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Photos from the Galway Indoors
A big thank you from the club to Daniel O'Brien who has made the brilliant photographs that he took of the Galway Indoors available to parents to download for free.
If you haven't already, head on over to his Facebook page to take a look at his work and give it a like at:-
https://www.facebook.com/danielobrienphotography/
I'm sure all will agree, the quality and the timing of the photographs made the day even more memorable for athletes and parents and the photos will be a nice momento of the day.
And can you please consider Daniel as photographer for some of your family occasions as the club are very appreciative of his help in the promotion of the sport through his brilliant work.
NCAA UPDATE: Back on Track!
The Club’s very own US Division 1 Student-Athlete, Damian O Boyle, returned to the track, Friday January 26, at home in Lake Charles, LA with the second McNeese Indoor Meet of the season.
This was Damian’s first competitive racing action in just over 9 months, after an extended absence, unfortunately caused by a series of niggling tendonitis injuries, which saw the athlete miss out on last years Southland Conference Outdoor Championship Meet. He also missed the entire Summer season here at home, and was left watching from the sidelines as he attempted to return to fitness, rather than featuring for the Cowboys, during the recently concluded 2017 Cross Country Season. The team notably made an impressive push for the title falling short only to a count back decision as the meet was tied 42-42 with Fierce Rivals Lamar University of Texas, at the end of the a very tough 8k race.
Damian competed in the 3000m at the meet, tacking himself onto the incredibly quick early pace of 8:25 being set by the old guard of McNeese Seniors (Enrique, Fisher and Oliver). Fortune wasn’t to favour the brave on this occasion though as the pace became evidently too much for Damian as the Cowboy brigade thundered toward the 2 kilometre mark. The extended absence and hiccup over the winter rearing their heads (hopefully for the last time!), as he began to labour heavily over the last 800m to finish in a time of 8:59.97. Officially converted by the NCAA for an unbanked (flat) track to 8:53.76, still someway off his Personal Best for the distance set almost two years ago in Santry (8:44), as complications in the early part of last years seaon meant that a new mark was left unrecorded.
Damian had this to say after his performance, “I’m just happy to finally be back running and getting close to 100%. I’m relishing the prospect of getting back to my best and setting some new marks in the coming months!”
The coming weeks will see Damian travel to Birmingham, Alabama to compete in the Mile event (1609m) at the Samford Open, before hopefully making the trip back to Alabama for the Southland Indoor Conference Meet which takes place February 21-22. This should be a precursor for the McNeese Men’s team as they gear up to make a big push in attempting to secure the Outdoor Conference Team Title at this years Championships in May.
We wish both Damian and the Team the very best of luck in the coming months!
Brilliant Bronze for Craughwell AC Women!
Craughwell AC Women's Team
National League Bronze Medalists 2018
Arlene Earls, Chloe Casey, Sinead Gaffney, Sinead Treacy,
Laura Cunningham, Sarah Finnegan
(missing from photo Caron Ryan, Eva Kelly)
Craughwell AC’s remarkable success rate in the National Indoor League continued at the weekend with the women’s team claiming the bronze team medals in a hotly contested league final in the National Indoor Area in Abbotstown Dublin. The club has a fine history in the event with silver team medals in the augural year of the event in 2014, silver again in 2015, 5th place in 2016, 8th place in 2017 and now bronze medals in 2018.
On a day which saw 2 club senior records set and a third almost broken, every single one of the team was in top form going close to their PBs and eclipsing them in many cases.
It proved impossible to get full team pic on the day ... above left was taken between the 400m and the 800m and missing Arlene who was feeling ill after the 400m and then just as Arlene reappeared (above right) Sinead was gone into the start line for her 800m and then later Caron was missing from the team podium photo as she had gotten lost in Ikea and no amount of searching could find her :-)
Chloe Casey got the day off to a roaring start in her first ever senior competition and first ever time throwing the 4kg shot (U17s weight is 3kg). Chloe broke our club record not just once but on all four of her throws with the best of 11.36m taking the victory by a considerable margin. A super week for Chloe having won the Scottish U17 title just 6 days earlier.
The track got going at 1pm with Sarah Finnegan powering her way over the 60m hurdles to take a brilliant 3rd place in a time of 10.40 – an impressive .67s faster than only a few weeks ago in round 1 of the league. Sarah was in action again late in the day with an excellent leap of 10.14m to take 2nd place in the triple jump.
