Fagan and Connolly defend Leinster titles

Mullingar Harriers club notes

Early morning mist and drizzle gave way to a cool but dry and perfectly calm day in Tinahely, county Wicklow last Saturday for the Leinster Senior, U23 and Juvenile Uneven Ages Cross Country. This was a new venue and Athletics Wicklow laid out an excellent course with great visibility, which meant spectators didn’t have to constantly criss-cross the field to keep up with the action.

The course had long steady inclines rather than any sharp hills but a few sharp corners, creating a nice balance that challenged the stronger runners but didn’t severely disadvantage the weaker ones. Given the weather, underfoot conditions were perfect for cross country running, which was reflected in the great racing enjoyed by everyone that attended.

Mullingar was out in force, fielding teams in every championship race from U11 to senior. Despite 27 no-shows, some due to illness, Mullingar had 86 athletes in action, 92 if you include the youngsters who ran in the non-championship races, so the maroon and white was to be seen everywhere you looked.

With such numbers, success is bound to come, and top of the list of achievements are Claire Fagan and Vinny Connolly successfully defending their senior titles, leading their respective teams to club and county gold for the women, and club gold and county silver for the men.

Not to be outdone, our juveniles racked up 17 top 12 individual medals, including a terrific Leinster title for Lily Walsh in the U15 race, to add to the U14 title she won in Dunboyne two weeks before. Our juvenile teams won six juvenile club team medals, one team came close in fourth place, they won a juvenile county team medal and another county team came fourth. That means Mullingar and Westmeath will have a big squad competing at the national finals in Tramore in December.

Before the championship races, there were non-championship races for girls and boys U9. Racing over 800m, Tara Coyne and Adele Bertolo were delighted to win top 12 place medals, and in the boys race, Shay Gavigan won a medal, and Robert Bohan, Austin Keaveney and Senan Whelehan ran well and were delighted to be part of the action on the day and run in front of a big crowd of spectators.

The Leinster championships proper began with the U11 girls 1,500m, where Lauryn Smith raced hard from the gun and was in contention throughout. After a strong race, Lauryn came home in a fantastic third place, followed in by Helen McGrath (10th), Emily Rose Coyne (13th), unlucky to miss an individual top 12 medal by a narrow margin. There was great team support and packing by Roisin Keane, Maisie Walsh, Caitlin McCormack, Aoibheann Lynam, Rose Harte, Kate Horohoe, Lyla Lennon Currill, Heather Kelly and Laura Buckley, and they finished first club and fourth county.

We had a big team too in the U11 boys 1,500m, where Mel Bohan led them home in a hard fought 10th place, followed closely by Donagh Bourke (13th), narrowly missing an individual medal, and despite great support from Olly Wright, Huw Keaveney, Noah Morgan, Ethan Byrne, Killian Hardman, Senan Clinton, Emmet Walsh, Andrew Bradley, Rory McDonnell, Fionn O’Donoghue, Tiernan Smith and Luke Wallace, the boys finished fourth club, unlucky to miss out on the medal places, but fourth place means a club team of six can compete in the national finals in Tramore.

Chloe Bell gave it her all in the U13 girls 2,500m and was rewarded for her efforts with a great second place. Thanks to Amelie G Kelly, Siomha Leonard, Caoimhe Lynam, Clodagh Keane, Liadan Gavin, Kate O’Donoghue, Grace Farry, Isabelle Morris, Mina Sheridan, Alice Hyland and Anna Mae Lynam racing in hard behind, the girls finished third club, and a creditable fifth county in a tough race.

On to the U13 boys 2,500m where Daniel Cummins kept right in the leading pack from the start and was delighted to cross the finish in third place, with Gareth Glennon close behind in eighth. Despite missing three key athletes, thanks to great efforts by Harry Flanagan, Adam O’Donoghue, Aaron Robinson, Cian Gavin and Fintan Harte, the boys finished first club and qualified for the national finals. The team also finished a creditable fifth county.

The Mullingar team in the U15 girls 3,500m were also hit by no-shows and reduced to the bare four needed to score, but that didn’t affect Lily Walsh who bided her time and with a perfectly judged effort, went to the front and pulled clear to win by a big margin, adding the U15 Leinster title to the U14 title she won two weeks before. Amelie R Kelly, Lucy Kilmurray and Emily Tully put in great efforts, but the team finished out of the medal places.

