will continue training until Friday 24th of July on that night we will travel to Araglin for their annual carnival and sports night. This is usually a most enjoyable night and a good way for our athletes to wind down from a busy season. Check at training for events and bus times. On Sunday 26th of July the national B championships will be held in Tullamore and the following athletes have been entered: Tholm Reddy under 13 600m and Shot, Sean Curran under 13 600m and Long Jump, Eoin Dwyer under 13 Shot and High Jump, Richard Casey under 13 80m and Long Jump, Kathy Lai and Raeanne Barry under 14 High Jump and Long Jump, Lucy O’Brien under 16 800m Aine Power and Una Mc Grath under 16 800m and Long Jump and Robbie Mulligan under 16 800m. After this event we will take a well-earned break in August before we start back for cross-country.
