Week ending Saturday 16th March
Diarmuid Fagan secures debut International selection
The Irish Schools Cross Country Championships were held in ideal conditions at Clongowes College, Clane, Co Kildare last Saturday. Underfoot conditions were excellent and the flat course meant the pace was fast in every race. There were many excellent Mullingar performances and for Diarmuid Fagan (Colaiste Mhuire) it was a day to remember, as he secured selection to represent Ireland for the first time at the Home Countries International which will be held at Santry Demesne in two weeks.
First into action was Aimee Wallace (St Finian’s) in the Minor Girls. Aimee has been in excellent form during the indoor season and raced bravely at the front of the field for much of the race. In the end she placed sixth which was an excellent result. Aimee will now turn her attention back to the All Ireland indoors in three weeks when she races over 800m.
The Minor Boys from Colaiste Mhuire had won the Leinster title and were among the leading contenders for the All Ireland team title. Ross Killalea had a fine race to lead the team home in tenth, his highest finish at an All Ireland Cross Country to date. He was closely followed by Tadgh Sheridan and Adam Brady who were both comfortably in the top twenty finishers and with great team support including John Ryan, the rest of the team packed closely behind to ensure victory by a thirty seven point margin.
Amy Geoghegan (Mercy Kilbeggan) had an excellent race in the Junior Girls to finish in eighth place. Amy was in the leading group from the start of the race and finished strongly to gain two places over the final 400 metres. Amy is a consistent performer and can be very pleased with another top ten finish at National level.
Hopes were high that Diarmuid Fagan (Colaiste Mhuire) could become the next Mullingar Harriers athlete to represent Ireland. Diarmuid started strongly in the Junior Boys and in the early stages he made a determined move into the lead. At this point, Diarmuid lost a spike and had to race the remainder of the race with just one shoe. While this would unsettle many young athletes, Diarmuid, although disadvantaged by this occurrence, battled bravely to secure fourth place and a place on the Irish Junior Boys team that will face teams from England, Scotland and Wales in two weeks time. This is a well deserved reward for Diarmuid who has trained with dedication and consistency over the past number of months to achieve this goal.
The Intermediate Girls race saw Loreto Mullingar finish in sixth place with Phoebe Bate leading them home, ahead of Meabh Killalea. Bea Drummond (Athlone Community College) finished close behind Meabh and they were closely followed by Jennifer Fidgeon, Karla Cunningham and Meghan Bates (Loreto Mullingar).
Colaiste Mhuire had a team in the Senior Boys race and despite their best efforts they narrowly missed out on team medals in fifth place. They were led home by Euan Lagan and closely followed by Eoin Quinn and Jack Moran. Brian Martin was the fourth scorer and they were well supported by John Whitelaw, Ciaran Luby and Paul McCool.
All-Ireland Masters Indoors
The All-Ireland Masters Indoors took place in Athlone IT last Sunday and we know the Mullingar group that competed were very thankful to be indoors and out of the cold wind, the rain and the occasional shower of sleet!
Demonstrating that he reacts well to the pressure of better competition, Sean McMullin won his category of the 3,000m race walk with ease, finishing faster than the week before when he won the Leinster Masters, so he is coming right into form and this will give him a boost of confidence for the World Masters Indoors in Poland in two weeks time. Colm Walsh also competed in 3,000m race walk and was very satisfied to come away with silver in his category in a new event for him.
Gerard Gavin worked hard in the 3,000m run and was understandably a bit disappointed to finish down the field and out of the medals, but knows he left nothing behind. It was a similar fate for Pauric Brady in the 1,500m where he ran quicker than in the Leinsters the week before but finished out of the medal places. Tom Walsh was in great form and delighted to take the bronze medal in the shot putt, but even happier to win the weight for distance event in his category and finish the day on top of the medal podium.
Eddie Newman up to the challenge in Bundoran
Extremely high winds, blustery showers and a location right on the Atlantic coast meant that there was no escape from the very tough conditions for the more than 1,100 runners, joggers and walkers that competed in the Bundoran 10 mile last Saturday morning. Among those that faced the challenge and more than up to it was Eddie Newman who battled hard and finished twenty first overall in 60 minutes 14 seconds. This was more than good enough to win his master category by a big margin to send him home to Mullingar in high spirits after the event.
Bohermeen Half Marathon
Most of the Club’s adult distance runners are saving themselves for the Mullingar Half Marathon on St. Patrick’s Day but an exception is Patrick Muldoon who celebrated his birthday last Sunday by competing with over 1,200 others in cold and windy conditions at the Bohermeen Half Marathon and he was very pleased to finish well up in seventieth place overall in 1 hour 21 minutes 59 seconds. We hope he celebrated his performance and birthday with a slice of well earned cake after the race!
For the latest results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com. You can also follow what is happening at the Club on our Facebook page.
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