Week ending Saturday 20th June
Mullingar juveniles excel in Tullamore sunshine
Last Saturday and Sunday in warm and sunny Tullamore, Mullingar Harriers had athletes competing in an impressively wide range of events at the Leinster Juvenile T&F, amassing an excellent tally of thirteen medals, with another five athletes finishing in fourth place meaning Mullingar will be well represented at the National T&F Finals in the coming weeks.
On Saturday, seven athletes took on the sprints events, nine runners took on the 1,500m, two boys ran steeplechase, two girls high jumped, one long jumped and one threw javelin. The morning kicked off with the short sprints where John McManus raced to third place in his heat of the u/15 boys 100m to qualify for the final where he ran even quicker with a personal best of 12.61 seconds to place fifth, just hundredths of a second off fourth which would have earned him a place in the National finals. Joel Kelly finished third in his heat of the u/16 boys 100m to qualify for the final where he finished fifth in a close race. Also competing in the sprints but not advancing from the competitive heats was Trijol Bhattacharjee who made his T&F Championship debut in the u/17 boys 100m heats, and Cian Hyland and Aaron Conroy (u/18 boys 100m heats).
On to the middle-distance races where Daniel Cummins ran a fine race to place a very creditable sixth in the u/14 boys 1,500m, with Cillian Gavin and Conor Gavin running well to follow him home. No luck for Rian Gavin in the u/15 boys 1,500m despite a good effort and race, but a very creditable seventh place in a competitive race. We finally got in the medals thanks to Lily Walsh who led from the gun in the u/16 girls 1,500m and stretched the field as the race progressed. With 300m to go there was just two girls chasing the gold, and after a furious sprint finish Lily held on to win in 4:37.64, breaking the twenty six year Championship record in the process.
Mullingar had Cillian Galvin, Oisin Clarke and Trijol Bhattacharjee in the u/16 boys 1,500m, which built up in intensity as the race unfolded. Cillian and Oisin were part of a small lead pack that broke clear of the field, and after another sprint finish, albeit far closer this time, a time of 4:16.86 saw Cillian steal the win by four thousandths of a second! A fine win from an exciting race and a second Leinster title for Mullingar. Unfortunately Oisin was out-sprinted in the last few metres and just edged out of the podium places in fourth. Trijol followed his club mates home with a top ten finish in ninth place. Eleanor Kiernan kept the medals coming for Mullingar in the u/18 girls 1,500m. Staying in contention throughout the race, Eleanor kept the leaders within striking distance. In the later stages the eventual winner pulled ahead and although Eleanor was closing on the girl in second, she couldn’t close the gap and crossed the line in third place, securing a fine championship bronze medal.
Over in the field events, Hannah Dunne leaped to fourth place in the u/16 girls high jump with a personal best of 1.35m. Kate Horohoe doubled up in the u/13 girls javelin and the u/13 girls long jump and despite not getting in the medals enjoyed the competition and will have gained valuable experience. Also competing in the field events but not securing any honours was Amelie G Kelly and Alice Hyland (u/15 girls high jump).
The u/16 girls 400m was run as time trials, with the medals decided on the fastest times over two race. Making her 400m debut was Aoibhe Martyn and while she finished out of the medals, will have gained a lot from the experience. Scott Cogan contested the u/17 boys 400m where he showed great promise over the one lap distance to finish fourth, just out of the medals. No luck for Cian Hyland in the u/18 boys 400m despite a strong performance in his heat but he didn’t advance to the final. Better known as a middle-distance runner, Daniel Cummins dropped down to the u/14 boys 300m where he ran very well but finished out of the medals. John McManus was back on track for the u/15 boys 300m where he blasted from the blocks and led for the first 200m, only caught coming into the home straight, but he dug deep and had enough in the tank to hold on to second place and a fantastic silver medal.
We finished on the track with Daniel Horohoe and Morgan Isdell contesting the u/17 boys 2,000m steeplechase, a gruelling event that both have only taken up a few months ago but they excelled on the day with Daniel finished in third place, his first individual Leinster podium finish, and Morgan close behind in fifth place.
On Sunday the club was represented with athletes competing in the long jump, triple jump, high jump, shot put, javelin, 200m, 800m, and 3,000m. Sunday was even warmer and sunnier from early morning, great for the sprinters and field event athletes, but very tough for the middle distance runners.
Daniel Cummins opened the action for Mullingar and looked very smooth in his heat of the u/14 boys 800m where he cruised to second place and qualified for the final later in the day where he made up a lot of ground over the last 200m making up several places to finish a very creditable sixth place. Chloe Bell battled hard in the u/15 girls 800m and after a close race she was unlucky to finish just out of the medal places in fifth, in a close finish. Finishing first and fourth in their heat of the u/15 boys 800m respectively for John McManus and Harry Flanagan meant they qualified for the later final. In the final, John was part of a two-man breakaway and reprised his pace from the 300m the day before to power to second place and win his second medal of the week-end, while Harry finished strong behind him but out of the medals. Oisin Clarke gave us plenty to cheer for when found himself in a two-way battle over the last 300m of his u/16 boys 800m battling all the way to the finish line to win silver for second place. Scott Cogan rounded off a third 800m silver for Mullingar when he raced himself to second in a tactical u/17 boys 800m.
Aoibhe Martyn was out sole representative in the longer sprints when she put in an excellent performance in the u/16 girls 200m but didn’t advance from the very tough heats. We only had one in the sprint hurdles too, Maisie Walsh in the u/12 girls 60m hurdles, where she gave a polished performance over the barriers to finish fourth in her heat, not enough to advance to the final but she was delighted to have competed in her first Leinster hurdles race.
