5 Medals for St Abban’s Athletes at Nationals
Day 1 and 2 of the National Juvenile Championships took place over the weekend in
Athlone. St Abban’s had just over 20 athletes which qualified to compete across both of
these days. As with any national championships, it was extremely competitive in Athlone
across both days and our athletes rose to the occasion putting it up to the best athletes in
the country. On Day 1 Joshua Crosby put in an outstanding performance taking gold in the
Boys U16 Shot Putt. His throw of 13.96 was a new PB for Joshua and came in the opening
round of the competition. He backed it up with three throws around 13.70m stamping his
authority on the competition. Abbie Delaney was the club’s second medallist on Day 1 when
she claimed bronze in the U16 Girls Shot Putt. Abbie’s best throw also came in Round 1
which secured a bronze national medal. The final medal winning athlete was John Delaney
in the Boys U19 800m. John’s run of 1.55 18 was a new PB in what was a very close 800m
race. Also in action on Day 1 was Roisin Kearney who just missed out on the podium in the
U13 Girls 60m Hurdles when she finished in 4 th place in the final. Sinead Fitzpatrick finished
in 5 th place in the U14 Girls 800m. Annabelle Lawlor ran a new PB in the U18 Girls 800m of
2:30. In the U12 Boys Long Jump Leo Smith’s jump of 3.81m saw him finish in 9 th place.
Joseph Lawlor finished 11 th in the U13 Long Jump with a leap of 4.11m. Harry Brennan was
10 th in the U14 Long Jump with a jump of 4.22 with Shane Kelly not far behind with a jump of
4.02m. Elanna Kelly cleared 1.35m in the U16 Girls High Jump. Aaliyah Troy and Cara English
finished in 10 th and 11 th in the U17 Girls High Jump with both clearing 1.40m. In the U13 Boys
Shot Putt Oran McCarthy finished 9 th with a throw of 8.89m. Grainne Doyle threw a new PB
of 9.28m in the Girls U16 Shot Putt which saw her finish in 9 th .
It was back to Athlone for Day 2 of the National Juvenile Indoor Championships on Sunday.
Well done to all our juveniles who were out competing. Lily O’Neill and Roisin Kearney
picked up Silver and Bronze in the Girls U15 60m Sprint and Girls U13 Long Jump
respectively. Lily qualified through her heat in 1 st place, and followed this up with a great run
in the final to take a silver medal. In the U13 long Jump, Roisin worked herself into the
competition with her best jump of 4.41m coming in Round 5. John Delaney finally managed
to break 50sec (Club Standard) for 400m but narrowly missed out on a bronze medal. Faye
Brennan also narrowly missed out on a medal when she finished in 6 th in the U14 Girls 60m
Sprint. Faye finished 9 th in the Long Jump with a best jump of 4.34m. Cara English competed
in the U17 Girls 400m finishing 5 th in Heat 1 of the 400m. Cathal English’s clearance of 1.35m
saw him finish in 9 th in the U14 Boys High Jump. Will Duffy competed in Heat 2 of the U17
Boys 1500m.
Well done to all of the athletes who competed so successfully across the weekend. Also a
huge thank you to their coaches and families who give up their time to ensure athletes are
prepared well for these events.

Cian Takes Laois Senior Road Title
Cian Kelly backed up his Laois Senior Cross Country victory when taking the Laois Senior
Road title on a beautiful morning in Ballyroan. The race was held on the familiar loop out of
Ballyroan village and returning via the Abbeyleix Road. From the outset Cian McDonald
made the early pace, with Cian some distance back. As the race progressed Cian Kelly
managed to bridge the gap and as they returned to the village for the final time Cian Kelly
had made the race his own, taking victory from Cian McDonald. Brian Kelly had a similar
battle with Jack McMahon, with Brian overcoming Jack in the final kilometre to take the
bronze medal. Stephen Hunter 6 th and Colin Coyne 9 th completed the scoring team who had
to settle for silver medals after losing out to Ballyroan/ Abbeyleix by a single point. Also in
action in the Men’s race were David McEvoy 10 th , Dermot Ayers 13 th and James Nolan in 26 th .
In the ladies’ race Niamh Quinn set out with the leading group of Lisa Sweeney and the two
McDonald sister Breda and Kate. When they returned from their loop, Niamh was in 5 th
place which she held all the way to the line. Claire Phelan was next in 6 th , Aileen Lynch was
third home for the club in 11 th and Sinead Kelly completed the team in 14 th . When the team
scores were added together the ladies finished in 3 rd place behind Ballyroan/Abbeyleix and
St Michael’s.
Well done to all of these athletes who were out representing the club today and a big thank
you to all in Ballyroan who hosted a very successful Laois Senior Road Championship.