Next into battle was Laura Cunningham in the high jump. Joining the competition at 1.45m with only a handful of competitors left, Laura sailed comfortably over the bar on her first attempt and repeated this with super first-time clearances over 1.50m and 1.55m. With only 2 competitors left at 1.60m, Laura knocked it on her first attempt but sailed high over it on her second attempt with a brilliant jump. Up to 1.63m, it proved a barrier too far on this occasion for Laura and her rival cleared it with Laura taking 2nd place in the event – fantastic jumping! Laura later lined out in the 60m sprint for the first time since the league final last year and knocked almost 0.2s off her PB from a year ago with a brilliant 8.20 to take 6th place.
The final leage table
Next up on the track Caron Ryan in the 1500m where she is just going from strength to strength on each race. Having knocked 4 seconds off the club’s senior record in the 1500m last weekend, Caron knocked another 2 seconds off it in the League final with a brilliant 4.53.70 to take 4th place and vital points for the team. Sinead Treacy leaped to an excellent 5.03m to take 3rd place in the long jump and following this up with a brilliant 25.70 to take 6th place in the 200m.
Having run her first indoor 400m only a week ago in an excellent time of 60.42, Arlene Earls went into today’s 400m with a slightly different game-plan of going harder in the first 200m which very almost worked as Arlene led her heat at the 400m break line and powered her way around the first 350m before the dreaded lactic acid started to kick in on the final 50m. But Arlene held on to win her heat in another fine time of 60.54 and take 3rd place overall – great experience in a new event for her.
The team being presented with their medals by
AAI President Georgina Drumm
Sinead Gaffney wrapped up the individual performances with yet another powerful display of 800m running. Sinead went out at a savage speed much like Gavin Cooney in the Northwest Games a few weeks ago – clocking 32s at 200m and 65s at 400m. The early pace took its toll a little and Sinead had to battle extraordinarily hard in the last 200m to overcome the tsunami of lactic acid that was starting to flow – but battle it she did and record a brilliant 2.20.27 – a season’s best and only 0.23s behind her PB and club record of 2.20.04 set in 2016.
With only the relays left, the team were tied for 2nd place with Sli Cualann of Wicklow and only 2 points ahead of 4th place Donore Harriers. All three teams were running in the first relay race. The Craughwell team put in a heroic effort with Sinead T leading the team out, handing over to Arlene and then to Sinead G and then to Laura for the anchor. But try as we might, we could not catch Sli Chulainn and finished in 3rd place in our heat just behind the Wicklow women.
That place guaranteed the bronze medals – a fantastic performance from a super team and well done to team manager Sarah Finnegan on their success as it’s a difficult task to get everyone available for the 2 rounds of the league and for the final and special mention to Eva Kelly who stepped up for the team to throw the shot putt in round 1 and also to Lorraine Delaney who did some emergency pole vault sessions last week to try to learn the event a little in order to get over the opening height of 1.50m for the league final but unfortunately we ran out of time to get to that level.
Some pics below of the 2015 and 2017 teams.
Craughwell AC's team
who placed 8th in the National League Final 2017
Sineád Treacy, Ciana Reidy, Lorraine Delaney,
Laura Cunningham, Sarah Finnegan, Caoilin Milton
Some of the Craughwell AC team who won silver in
the 2015 National League
Sinead Treacy, Tara McNally, Michelle Duggan,
Aisling Keady, Rachel Finnegan, Sarah Finnegan
Missing from pic: Cathriona Farrell, Ciara Greene, Sinead Gaffney
Brilliant Performances at National U20/23s
Conor Duggan bronze medalist in the U23 Mens 60m and 200m
and Sinéad Treacy bronze medalist in the U23 Womens 200m
at the National Championships in Athlone IT
Sunday’s National U20/23 Championships continued a busy weekend for the club and particularly Sinéad Treacy and Laura Cunningham who had also competed a day earlier in the National League.
Sinéad was in blistering form when taking the bronze medal in the U23 Women’s 200m in a time of 25.74 having earlier won her heat in 25.76 and placed 6th in the 60m sprint in a time of 8.11.
Conor Duggan marked his return to the National stage with a brilliant double – taking the bronze medals in both the U23 men’s 60m and 200m – recording a time of 7.20 in the 60m and 22.66 in the 200m.
Jerry Keary completed the medal winning performances with a fine 1.90m clearance to take silver in the U20 men’s high jump – tying on the same height with the winner but having to settle for silver on this occasion. It was a great performance from Jerry who was ill on the day and also had to take a 10-day break from training recently due to a minor back injury.
