Week ending Saturday 28th October
Individual and team success at Leinster Cross Country
Despite missing a number of athletes due to illness and others feeling unwell on the day but still running to support their teams, Mullingar still won eleven individual medals, including a Leinster title for Lily Walsh, nine sets of Club team medals and two sets of County team medals, meaning that Mullingar certainly enjoyed great success at the Leinster Novice, u/20 and Juvenile Even Ages Cross Country held last Sunday at Mountain View Golf Club in Co. Kilkenny. Despite very heavy rain from the tail end of Storm Babet in the days leading up to the event, the ground in Mountain View simply soaked it up and underfoot conditions were excellent throughout what was otherwise a tough course that tested the mettle of everyone that competed. To demonstrate the vagaries of Irish weather, it lashed rain the day before but not a drop fell on the day of competition, in fact the sun even broke through in the mid-afternoon.
The day started with non-Championship 1,000m races for girls and boys under 10 years of age, organised by the host Club St. Senan’s AC, and athletes as young as 7, 8 and 9 years of age from Clubs across Leinster competed with great enthusiasm, including a number from Mullingar. Landryn Yonta, Roisin Keane and Rachel Robinson ran in the girls race and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and Noah Morgan ran in the boys race where he raced to seventh place and a medal. We can expect to see these youngsters in action in future Championship races.
After the excitement of the under 10 races, the first Championship race, the u/12 girls 2,000m started bang on time at 11.30am and we watched the big team from Mullingar race from the start. After an exciting race where the Mullingar girls ran very well, they were led home by Chloe Bell, followed by Katie Bohan, Liadan Gavin, Amelie Kelly, Amelie Downes, Ellen Gallagher, Elise Buckley, Melody Kelly, Aoife Gouldsbury, Maria Gouldsbury, Robyn Kelly and Clodagh Keane. Such was the standard, despite their talent and great efforts the girls finished out of the team medals but many were moving up an age and the experience will stand to them when they run in their own age in two weeks. The u/12 boys 2,000m followed and despite giving away a year, young Daniel Cummins kept right up with the leaders and was rewarded with a fine eighth place finish and an individual medal. A star in the making, Daniel will be one to watch in the u/11 race in two weeks. With brilliant team running and support, the fast-finishing team of Conor Gavin, Adam O’Donoghue, Harry Flanagan, Cillian Gavin, Cian Gavin, Aaron Robinson and Fintan Harte, the boys were delighted to finish third Club and win Leinster team medals. They also finished fourth County, so all of them can compete in the All-Ireland finals in November.
Another star rising to the top though she too was giving away a year was Lily Walsh in the u/14 girls 3,000m. Lily kept with the leaders and patiently waited to make her move and when she did, she timed it perfectly to pull clear quickly and opened a gap that couldn’t be closed to run home in first place and win the Leinster title. The icing on the cake came thanks to terrific performances by Shaynah Mitchell, Lucy Kilmurray, Lucy Hickey, Aoibhe Martyn, Clodagh Doran, Aaliyah Downes and Emily Tully running hard in support to finish third Club and see another Mullingar team qualify for the All-Ireland finals. Taking a leaf from Lily’s book, Scott Cogan kept right in contention throughout a fast u/14 boys 3,000m race and though he didn’t win he was still delighted to finish fifth and lead the excellent team of Antonio Bertolo, Cormac McGrath, Daniel Horohoe, Oisin Clarke, Louis Kiernan, Greg McDonnell, Hakeem Yonta, Morgan Isdell and Joel Kelly to second Club and Leinster team medals. They also finished fifth County, not far off fourth which would have seen them all qualify for the All-Ireland finals, so a great team performance.
