St Abban’s athletes shine in the Winter Sun

Day 2 of the Leinster Juvenile Uneven Ages, U23 and Senior Cross Country took place in a new venue in Tinahely on Sunday last. Conditions were perfect for Cross Country racing with good underfoot conditions and a mild day welcoming everyone to the Wicklow venue. After strong performances at the County Championships, St Abban’s athletes hoped to carry their form into the Leinster competition.
The day got off to a brilliant start with the Girls U11 race. Penelope McMahon and Ava Brophy both positioned themselves well throughout the 1500m race and in the sprint for the line Penelope gathered another place or two, finishing in 4th with Ava just behind in 6th. This was a very strong start for the team competition and with the help of Meabh Kearney, Kate Kelly and Lily Knowles the team finished in 2nd place. The girls also contributed towards the Laois County team which finished just outside the medals in 5th place.

Liam Doyle (8th) & Conor Keegan (11th) both had Top 12 finishes in the Boys U.11 leading the club team to victory. Sinead Fitzpatrick ran superbly to take victory in the Girls U.13. The Boys U.13 team packed well with our first 4 athletes finishing inside the Top 20 which was good enough for 2nd Club and 3rd County. Laura Ayres had a solid run in the Girls U.15 finishing 8th. Will Duffy had a Top 12 finish in the Boys U.17 and scored along with Kalem Buggy on the County team who finished 2nd. Rachel Ayres had a great run finishing 5th in the Girls U.19. In the Senior Men's race, Cian Kelly ran a superbly judge race working his way through the field for a 3rd place finish leading the club to a 3rd place finish and Laois winning the County team.
After watching the Girls U11 the Boys U11 put in a similarly strong performance with Liam Doyle leading the team home in 8th place. Just behind him was Conor Keegan in 11th which meant both won individual medals. Edward McDonald and Sean O Doherty were next home in 14th and 19th positions which saw the lads claim gold medals in the team competition. With the addition of Rian Bolton, Conor Kennedy, Sean McDonald, Tom Condron and Brennin Haughney who all had great races this team looks very strong as they head towards the All Ireland’s in 4 weeks’ time.
Next up were the Girls U13 who raced over 2500m. Sinead Fitzpatrick moved herself to the front early on and ran a very strong race to take 1st place. Behind her were Bailee Bolton in 19th, Roisin Kearney in 39th and Naoise Buckley in 83rd. When the teams score was added together the girls were just outside the medals in 4th place. Ellie Knowles and Lucy Brennan completed the team running strongly throughout. In the Boys U13 race, the lads packed very closely together throughout and this was reflected on the team score sheets which sae them take second place overall. Eoin Dowling led the team home in 14th, Shane Kelly was 15th, John Conway 17th and Daire O Sullivan was 20th. They were just pipped for 1st by Mullingar Harriers who had a total of 64 points just 2 ahead of St Abban’s. Harry Brennan, Cathal English, Darragh Murphy, Fionn Campbell, Callum Kenny and MJ Dowling completed the St Abban’s athletes in action with Harry and Cathal both also contributing towards the county team which finished in 3rd place.
Laura Ayers led home the Girls U15 team in a fantastic 8th place, qualifying her through to the National competition in December. She was backed up by Zoe Dunne in 23rd, Katie Hartnett 37th, Chelsey Dooley 39th and Mollie Kelly in 50th. The girls team finished just outside the medals in 6th place. The County team also finished just outside the medals in 4th place.
In the Boys U 17 race Will Duffy was first home for the club in 12th place which will also qualify him for the Nationals. Behind him was Kalem Buggy in 35th, James Hyland 49th and Shane Stynes in 50th. Will and Kalem were both scoring members on the Laois team who finished in 2nd place. In the Girls U19, Rachel Ayers finished in 5th place which will qualify her through to the All Irelands and her team mate Caitlin Dillon Byrne finished in 27th.  In the penultimate race of the day the club had 2 athletes in action. Niamh Quinn continued her good run of form when she finished in 17th place with Emily O Shea close behind in 19th.
The Senior Men’s race completed the days action where it was great to see a team on show from the club. Cian Kelly continued his progression over the winter months with a 3rd place finish. Brian Kelly was next home in 1oth. Fresh from his first marathon, Stephen Hunter was next to finish in 21st and the evergreen John Fenlon completed the team in 25th. David McEvoy was our final athlete in action finishing in 30th. When the team scores were added together the club finished in 3rd place behind Mullingar Harriers and Tullamore. With the addition of Jack McMahon from Ballyroan/Abbeyleix and Daniel McLoughlin from Oughaval the county claimed gold medals.

Well done to all of the athletes who performed so well on the day. It takes a huge amount of dedication and hard work to get results as positive as the ones achieved in Wicklow. Thanks also to the coaches and parents who give of their time to help prepare the athletes for competitions. All eyes will now turn towards Enniskillen for the National Even Ages, Junior and Senior Cross Country Championships.