Highlights from a Busy Weekend in Tullamore Templemore and Carlow
West Waterford athletes were busy competing in three different venues over the weekend. On Saturday our athletes competed at the Munster B Championships in Templemore and the Tailteann Games in Carlow while on Sunday they headed to Tullamore to compete in the All Ireland Championships under 9-12.
First All Ireland Medals for Rian Murray and Cillian O’Brien
West Waterford AC was delighted to have 4 teams competing at the All Ireland under 9-12 in Tullamore. Athlete had to qualify by finishing in the top three in their provincial championships. The boys under 10 long jump was a very tight contest. Rian improved by 9cms on his performance in Munster to jump 3m54 and Cillian improved by 23cms to jump 3m52 to leave the pair with a combined score of 7m06 to take the bronze medals. Only 6cms separated the first 4 teams in this event so every cm improvement was important. Maddie Grant and Hailey Phelan threw a metre and a half further than they did in Munster to finish 6th in the turbo javelin. Ide ní Lonain again went under 1m for her 300m with Mollai not far behind in 61.13 to finish 12th in the 300m. In the long jump under 11 Andy Zakis improved on his Munster performance with a jump 3m65 to give himself and Alex a combined score of 8m.85.
Munster Silver Medals for Liam Enright, Etain ní Mhurchadha and Dylan O’Leary
At the Munster B Championships in Templemore we had just two boys competing and they both came home with silver medals with Liam Enright improving his personal best in the 60m by half a second to take second in a time of 10.27. Dylan O’Leary was also second in the boys under 14 shot putt and Etain was second in the under 11 long jump. This had to be decided on count back as both first and second tied with a jump of 3m57.
Bronze for Taylor O’Leary in the 60m under 9
Taylor was another of our athletes to win her first Munster medal on Saturday when finishing 3rd in the final of the 60m with a time of 10.37. Saoirse Keoghan improved her times for both the 60m and the 300m.Kenzie Connors was 5th in the final od the 80m and Madison just missed out on a podium place in the 80m finishing 4th in 11.55 which was almost a minute faster than what she ran in Cork the previous week. Sadie Burke was our only under 10 competing and she ran 203 for her 500m and was 9th in her first long jump competition with 2m82
Noah, Isabelle and Michalina represent Munster Schools in the Tailteann Games
The oldest sporting event in Irish history the Tailteann Games was held in Carlow as the best athletes from schools in the four provinces competed against each other. Noah Commins ran his second best time ever for the 1500. After a very slow first lap the pace quickened and the leaders pushed away but Noah came with al very fast last 300m to move from 6th to 4th and very close to the third place athlete. Isabelle Gaffney was off the pace in the individual 800m but she ran a great leg in the relay to move the Munster team into medal contention and they finished 2nd. They hot humid conditions didn’t lend itself to great throwing and Michelina had to settle for a best throw of just over 23mts. The points scored by Isabelle and Michelina in their event contributed to Munster winning the overall cup for the best province in the girls events.
Club Championships Conclude this Wednesday
We have just one event this week to finish off the club championships with long jump for boys under 14 and over 14. The trophies are ordered and presentation will take place on Wed July 2nd.
Two Upcoming Events to Watch out for
Friday July 4th 6.45 Fun run in conjunction with the West Waterford Summer Series. (same format as we had in Ballinroad)
Sunday July 6th Fun Day Ballinameela under 8-11 ( 11am to 1pm)
Keep an eye on the WhatsApp group for all the details of both
Dates for All Ireland Qualifiers
The All Ireland Championships will be held over 3 days in June and July. The following West Waterford athletes have qualified and are entered for their events in Tullamore.
Saturday June 28th
Michelina Goclik Discus 2pm Shot 4pm
Ava Kiely Discus 11.15
Sophie Beresford Walk 3.30
Sunday June 29th
Jarlath Hurney Shot 10.00
Mario Zakis Discus 10.00
Isabelle Gaffney 800m 1.30
Noah Commins 800m 1.30
Sunday July 12th
Kasey Connors 250 Hurdles
Noah Commins 1500m
