17 County Titles for West Waterford Athletes
The second day of the county championships was held last Sunday in the RSC and over fifty young athletes from Waterford travelled to compete. It was great to see lots of our newer athletes in action and having fun at the track and gaining valuable competitive experience. Those who had competed in the first day showed the value of the experience gained with many making it to finals and lots winning their first county medal.
Doubles for Ellie Mae, Jarleth and Ben
Ellie Mae Doherty and Jarleth Hurney completed the double again this week winning both their under 10 60m hurdles and 200m races adding to the two county titles they won on Day 1. Ben Qualter was back in action on the track and he also had a double winning the under 16 800m and Long Jump.
First County Titles for Olan, Mario, Lochlann, Fergus, Callum and Lauren.
We had six athletes competing who won their first county track and field titles and we hope it will be the first of many as they progress through their athletic careers. Olan Devereaux won the boys under 10 hurdles and finished 3rd in the 200m. Callum Curran took the title with a good run in the boys under 12 60m hurdles and Lauren Cliffe also topped the podium in the girls under 15 80m hurdles. In the 200m Mario Bradatan Zakis crossed the line first in the under 10 race as did Fergus Donnelly in the under 11 race. In the field events Lochlann Hurney proved strongest in the boys under 12 shot putt and earned himself his first county title.
More County Titles for Eabha, Doireann, Naoise, Saoirse and David
Five of our athletes added to their growing list of county titles with Eabha and Doireann Hickey dominating the walking events winning the girls under 16 and 17 racewalking events. Saoirse Quinn added the discus title to her growing list of county titles. Naoise MacMhurchadha added the 3000m title to the 1500m title he won on day one. Newcomer David Conroy Fahey won a second county title on Sunday when he placed first in the hammer under 16 and he also added a silver in the shot and long jump.
First Individual County Medals for Eoghan Kenny and Clodagh Cunningham
In their first track season both these athletes made it on to the podium with Clodagh Cunningham finishing a close 2nd in the under 15 80m hurdles and third in the javelin. Eoghan Kenny made it to the final of the under 11 60m hurdles and then finished 3rd in the final to claim the bronze medal. Anna Rochford also won a bronze medal in the under11 60m hurdles and Rory Donnelly took silver in the 800m and bronze in the under 14 shot putt. Lots of our younger athletes made it into the hurdles finals. In their first day at the track Luke O’Reilly and Seamus Brennan and Madelin Curran made the final of the 60m hurdles under 9 and Charlie Aherne just missed out on a medal finishing 4th in the 200m. In the under 11 hurdles Katie Mai Daly and Luca Brennan also made the final as did Fergus Donnelly and Mark Mc Loughlin under 12. Cian Qualter under 13 and Sarah Hallissey under 14 also made the hurdles finals.
On to the Relays as the County Championships come to a close.
The relays always cause great excitement and West Waterford had seven teams competing. We had a strong panel in the girls under 10 and they had to run off to see who would make the relay. The four were Eile de Paor, Isobel Daly, Leah Kiely and Ellie Mae Doherty and they put in a very strong run to finish second with Leah, Eile and Isobel winning their first county medals. Two of our under 9’s Charlie Aherne and Seamus Brennan moved up with the two under 10’s Jarleth Hurney and Oran Murray to compete in the under 10 relay and finished just outside the medals in 4th place. Our four under 11 girls stepped up to compete in a very competitive under 12 relay and finished in 5th place. We had big number in the boys under 11 and 12 and they combined to field two relay teams that finished 2nd and 3rd. The team of Mark McLoughlin, Fergus Donnelly, Mario Bradatan Zakis and Patrick Mullaney finished 2nd with the team of Luca Brennan, Eoghan Kenny, Lochlann Hurney and Olan Deveraux 3rd. Mark, Patrick, Luca all brought their first county track medals. The biggest field of the day was in the under 14 girls with twelve teams competing our team of Ava Kiely, Sarah Hallissey, Ellen Power and Shannon Radley and the team of Aoife Doyle, Luisne de Paor, Siun Cunningham and Faye McGrath put in a strong performance to round off a very successful and enjoyable day for our athletes. Thanks to all the parents who helped out on the day and sent me photos.
We will see you all back in training this week.
