Craughwell U-13 boys team produce the goods to claim National cross country title

THE outdoor athletics action moved to the Army's Curragh camp in Kildare for the second day of the Juvenile even age group and adult National Novice championships. After the very muddy conditions in Sligo on day one of the event, the fast, flat and relatively dry Kildare course was a welcome relief to many of the participants.

The highlight of the senior day was the performance of the Galway ladies team who came second and won All-Ireland Novice County silver medals in a highly competitive field. Laura Shaughnessy of Loughrea AC in 5th led the team home, coming close to an individual medal.

Irene Gorman of GCH also performed with distinction to come 12th with a really strong run, and these were ably supported by Caoimhe Daniels 34th, Helen Corbett 43rd and Thelma McMahon 118th.

The Men’s novice race had the biggest field seen in many years, with over 250 starters and the competition was of a high standard. Fintan Hyland GCH led the team home in 61st place, with Barry Davey of GCH very close behind.

Other team scorers were Craughwell AC's Martin Corcoran, GCH's Gearóid Hynes, Chris McGrath and Craughwell's Johnny Lane. Galway were 11th team out of 16.

Good runs also by Richard Farnan on his debut, Derek Murray, Alan Burke on his comeback, and Brendan Glynn. Up front, Eoin Everard from KCH used his track speed to beat Kevin Seaward St Malachy’s in a great tussle.

The juvenile events began in fine style with Shane Jennings of Ballinasloe taking silver in the boys U-111500m. Jennings was closely followed by Brandon Lee of Athenry AC who finished in 5th position.

Craughwell AC completed the finest cross country season in its history with some excellent performances, most notably from the U-13 Boys team who captured the National title in the 2500m with three runners in the top 15. James Cahalane led the team home in 11th place, followed by Matthew Barrett in 14th and Liam Moran in 15th.

A strong team performance was completed by Brian Loughnane in 33rd, Ben Sharkey 43rd and Sam McArdle 88th to give a team score of 73 points and team victory by a substantial margin. Five of the team were also scorers for the Galway team who took the county’s only medal in the juvenile events with silver. The sixth runner on the team was Brian Burke of Ballinasloe who finished in 34th position.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.