More Success for West Waterford Athletes at All Ireland Cross Country Championships
Conna just across the border in Cork was the venue for day 2 of the All Ireland Championships for athletes under 11,13,15,17 and 19. This week all our girls were running in their own age groups and the two boys were running up an age. The course was very well laid out and stewarded by St Catherines AC but it was not a course for the faint-hearted. After the first two races parts of the course were well churned up and the soft mud combined with an uphill run to the finish made it very tough on the legs. As this was the All Ireland and athletes had to qualify from their provincial championships the standard was very high and there were big fields in all the race.
Individual Bronze and Munster Gold for Isabelle Gaffney
First in action were the under 13 girls where 157 athletes toed the start line. Isabelle Gaffney was the top performer for West Waterford. Always in the thick of the action Isabelle fought had to stay in the top 10 and came with a late sprint at the end to take 8th individual place and score on the Munster team that won the inter provincial title. Sophie Beresford is new to this level of running and did well to qualify for both All Irelands in her first year training. She has improved with every outing and last Sunday finished 67th. Another who has made big strides this year was Ellen Power who also qualified for the All Ireland for the first time this year and finished 78th. Next home was Ciara Flavin who battled to the end to finish 130th and Suin Cunningham running in her first ever All Ireland finished 148th.
Silver for Sarah Fia and Noah with the Munster Teams
Next in action were the under 15 races over 3500m. This was a tough course for these young athletes as they went out on the longer loop that went right to the bottom of the course so they had a long muddy uphill run to the finish. From the start Sarah Gaffney pushed up with the leaders and worked hard to try and stay in the top 12 but the pressure told on the final hill and she slipped back to 14th before sprinting to the line to take 13th place. Fia de Paor ran more conservatively in the opening lap but pushed through on the second lap to finish 20th. Both girls scored on the Munster team that finished 2nd in the interprovincial race. Aoife O’Donovan battled bravely through the sticky mud to finish 90th with Lauren Cliffe 101st and Sarah O’Riordan 114th. The team finished 5th of the 18 teams competing and the county team also finished 5th.
In the boys under 15 race Naoh Commins put in another super performance out of age to finish 23rd and score on the Munster team that finished 2nd. He was the 5th Munster athlete home which was an improvement on his 7th place in the Munster Championships.
Also running out of his age over the longer distance in the boys under 17 was Naoise MacMhurchadha who ran well over the tough course to finish 52nd . Well done to all who competed in the West Waterford singlet last Sunday and well done to all our coaches who worked hard to get our athletes to this level and our committee members who travelled to help out on the day
Curtain Comes down on another Successful Winter League Sponsored by Elverys InterSport
There was great excitement in the Friary Gym as our athletes and parents gathered for the presentation of prizes for Tony’s League. The league was run over 7 weeks. Everyone was trying to improve their time every week but on week 3 a team competition was introduced and with very evenly matched teams it was all about points scored for your team. The final night was a reverse run where those with slower times went off first and the fastest last with prizes for the first two across the line. The two who made the biggest improvement and crossed the line first were Feidhlim Harty and Annie McGrath. We had about another twenty home before the clock hit zero and within the next few seconds all eighty athletes had crossed the line. Well done to all our athletes taking part over the seven weeks and to Lola who keeps track of all the times and works with Tony to create the teams and figure out all the prize winners. Thanks also to the parents who helped out each Wed and to Ger Wyley who coordinates the sponsorship with Elverys InterSport.
Rory Donnolly’s team were very consistent throughout the league and led from week 1 to take the team honours. They were presented with the Powersfield Cup kindly donated for the event by Eunice Power. There was a very close contest for second and third with Oisin Whelans team winning out by just 6points from Sarah Gaffneys team. There were also some very good individual performances and this was rewarded in the individual prize section
After the run it was into the Gym where we were joined by Barbara Harvey from Elverys InterSport for the presentation of the prizes. Then it was time for chocolate Santas for everyone and a well earned rest for our younger athletes who we will see again in March.
Full Results 2022
1st Team : Rory Donnolly (Captain) Sarah O’Riordan, Conor McCarthy, Ruth Walsh, Olan Devereaux, Niveah Kearns, Ger de Buitleir, Elin Qualter, Daniel Flynn
2nd Team: Oisin Whelan(Captain) Tiernan Hogan, Mark McLoughlin, Leah Kiely, Clodagh Lattimore, Natalie Barry, Siobhan Hickey
3rd Team: Sarah Gaffney (Captain) Callum Curran, Isobel Daly, Alicia Radley, Katie Mai Daly, Eoghan Kenny, Rian Flavin, Leon Phelan
Individual Prizes
Fastest Boy: Noah Commins
Fastest Girl: Isobel Gaffney
Fastest Boy under 12: Fergus Donnolly
Fastest Girl under 12: Anna Rochford
Fastest Boy under 10: Jarlath Hurney
Fastest Girl under 10: Ellie Mai Doherty
Fastest Boy on small lap: Evan Radley
Fastest Girl on small lap: Sinead Houlihan
Most improved since 2021: Luisne de Paor
Most consistent over the 6weeks: Fia de Paor
Best Newcomer: Sophie Beresford
1st and 2nd on final run: Feidhlim Harty and Annie McGrath
Our sincere thanks to the Augustinian community for the use of their grounds for our training and the running of the league and to St Augustine’s College for the use of the Gym for the presentation of the prizes