Tianna O’Leary had the honour of leading the Mullingar team home in the u/16 girls 4,000m with a fine fifth place finish, and with Eleanor Kiernan racing home in eighth place, and great support from team mates Isabel Tynan Daly, Emma Lagan, Lydia McDonnell and Blathnaid Peters the team finished fourth Club, no team medals but still a qualification spot for the All-Ireland finals. Continuing to make a steady return to his best, Matthew Molloy fought hard and was pleased to finish tenth in the u/16 boys 4,000m and with Conor Walsh running out of his skin in eleventh right behind him, and Oisin Kehoe in thirteenth, an agonising one place away from an individual top-twelve medal, and Luke Greene not far behind providing the vital fourth team score, it was no surprise that Mullingar finished first Club by a big margin. Also running hard in support was Daniel Glennon, Daniel Hickey and Conor Mulvany fighting hard for every place to see the team finish fourth County, missing bronze by just a single point to show that every place counts in cross country. A consolation is that they all qualify for the All-Ireland finals anyway.
The 5,000m for girls u/18 and women u/20 was a combined race where the u/18 girls could win medals in both the u/18 race and as members of u/18 and u/20 teams. Negotiating the course brilliantly and always in the thick of the action, Aimee Wallace finished fourth overall (third u/18), and with Grace Byrne (seventh u/18), Ailbhe O’Farrell (eleventh u/18), and great support from Aisling Lane (u/20), Caoimhe Donohue (u/18) and Alanna Greene (u/18). With three in the top twelve and great support from Caoimhe and Alanna, the u/18 team finished second Club. Of course, it didn’t end there, as the u/18 girls could also score on the u/20 teams, Aisling Lane provided the vital fourth team score to see the Mullingar u/20 team finish first Club by just two points and clinch the gold for Mullingar. The team also finished fourth u/20 County, missing the bronze medals by just two points. They won the Club gold by two points and missed County bronze by two points to also show that every place counts and everyone has to continue to run hard to the finish.
The final underage race on the programme was the combined 5,000m for boys u/18 and men u/20, where like the corresponding women’s race, u/18 boys could win medals in both the u/18 race and as members of u/20 teams. Racing hard down the finish straight and closing hard on the eventual winner, Diarmuid Fagan stormed over the line in a very close second place overall and second u/20 man. He was followed in by John Ryan (u/20), Ross Killalea (u/20), Conor Sherwin (fifth u/18), Pablo Lozano (u/18), Donagh Carey (u/18), Jamie Wallace (u/18), Philip McCartan (u/18), John Glennon (u/18) and Conleth Mullen (u/20), and all battling hard to the finish. When the u/18 and u/20 team results were sorted after the race, the u/18 boys finished second Club and third County, and the u/20 team finished first Club and second County.
After the underage races, the programme moved to the adult races and by now the sun was shining bright. The entry for novice women 4,000m included a big team from Mullingar led home by Susan Glennon with a terrific tenth place finish, followed by Joan Flynn also finishing well up, and with Michelle Bohan, Linda Cunningham, Ciara Dillon, Caroline Mullen and Claire Lennon giving their all, despite their efforts, the women had to settle for places out of the team medal places, sixth Club and fourth County, but only a mere five points away from the bronze medals in as very close contest.
The day ended with the novice men 6,000m, which as usual was one of the biggest fields of the day as over one hundred men raced away from the start of what is regarded as one of the most competitive races in Leinster cross country. One small and three big laps of the tough energy-sapping Mountain View course later, the Mullingar team was led home by Matthew Glennon in an excellent ninth place, followed in closely by James Keegan in eleventh place, then Andy Boyhan, Kris Foster, Kedagh Geoghegan, Stephen Campbell, Brian Martin and Liam McGlynn, all digging deep and leaving nothing behind and packing brilliantly in support, to finish a brilliant first Club and a very creditable fifth County for the men.