It wasn’t all track of course, and over in the field events, Donnacha Doyle was disappointed to place fifth in the u/15 boys high jump on count-back but bounced back, literally, when he jumped to second place with a great series of jumps in the u/15 boys triple jump. Alice Hyland booked her places in the National finals with two excellent fourth place finishes, fourth in the u/15 girls javelin and fourth in the u/15 girls shot put. Injury forced Chloe Bell to withdraw from the u/15 girls long jump after just two jumps but she had still jumped far enough to place fourth, missing a medal only on count-back. Also competing in the field events but finishing out of the medal places was Clodagh Doran (u/16 girls shot put), Sophie Doran (u/12 girls long jump and turbo javelin), Aoibhe Martyn (u/16 girls long jump), Saoirse Peters (u/14 girls javelin and shot put) and Eanin Staunton (u/12 girls long jump), but all delighted with the experience of competing in a Leinster Championship.
The track programme ended with the 3,000m where Mullingar athletes were to the fore in every race they ran in, excelling despite the very warm conditions. Lily Walsh took on the u/16 girls 3,000m in familiar fashion and led the race from the gun. Eventually dropping all opponents, Lily solo-ran her way home to a second Leinster title of the weekend, with a second Leinster Championship record, finishing in 10:15.07.
Competing in his third race of the weekend, Oisin Clarke secured his second silver medal of the day in the u/16 boys 3,000m. Evan Nohilly and Cormac McGrath put in spirited performances in the u/17 boys 3,000m but had to settle for places out of the medals. Eleanor Kiernan had her second podium finish of the weekend in the u/18 girls 3,000m. Always in contention for medals and pushing hard over the final lap, she consolidated he third place and was delighted to win her second bronze medal of the weekend. In the last race of the day for Mullingar Harriers Conor Walsh rounded off a very successful weekend for the club on a high note. After a steady, championship style race, the first three athletes were so close in the final 300m that the lead changed hands four or five times as they sprinted all-out to the finish line. Although Conor managed to take the lead with 80m to go, he was ultimately out-sprinted into third place, missing second by just 0.7 of a second. Disappointing for Conor, who came within touching distance of a Leinster title, but a podium finish to complete a fine weekend which saw quite a few Mullingar Harriers with top four finishes, and qualifying for the National T&F finals [CW/GD].
1,500m Club Record for Colin P Smith
Colin P Smith produced a club 1,500m record of 3:40.55 when winning the British Milers Club Grand Prix 1,500m in Loughborough last Saturday. Colin entered the race with a personal best of 3:44 but recent races suggested he was on the cusp of a breakthrough. He raced with confidence, remaining prominent in the leading group throughout, before unleashing a really strong finishing kick to take victory and a huge margin of improvement in his personal best by 4 seconds. The previous Club record was held by Cormac Finnerty with a time of 3:40.77 from 1995. This breakthrough is richly deserved by Colin who has been an active club member since the age of eight and is another of our current senior athletes continuing to improve, having graduated from the club’s juvenile programme. Jamie Battle also produce a personal best of 8:10.53 in the 3,000m at the Loughborough meeting and Eoin Quinn set a season’s best time of 1:50.64 [JR].
Standout 10,000m performance by Diarmuid Fagan
Diarmuid Fagan travelled to Stadtallendorf in central Germany last Sunday week (6 June) to compete in the Lightning 10,000m, which is a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze Event and a highly regarded international event among distance athletes. Diarmuid finished fourth in 28:31.62, behind two Kenyan and a Ugandan athlete, best of the Europeans in the race and very satisfied with his performance in a quality race [GD].
Mullingar Harriers on the road
Alan Crowley was among 129 runners who took part in the St Mary’s Newtowncashel NS 5k run last Thursday evening in the County Longford village. On a relatively flat course, Alan controlled matters at the front of the race. He was tested all the way by a local junior runner, just getting to pull clear in the final 400m to win with 6 seconds to spare in 17:05 [MO’S].
The Offaly 5k series continued last Friday evening when 439 runners took to the start line of the Daingean 5k, as the local Naomh Mhuire AC hosted an excellently organised event. Weather conditions were dry, but with a stiff breeze very welcome, as it was a humid evening. The course was largely flat but did have a number of elevated stretches, which combined with some headwind off the canal made for a fair but challenging race. Mullingar Harriers was again well represented. Mark Darby led our 8 participants home taking sixth place in a time of 15:38. James Keegan returned a time of 16:35, edging out the fast-finishing Kevin Moore and Kedagh Geoghegan who both ran 16:40, with Kevin getting the decision of the stewards in a photo finish. Mark, James, Kevin and Kedagh combined to finish second Club team. Eddie Lynch, with 18:41, again took the honours in his master category. Orlaith Flanagan returned a time of 19:06, finishing second in the women’s race. Robin Jackson ran 20:48 with Claire Lennon Gavin running 23:38 [MO’S].
The annual Braveheart 5k organised by Trim AC last Friday evening and with a route along the banks of the Boyne in the vicinity of the town attracted a total of 524 athletes. John Glennon had an excellent run finishing fifth overall in 17:29. This was sufficient to win his under 20 category by over a minute. Barry White had a steady race and finished in 21:46 [MO’S].
Westmeath Road Championships
A reminder that the Westmeath 8k Road Championships take place this Wednesday evening (17 June). The race starts at 7pm and even if you missed the online entry, you can still enter on the night up to 6.30pm. Entry is only €5 and there will me medals for senior and the usual master categories.
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
PRO
