A Fantastic Day for St Abban’s A.C in Dunboyne

Day 1 of the Leinster Juvenile Even Ages, U20 and Novice Cross Country took place on Sunday last hosted on a familiar course in Dunboyne Co. Meath. Underfoot conditions were very good on the day, however storm Ashley meant athletes needed to navigate very widy conditions throughout the day.

On a day when St Abban’s AC had a number of standout performances, one of the most pleasing aspects of the day was the involvement of U18 teams in both girls’ and boys’ competitions. This can often be a difficult age group to field teams but it shows the great work happening in the club to have teams across both groups.

The action began on Sunday with the Non-Championship race where Maebh Kearney and Conor Keegan both medalled. Next up were the Girl’s U12 where almost 130 athletes toed the line. Roisin Kearney led the club team home after 2000m, finishing in 13th place. She was followed home by Penelope McMahon, Ella Meabh Lyons, Aoife Lawlor, Lucy Brennan and Michaella Hughes. The girl’s combined score of 205 points saw them finish in 8th place in the club standings. The Laois county team which included Rosin and Penelope finished outside the medals in 7th place. In the Boys U12 2000m the club had great success with Daire O’ Sullivan leading the team home in 9th place ensuring individual qualification to the All Ireland’s in November. Liam Doyle was very close behind in 15th and with Seán O’ Doherty, Edward McDonald, Páidí Murrin, Callum Kenny and Dara McDonald all having strong runs the lads were well in the running for team medals. The total team points score of 80 saw the boys claim silver medals and qualifies them through to Nationals in Eninskillen. The Laois team finished in 6th place overall.

Next up were the Girls U14 who raced over the longer distance of 3000m. From early in the race it was clear that St Abban’s would be in contention for individual and team honours. Sinéad Fitzpatrick led the team home after a tremendous battle at the front where she finished in 2nd place. Her teammate, Laura Ayers was only just behind in 3rd place which set the team up in a strong position. Aoibheann Carter and Zoe Dunne completed the team and with a total score of 46 points the girls claimed the gold medals just ahead of Ratoath AC. The team was backed up strongly by Leah Dunphy, Mollie Kelly, Ellie Knowles and Leigha Kenny who all had very strong runs. When the County team score were tallied Laois came away with silver medals just behind the host county Meath. In the Boys U14 Shane Kelly was first home for the club in 18th place. He was followed by Eoin Dowling, John Conway, Harry Brennan, Cathal English and Darragh Kennedy. With many of these lads still U13 this was a great showing from this group of boys. Overall, they finished 5th in the team standings and 6th county overall.

Chelsea Dooley was our sole competitor in the Girls U16 4000m race. Chelsea finished in 35th place and helped the County team to 5th place. Will Duffy had a great run in the U16 Boys race. He finished in 7th place which was inside the individual qualification placings for the Nationals in 4 weeks’ time.

Rachel Ayers led the Girls U18 team to bronze medals in the club competition with her 5th place individual performance. She was backed up by Caitlin Dillon Byrne in 32nd, Aine Carter in 33rd and Annabelle Lawlor in 48th. When the County team scores were added together the girls also won bronze medals to add to their club ones. Similarly, in the Boys U18, Finn Craig was the outstanding performer finishing in 2nd place. He was backed up by John Delaney in 10th place meaning both qualified individually for the National Championships. Darragh Lazenby, James Hyland and Shane Stynes’ strong runs meant the lads won silver medals, finishing 2nd in the club competition.

Niamh Quinn, who recently returned from her travels in Australia had a strong outing in the Women’s Novice race finishing in 5th place after 4000m, just missing out on a top 3 placing.

All in all, Sunday’s action was a very successful day for the club with 4 sets of team medals gathered across 8 juvenile races. We also had 6 athletes qualify individually for the National Championships which will be held in Enniskillen in 4 weeks’ time. A huge well done to all of the athletes who worked so hard to achieve these great results. Also, a massive thank you to the club coaches and parents who prepare these young athletes to do so well.