Local Schools Look Forward to Kit Kat Munster Schools Championships
On Thursday the Kit Kat Munster Schools Cross Country Championships will take place for the first time at Tramore Racecourse. This is also the first time the championships will be held on a school day. Already we have entries from all six counties in Munster. The event gets under way at twelve thirty with the minor girls race. This year the top fifteen individuals and the first three teams will qualify for the All Ireland Championships, which will be held in Co. Galway in early March.
Waterford schools will be well represented in all the events and with places at stake in the All Ireland competition will be hot. In the Junior girls race Kate Veale St Augustine’s should challenge for individual honours. The longer distance of the schools event should suit Kate. In the intermediate girls race the Ardscoil took the title at county level and if all their athletes perform on the day they should be in the shake up for one of the three qualifying places. In the Senior girls race Lorraine Mc Carthy St. Augustine’s will be favourite to win but she will have to contend with the Ursuline girls and Ardscoils Elma Nugent and Jenny Hurley will also be in the picture for individual qualifying places while the Ardscoil team could sneak one of the three qualifying team places.
In the boys minor event Colin Dunford C.B.S. the county champion will have his first taste of Munster competition and should be up to the challenge.
David Earley St. Augustines will lead the local challenge in the Junior boys event and with Lughaidh O’Mahoney on his heels they could help the Friary to a qualifying place in the All Irelands while the longer distance will also suit Darragh O’Riodan C.B.S. In the Intermediate race the strongest local challenge will come from the C.B.S. who will be led by Brian Hallissey who will have his own private battle with Joe Conway St. Augustines. This will be one of the toughest races of the day and the local schools will face strong teams from Douglas C.S. and Midleton C.B.S. In the Senior Boys event Rory Moloney St. Augustines will have little difficulty with the longer distance and supported by Mack Shalloe they will mount a strong challenge to try to retain their Senior Boys title. The C.B.S. with teams in all age groups will be in the running for the overall trophy but they will have to beat off a strong challenge from last years winners Douglas C.S.
