Leinster Schools XC 2025 (12th Feb)
Among the historic results from the Leinster Schools Cross Country held in the Phoenix Park on Wednesday 12th February, was a fantastic 3-in-a-row for the Colaiste Mhuire Senior boys team, comprising all Mullingar Harriers athletes, and the Junior girl title for Lily Walsh (Loreto College), the first individual title won by a Mullingar Harriers girl since Glynnis Lynch, way back in 1990.
As expected at Leinster, with only the top 15 individuals and first 3 teams in each race qualifying automatically for the All-Ireland finals in Galway in March, competition was fierce in every race. Weather conditions were good with the sun shining and the wind manageable, and underfoot, the going was good too. The first race with a Mullingar interest was the Minor Boys 2,000m where Antonio Bertolo (Colaiste Mhuire) raced hard to an excellent 5th place finish, with Gareth Glennon (St. Finian’s College) finishing strong in 13th place behind, both securing their places in the finals in Galway.
In the Junior Girls 2,000m race, Lily Walsh (Loreto College) ran nearly 40 seconds quicker than she had done over the same course two weeks earlier to win the title in style and make history for Mullingar Harriers as the first girl to win an individual Leinster Schools cross country title in 35 years. Oisin Clarke and Daniel Horohoe (Colaiste Mhuire) battled hard in the Junior Boys 3,000m and finished strong but out of the qualification places. In the Intermediate Boys 4,500m race, Oisin Kehoe (St. Finian’s) ran a very well judged race to come home in 12th place, followed in by fellow St. Finian’s team mates Txema Lozano, Daniel Glennon and Aaron Conroy, but a 5th place team finish means only Oisin will compete in Galway.
In the Senior Girls 3,000m race, Grace Byrne (Loreto) sat possibly a little too far off the pace on the first lap but made very good ground on the second lap to finish in 4th place, just narrowly missing 3rd by only a few seconds. Ailbhe O’Farrell (St. Finian’s) ran an excellent race and was followed home by the Loreto pair of Jessica Cunningham and not far behind her Lydia McDonnell, helping the team to 4th place, unfortunately missing team qualification to the All-Ireland finals by just one place.
While Colaiste Mhuire had won the Senior boys 6,000m team title on eight occasions since the 1970s, twice in a row in 2017 and 2018, and again twice in a row in 2023 and 2024, this year’s squad had the opportunity to make it three-in-a-row, which had never been done before by a Mullingar squad. With Pablo Lozano out with an Achilles strain, the team had little room for mistakes. The main pack in the Senior race ran conservatively for the first lap with just the leading duo pulling clear, leaving Conor Sherwin and Jamie Wallace running comfortably in the chasing pack. However, once the pace picked up, both were well positioned to respond and at the finish Conor Sherwin was 8th and Jamie Wallace just behind in 9th. Conor Liston ran a controlled race to finish well up, followed in by Luke Greene also racing well and Conor Walsh giving a fighting performance even though just back from injury. The team combined to win by a narrow margin of just two points to secure the three-in-a-row of Leinster Senior titles. In the same race, competing for St. Finian’s College, Donagh Carey put in a strong performance but finished out of the top 15 places and unfortunately won’t advance to the All-Ireland finals [GD].
