West Waterford Retain Babs Connors Cup
The second round of the county cross-country championships were held in the Friary last Sunday and though the day started misty and overcast by the time the races started the fog had lifted and we had another fine day for cross country running. The first race of the day got under way shortly after 1pm and we had just one athlete in action, Aine Flynn came home in 6th place. Aine is new to the sport of cross-country and this was a fine run in only her second race.
Silver for under 9 boys
We had a very young and inexperienced team in action in the under 9 boys but they took it all in their stride to take the silver medals in the team event. Cian O’Riordan in 6th place led the way home with Aidan O’Brien in 8th, Arthur Chizhikov 11th, Toby Taylor 13th and Jack Mc Grath 15th. Well done boys and we look forward to seeing you in many more races in the future.
Individual and Team Gold for Sinead Flynn
Young Sinead Flynn only started training a few week ago but has made great strides in that time and that was clearly seen yesterday as she sprinted to victory in the under 11 girls. Kate Mc Grath finished very strongly to take the silver medal and with Chloe Fennell 5th and Aisling Mullaney 10th the team title was secured. It was great to see such a big group of young athletes from West Waterford in action in this race. Other West Waterford placings were Niamh Leamy 12th, Lorna Cummins 13th, Rebecca Ansell 16th, Dairine Shanley 17th, Caoimhe Dwyer 19th, Rachel Wyley 20th, Caragh Mc Carthy 23rd, Georgina Pacifico 25th, Erica Crotty 30th and Malua Ni Chleirigh 37th.
Strong Running for under 11 Boys
The under 10 boys added great strength and depth to the under 11 event and provided the backbone of the team that finished second in the team event. First home of the West Waterford bunch was Michael Power in third with Oisin O’Mahony 5th, Mark Twomey 6th, Eoin O’Brien 8th, Aidan Mc Kenna 11th, Niall Blackwell 19th David Montgomery 20th, Cal Franklin 22nd and Oran Leamy 24th.
Silver for under 13 Girls
There was a very strong field in the girls under 13 race and West Waterfords’ girls were will up with the leaders for much of the race. Led home by Gemma Wyley in 5th, the team finished in second place with Cliona Ryan 6th, Aisling Prendergast 8th, Sarah Wyley 11th, Clodagh Keane 14th, and Holly Mc Grath 27th.
Second County Title for Sean Curran
Sean Curran proved that his win last weekend was no fluke with another great run to take the county under 13 title. He also led his teammates to gold in the inter club event to add to the under 12 title they won last week. Tholm Reddy ran strongly to finish 5th and Shane O’ Riordan 14th and Eoin Dwyer 16th made up the other scoring members of the team.
Kate Veale Retains under 15 Title
Kate Veale proved she is just as good at cross country as at race walking when she easily retained her under 15 county title. Kate was followed home in second place by Lucy O’Brien and with some very good running from Una Mc Grath 5th, Chloe Lake 6th, and Dearbhla Whelan 7th the girls easily won the team title. The under 16 boys were unlucky not to be among the medal winners Eanna O’Cathasaigh had a very good run to finish 4th as had Robbie Mulligan 5th and Cian Dwyer 9th but no fourth runner meant they did not count in the team event.
Clean Sweep for under 17 Girls
Edel Roche added the under 17 individual title to the under 18 she won last week and led West Waterford to a clean sweep of the individual medals with Claire Collins winning silver and Rebecca Maher bronze. Newcomer Nicola Coffey ran a great race to finish 4th and Kate Kennedy finished in 7th place. For good measure the girls also won the team title. We had just two athletes competing in the under 17 boys Brian Hallissey just coming back after a knee injury finished in 3rd place with Lughaidh O’Mahoney not far behind in 5th place
In the overall team event for the Babs Connors Cup for the best cross country club in the county West Waterford were clear winners with 43pts ahead of Ferrybank A.C. 18pts and K.C.K. 17pts. Well done to all those who took part over the two Sundays
International Selection for Jenny Hurley
Our latest international athlete, Jenny Hurley, headed for Scotland this weekend where she competed on the Irish under 18 team at the annual British and Irish mountain running championships. Over a very difficult course the Irish team finished third in the team event. Well done Jenny.
Munster Championships next weekend in Tipperary
The first session of the Munster cross-country championships will take place on Sunday October 19th at 12noon. There will be races for under 10,12,14,16,&18. The club has a large number of athletes entered for this event and the bus will leave Centra Abbeyside at 9am sharp. The following athletes have been entered for the event.
Under 10 Girls
Caoimhe Dwyer
Aisling Mullaney
Rachel Wyley
Darina Shanley
Chloe Fennell
Aine Flynn
Under 10 boys
Michael Power
Mark Twomey
Aiden Mc Kenna
David Montgomery
Eoin Ryan
Oran Leamy
Niall Blackwell
Under 12 Girls
Sinead Flynn
Cliona Ryan
Aisling Prendergast
Sarah Wyley
Kate Mc Grath
Lorna Cummins
Niamh Leamy
Under 12 Boys
Sean Curran
Tholm Reddy
Eoin O’Brien
Oisin O’Mahony
Richard Casey
Shane O’Riordan
Eoin Dwyer
Under 14 Girls
Lucy O’Brien
Chloe Lake
Gemma Wyley
Emma O’Neill
Aine Power
Dominique O’Mahony
Dearbhaile Whelan
Lydia Mangan
Under 14 Boys
Robbie Mulligan
Eanna O’Cathasaigh
Cian Ryan
Cian Dwyer
Darch O’Cathasaigh
Under 16 Girls
Una Mc Grath
Clodagh Gallagher
Nicola Coffey
Shelly O’Neill
Hannah O’Connell
Kate Veale
Under 16 Boys
David Earley
Lughaidh O’Mahony
Under 18 Girls
Claire Collins
Edel Roche
Rebecca Maher
Kate Kennedy
Shannen o’Leary
Under 18 Boys
Declan Power
Joe Conway
Annual General Meeting
The A.G.M. of the juvenile section of the club will be held on Monday Nov. 17th in Minnies at 9.00pm. The A.G.M. is being held earlier than usual this year and as we will still be in training it is hoped there will be a big turn out of parents on the night.
Eason’s Cross Country League
Our local Eason’s Book Shop will sponsor our cross-country league this year and we thank Pat White for his continued support of this event. This year the league will change from its usual Friday format and will be run instead on Wednesdays at 4pm. The first session of the league begins on Wed 22nd. It will run through the mid term break on the 29th and after that run the teams will be decided. For the rest of the league it will be team points that are important so it is vital that you turn up every week to compete for your team.
Training moves to 4pm
As the evening are getting darker earlier we will move our training time this week to 4pm starting on Wed 15th and continuing at 4pm on Friday.