That rounded off a great day for Mullingar with plenty of individual and team successes and excellent running by everyone. The second round, for Senior and juvenile uneven ages will take place in Dunboyne, Co. Meath in two weeks. The juvenile even age teams that qualified from Mountain View will go forward to the All-Ireland Finals in Gowran, Co. Kilkenny in four weeks. Juvenile uneven teams for Dunboyne will be finalized by Club officials this week but in the meantime, it is vital that everyone continues to train hard and be in the best possible condition for the next round of the Leinsters and for the All-Ireland Finals beyond, so we expect everyone to keep in full training over the coming weeks, especially in Belvedere this week-end.
Address of Recognition for Mullingar Harriers
Last Thursday evening, Westmeath County Council honoured Mullingar Harriers with an Address of Recognition for the exceptional achievement of a big number of its members in representing Ireland in International competition in the last four years. Margaret Daly, Club Chairperson accepted the Address on behalf of the Club, which was presented by Cllr. John Shaw, the Mayor of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad.
This honour comes on the back of 25 members representing Ireland, some more than once, between 2020 just as the Covid-19 pandemic was hitting Ireland and we were subject to restrictions on training and competition, right up to date in 2023 when we are thankfully fully past the Covid restrictions. Like so many other members, these athletes continued to train as best as they could, so they were ready when competition returned to normal.
The competitions they took part in were many and varied and included Celtic Cross Country, European 10,000m Cup, European Cross Country, European u/20 T&F, Franconville u/18 T&F, Schools International T&F, Masters North-South Cross Country Challenge, European Masters Indoors, Schools International Cross Country, European Race Walking International, European Masters Non-Stadia, European u/18 T&F, British & Irish Masters International Cross Country, World Masters Indoors, European Team Race Walking Championships, and the Mannheim Junioren International Gala.
Westmeath Schools Cross Country proves a great success
The re-scheduled Westmeath Schools Cross Country took place in Belvedere last Wednesday. We had to postpone it due to a weather alert three weeks before. This time the forecast was for weather fronts coming from the south but Westmeath wasn’t forecast to have much rain until later in the day. Still, some schools feared the worst and decided not to attend, but as it turned out, the day was mostly dry with only occasional drizzle, so the fears were unfounded and the very large crowd that did attend thoroughly enjoyed the event.
Whatever the weather, the grounds in Belvedere always look great and underfoot conditions were not too bad for running despite the rain in the few days before. The hard work put in by volunteers from the Club in setting up the course meant that everything was ready on the day. We are indebted to the many volunteers, members and friends of Mullingar Harriers, who turned up in big numbers on the morning to help officiate and make the day a success. It was great to see the enthusiasm in the competitors from the young first class pupils to the older secondary school students, cheered on by a large number of teachers and parents. The event remains very popular and the feedback from teachers and parents was very positive, so we look forward to continued support in future years.
Sincere thanks to Westmeath Civil Defence who attended to look after any first aid needs with their customary calm and professionalism. The management and staff at Belvedere House and Gardens were also of great help in organising the day at a venue that is absolutely ideal for hosting such an event. Finally, our thanks to the teachers and schools for competing and ensuring that the event continues to be one of the most eagerly awaited sporting events on the calendar for those of school going age in Westmeath.
The Primary school top 20 individual finishers and team scores and the Secondary schools top 10 individual finishers are available on the Club’s website www.mullingarharriers.com. Congratulations to all who took part and as usual, the standard of competition was extremely high and medals were hard won for all the competitors. Team medals will be distributed to the schools in the coming days.
No training on Hallowe’en
There will be no training at the club next Tuesday, Hallowe’en, so enjoy the trick or treating and we’ll see everyone back to training next Thursday. The club grounds will be closed to everyone on Hallowe’en.
Road Safety
A reminder, that with the evenings now drawing in very quickly, all Club members must wear reflective clothing when running on the road. That includes all who use our Club grounds and who run from the Clubhouse on training nights. Safety is a must at all times.
Sympathy
The Executive and members of Mullingar Harriers wish to express sincere sympathy to James Keegan and the Keegan family on the death of his grandfather, JJ (Joseph James) last Friday. May he rest in peace.
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
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