Jerry Keary silver medalist in the U20 Mens High Jump
at the National Championships in Athlone IT
Laura jumped brilliantly in the U20 Women’s high jump clearing 1.45m and 1.50m at her ease and brushing 1.55m on her first attempt before clearing it comfortably on her second attempt. She made 3 valiant attempts at 1.60m just clipping it with her heels on her 2nd attempt and having to settle for 4th place on this occasion on countback. She followed it up later in the day with a great series of jumps in the U20 triple jump and a best of 10.18m to place 8th overall and only for the busy 2 days of competition would have gone further - very promising for her own U19 age group in 6 weeks’ time.
Both Ben Garrard and Jack Miskella were unlucky not to make the finals of the U20 and U23 Men’s 800m when both finished within milliseconds of the qualification times in their semifinals with Ben recording a time of 2:04.27 and Jack a PB of 2:04.62. Ben was angling for a place in the final but unfortunately got boxed in on the inside lane for much of the race so when the break came for the last 200m, he was unable to maneuver into an outer lane to get himself into position to qualify and had to settle for fifth place and a time that was incidentally faster than all of the times from the second heat.
For Jack, this was his first time competing in a National track event and he set out with his own race plan in mind to run a PB and came within less than a second of qualification. Drifting back off his opponents in the first lap, Jack ran a brilliant race in equal 200m splits to overtake some of his opponents on the 3rd lap and move into a qualification slot on the final lap but just got pipped on the line in a busy finish which relegated him to 5th place – a fantastic performance on his first time competing at this level.
Chloe and Leanagh star in Glasgow
Chloe and Leanagh pictured at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow
For over ten years now, the club have travelled each year to compete in the Scottish National Indoor Track & Field. It’s a brilliant trip and highly recommended for our athletes. This year unfortunately due to clashes with our own National Championships we had only 2 athletes travelling - Chloe Casey and Leanagh Gilligan. Both athletes put in exceptional performances to continue the club’s fine tradition at these championships.
Chloe put in a commanding performance to take the Scottish U17 Women’s Shot Putt title with a massive throw of 13.17m – over a metre clear of her nearest rival, while Leanagh was also in strong form in the U17 Long Jump placing 9th with a leap of 4.85mm. Both girls battled hard later in the day in the heats of the 200m with Chloe 5th in her heat in 28.92 and a similar result for Leanagh in 30.47.
Parents with athletes in secondary school should make a mental note of the event for next year. It generally happens in January for the U17s and in early March for the U13s and U15s … although this can change and is not confirmed by Scottish Athletics until October or November each year. It’s a super trip – not too expensive, they speak the same language over there (almost) and Glasgow is a great city!
Strong performance in National League Round 2
Craughwell AC's team in round 2 of the National League
Sinéad Treacy, Laura Cunningham, Sinéad Gaffney, Sarah Finnegan, Caron Ryan, Arlene Earls
Craughwell AC’s womens team put in a fine performance in round 2 of the National League which was held in Athlone IT today. Sinéad Treacy was first from the club into action with an impressive 25.87 to take 3rd place in the 200m, a position shared by Laura Cunningham with a 1.50m leap in the high jump unlucky not to get the 1.55m on this occasion.
Caron Ryan put in a super run in the 1500m to cross the line in 4th place in a time of 4.55.62 and in the process, knock 4 seconds off Linda Porter’s club record of 4.59.94 set in 2010 in Nenagh. Sarah Finnegan took victory in the triple jump with an impressive 10.05m while Arlene Earls ran a brilliant 400m to place 3rd in a time of 60.42.
Today’s performances place the club’s team in 2nd place after two rounds and thus have qualified for the finals which take place next Saturday in the National Indoor Arena in Dublin.
Meanwhile in the guest 800m races, both Sinéad Gaffney and Gavin Cooney ran impressive times with Sinéad coming within less than a second of her own club record with a brilliant 2.20.87 – great form with 4 weeks of the indoor season still to come, 4 weeks that will surely threaten her own indoor record. Gavin continues to knock chunks off his indoor PB … having run an indoor PB of 2.05.07 in the Northwest Games just before the start of the new year, Gavin lowered this further at the Galway indoors in a time of 2.02.32 and today knocked a further slice off it with a time of 2.01.59 – only a matter of another couple of races now before Gavin goes sub 2 minutes.
2018 juvenile/junior registration open online
Juvenile/junior/student membership renewal for the year Jan-Dec 2018 is now open on our online registration system. Click on the image above to register online.
Fees have not changed, i.e. €95/athlete, €180 per 2 or €235 per 3 or more.
If you already registered this Autumn, you do not need to register again as you are covered until next August.