Medal winning for Mullingar resumed in the U15 boys 3,500m thanks to Antonio Bertolo finishing strong in ninth place, and with Oisin Clarke close behind in 11th and great support from Greg McDonnell, Daniel Horohoe, Morgan Isdell, Cormac McGrath and Louis Kiernan battling hard all the way to the end, the team richly deserved their medals for second club.

The Mullingar team in the U17 girls 4,500m was another one blighted by illness and absence but Eleanor Kiernan dug deep and kept with the leading group and were rewarded with a terrific fifth place finish. Despite the spirited efforts of Isabel Tynan Daly, Blathnaid Peters and Emma Lagan, the team were unlucky to finish fifth club, not far off fourth place and a place in the national finals.

Lydia McDonnell also ran, but due to a recurrence of a recent injury, she wisely stopped mid-way through the race to prevent making it worse. We wish Lydia a speedy recovery.

After a great battle, hopes were high for team medals when we saw Oisin Kehoe finish fifth, just ahead of Conor Walsh (sixth) in the U17 boys 4,500m, and with Luke Greene well inside the top 20, all eyes were on Cian Hyland to provide the vital fourth score, which he did successfully to see the team finish second club and qualify for the national finals.

Grace Byrne was locked in a great battle for second in the closing stages of the U19 women 5,000m, eventually having to concede in the finish straight but still happy with her third place finish. Also having a great race behind her was Jessica Cunningham, who threw herself at the line to take the final individual medal in 12th place. With Ailbhe O’Farrell inside the top 20, followed in closely by Louise Callaghan, we knew it would be close in the team scores, but with a tight two-point advantage, Mullingar finished first club.

The team also finished a great third county, our first and what would be out only underage county medals of the day.

In the U19 men 5,000m, Conor Sherwin gave a spirited performance, never letting up his efforts and came home in second place. Also running really well behind and finishing fast was Jamie Wallace in fifth and Donagh Carey in 12th. This was a classic case of ‘you’re only as good as your fourth score’, as despite entering a full team, we didn’t have a fourth man on the day, so we left the team gold medals behind.

With the conclusion of the juvenile programme, attention turned to the senior races, where Mullingar definitely kept the best for last. Claire Fagan looked comfortable and full of running in the early stages of the Senior Women 6,000m race, happy to run with a small leading group.

When she decided to strike for home from a distance out, she quickly showed her class, pulling clear effortlessly and with a truly dominant display won by a distance to retain her Leinster senior title in style.

Despite completing the Dublin Marathon only a week before, Ciara Foy and Susan Glennon finished well up, and with Sinéad Whitelaw and Claire Ross providing great support and vital team scores, the team finished first club and first county.

Mullingar had a big team in the final race of the day, the Senior Men 9,000m, looking to retain the club title they won for the first time last year. Leading the charge was Vinny Connolly, who patiently waited and ran just behind the leaders in the early laps, with the rest of the Mullingar men running well and contesting every place behind him.

As the race progressed, it came down to two in front, Vinny tracking the leader, but in the closing lap, Vinny made his move to the front and slowly pulled clear to win and retain his Leinster senior title, and with Kevin Moore, James Keegan, John Ryan, Ian McCormack, Kris Foster, Kedagh Geoghagan, Steven Underwood and Stephen Nea putting in great efforts and packing well in support, the men finished first club, retaining the club title they won last year, and they also finished second county to round off a memorable day for our senior athletes.

Thanks to the many parents and coaches that attended to support our teams, especially the U11 teams, where some of them were competing in their first Leinster championship races, so they really needed plenty of attention and support to keep any nerves at bay. The juvenile even age teams that qualified from Tinahely – six on a club team and 10 on a county team – will go forward to the national finals in Tramore, Co. Waterford in December [GD].

Dublin Marathon individual and team medals

The Dublin Marathon incorporated the national marathon and the Athletics Leinster Marathon and the individual and team results were published last week. We’re delighted to report that Mary Stuart was second in her master category in the national marathon and first in Leinster, and Eddie Newman was first in his master category in both national and Leinster marathons. In the team results, it was national and Leinster master women team gold for Mary Stuart, Criona Reid and Marie Louise Johnston, and Leinster senior women team bronze for Susan Glennon, Jacintha Reilly and Joan Flynn. Congratulations to them all on their medal successes.

Road Safety

Now that the evenings are dark early, 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 extend sincere sympathy to Padraig Beglin and family on the recent death of his mother, Catherine, RIP.

Check the club website at mullingarharriers.com or Facebook page for more.