The Leinster novice,masters and even ages cross country took place on Sunday at Belvedere House , Mullingar. The superb parkland course held up very well to the recent heavy rainfall and was a good test for the two thousand athletes who took part in ten races.
Meath athletes performed very well in most of the categories. The most impressive performances of the day were in the mens novice race where Darragh Rennicks ,Bohermeen and Luke Forde, Dunboyne took control of the race when they emerged from a group of six frontrunners with two kilometres to go. They opened up a sizeable gap and delighted the Meath supporters with a powerful display of confident running . In the last five hundred metres the young Bohermeen runners struck for home to score an impressive victory ahead of this years revelation, Luke Forde. The county team of Rennicks, Forde, Neville Reilly , Dunboyne, Loughlin Campion, St Andrews, Robert Caffrey, St Brigids,Rory Kavanagh, Dunboyne got a total of 44 points to take the silver behind Dublin.
There was the usual strong display form the Meath womens masters team in the race for inter county honours. The ever improving Emeilia Dan from Dunboyne turned in a great performance to lead the county team home. When the final results are announced by Athletics Leinster it seems likely that the Dunshaughlin team of Linda Fahy, Ursula Byrne, Ann Hunter and the Na Fianna team of Imelda Clarke, Bridget Clarke, Maggie Higgins will be among the medal winning clubs.
The masters mens race saw strong performances once again by the irrepressible Dunshaughlin squad of Tommy Maher, Paddy Mangan, Shane Boyle, Derek Hunter, Benny Byrne and Paul O’Rourke turning in a great effort to secure second club team. The county M50 team finished second and was led home by Paddy Mangan.
In the juvenile races Shane Hanley, St Brigids continues to be the leading cross country runner of his age group by adding the under 12 title to the under 11 honour from last season. He led the impressive county team to provincial victory with three top ten finishers. Eoin Smith, was fourth and Kevin McGrath, Bohermeen. The Tara team of Smith, James Finnerty, Cormac O Dowd and Sean Byrne were an impressive second in the club category.
The boys under 16 team of Conor Rennicks, Bohermeen, 3rd, Andrew Coscoran,Star of the Sea, 4th, Gavin Maher, Dunshaughlin, 7th, Brian McGrath, Bohermeen, 10th, Niall Cornyn, Dunboyne,18th and Ben Clarke, Na Fianna,30th ran very well to finish second to Westmeath in the inter county category.
Na Fianna AC had some great performances from its quartet of Amy Clarke,2nd Sarah Clarke,7th, Emma Neary, 27th and Aideen Slattery,35th running well to get under 12 club silver and were joined by Annie Kavanagh Bohermeen and Hanna Gilligan, Trim in the county team which also earned a silver medal position.
Navan athletes Eva O Donovan and Ciara Rooney put in performances which will see them turning out for Leinster in the All Ireland even ages competition next month in Sligo.
The team manager Gerard Heery was very pleased with the turnout of Meath runners in most of the ten races and is hoping for a similar response from all clubs and their members at the uneven age and intermediate event at Adamstown, Co Wexford on Sunday 13 October.
No comments:
Post a Comment