Three in a row for Zoe Scanlon at Woodies National Juvenile Championships
Zoe Scanlon once again underlined her potential as one of Irelands most promising discus throwers when she won the under 16 national discus title at the Woodies All Ireland Track and Field Championships in Tullamore last Sunday. Zoe added over a metre and a half to her previous best when she won the competition with a throw of 34m 75cms over 4mts ahead of her nearest rival. Zoe now has won a hat trick of discus titles having previously won the under 15 and under 14 titles. Next week she will represent the Irish Schools at the international meet in Bedford where she will be hoping for further improvements.
Silver for Joe Conway
Discipline is the key to success in walking and Joe Conway gave a fine example of disciplined walking when finishing second in the National Championships. The under 16 and 17 walks were held together and Joe started off at a lively pace. Surrounded by some of the under 16’s who were taking the definition of walking to its limits Joe held his composure and as warnings came their way Joe walked steadily to claim the silver medal.
First National Medal for Michelle Kenneally
Michelle Kenneally made the breakthrough in the hammer event at national level last weekend with a new personal best throw of 37m 55cms that saw her finish in third place behind the Leinster and Munster champions in a very exciting competition. In the same event Meg Fitzgerald finished in fourth with a throw of 35m 66cms, which was a welcome return to form for Meg.
So Close for KateVeale and Clare Collins
Kate Veale was in action in the under 15 girls 1500m. In a very strong field Kate realised her best chance lay in forcing the pace and after the first 300m took up the lead she was followed closely by a group of five who tracked her all the way. On the last lap the eventually winner Amy O’ Donoghue upped the pace and in the sprint for home Kate had to settle for 4th place in a very good time of 5.05. Kate is improving all the time over 1500m and it should not be long before she breaks through the 5m barrier.
Claire Collins continues to impress with her much improved high jumping this year. Having won the B Championships last year she was determined to make the grade at A level this year. She won the Munster title with a personal best jump of 1m 55cms and so took her place in last Sundays A final. The competition started off at 1m35 but by the time it reached 1m50 there were only five competitors left and Claire had gone clear at every height on her first jump. At 1m55 Claire cleared on her second attempt and came close on her last attempt to 1m60 as the competition was decided on countback the Westport athlete who cleared 1m55 on her first attempt was awarded third and Claire with the same height finished 4th so as so often happens in High jump in the end just one jump made all the difference. Despite finishing 4th Kate Meg and Claire were all happy with their performances and at the end of the day that is what is most important. Our only other competitor on the day was Brandon Barry in the 200m. Brandon a newcomer to athletics ran over this distance for the first time at the Munster Championships and surprised everyone including himself by finishing second and qualifying for the All Ireland. On Sunday he was up against the best sprinters in Ireland many of whom had trained all year for this event and while he made a valiant effort in the home straight he did not progress to the final. With some training of the winter we will hope to see Brandon back in action again next year.
International Selection for Kate Zoe and Thomas
The Irish team for the Celtic International which will be held this year in Scotland has just been announced and West Waterford will have three athletes on the team Kate Veale in the under 16 Walk Zoe Scanlon in the under 16 Discus and Thomas Houlihan in the under 18 Pole Vault. Well done to all three.
Upcoming Events
Friday July 25th Araglin Open Sports
Sunday July 27th Midleton Open Sports check notice board at training for details.
The club would like to express their sympathy to the Hickey family on their recent bereavement.