But most of the membership are due for renewal in January.
From an insurance perspective, its critical to be registered by the first training session for your group in January. You can still use the manual form but bring it up to training either before/during the holidays or first week of January - link to form is here : http://www.craughwellac.com/site/images/2018/juvenileapplicationform-2018.pdf
Most importantly, for anyone competing in the Galway Indoors in mid-January, we need to have everyone registered online by Friday 5th January in order to be able to enter them.
For any queries on registration, please contact Mike O'Connor at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 087 2336693.
Please support Coldwood 4 mile race and kids fun run this Sunday
The 6th Annual Coldwood 4 Mile run takes place on this Sunday 28th of January @ 12 pm. New route, it is flat, fast and AAI approved!
Register on Run Ireland or morning of event at Coldwood School Hall from 11am. Registration €15. Cash prizes for winners.
Kids race at 11am
JNR TO 3RD CLASS 1KM / 4TH TO 6TH CLASS 2KM
REG COLDWOOD SCHOOL HALL 10AM €5 entry.
Irish Under-Age Athletics Champions 1891-2017
A fantastic piece of research has just been published by Pierce O'Callaghan at:
http://www.athleticsireland.ie/downloads/statistics/Underage_outdoor_ROH_1891-2017_Updated.pdf
Its in draft form and Pierce's email is in the above doc if anyone has any corrections to bring to his attention.
Brilliant Weekend at Galway Indoors
Craughwell U10 Boys Squad at the Galway Indoors
The International Indoor Arena was buzzing in Athlone recently when it hosted the 2018 Galway Indoor Championships on 13/14 January where over 250 athletes from Craughwell AC were in action. There were many fantastic performances, championship records and personal bests from lots of Craughwell AC athletes over the 2 days. Highlights included a sprint double for Sinéad Treacy in the senior 60m and 200m and field event double for Katie O'Donoghue in the shot putt (setting a new club record of 8.51m in the process) and high jump, with both women combining with Orla Ryan and Sinéad Gaffney to win the senior 4x200m, and a return to competitive action for Conor Duggan who took the senior men’s 60m sprint title and combined with John Cormican, Ben Garrard and Gavin Cooney to win the senior men’s 4x200m.
There were double golds also for Saoirse Moore (U15 high jump and hurdles), Evan Hallinan (U14 long jump and high jump), Niamh Duffy (U13 60m and shot putt), Ella Farrelly (U12 high jump and long jump and a silver in the sprint), Lauren Morgan (U10 long jump and sprint and 2 more gold in U10 and U11 relay), Darragh O'Donnell (U8 60m and 200m) and many more multiple medalists including Fauve Aylmer who ran an impressive 2:32.79 to be pipped on the line for gold in the U14 800m and took bronze in the 60m sprint.
13 of our athletes set new Championship Best Performances - click here for the full list published by Athenry AC's Iain Shaw, great to have these records which date back to 2005 for field events and to 2014 for track events when electronic timing was introduced for the Galways. Jade Moorhead achieved the distinction of equalling the oldest record in the book ... the U14 high jump record of 1.50m set by our own Cathriona Farrell in 2005, the year Jade was born!
Our record breaking or equalling athletes this year are as follows: Laura Cunningham - Senior Womens Triple Jump 10.02; Ben Garrard - Senior Mens 800m 2:00.73; Lukas Schukat - U15 Boys High Jump 1.60; Alana Grogan - U14 Girls 1k Walk 7:09.32; Jade Moorhead - U14 Girls High Jump 1.50; Evan Hallinan - U14 Boys High Jump 1.55; Niamh Duffy - U13 Girls Shot Putt 9.55; Evan Moran - U13 Boys 60m Hurdles 10.43; Ella Farrelly - U12 Girls High Jump 1.30; Lauren Morgan - U10 Girls Long Jump 3.44; Alan Hallinan - U9 Boys 200m 34.86; Darragh O’Donnell - U8 Boys 60m 11.33 and 200m 39.77; Cian Kelly - U8 Boys Long Jump 2.14.
Thanks to everyone who sent on photos and a big shoutout to Daniel O'Brien Photography for the fantastic photos he took over the 2 days which added a real professional feeling to the event. Check out Daniel's link here http://www.danielobrienphotography.com/sports and if you like a snap, considering purchasing it from him to help support him doing it again at future events.
Top 5 in the Senior Men's 800m at the Galway Indoor Track & Field Championships in Athlone
Jack Miskella (3rd), Ben Garrard (1st), Gavin Cooney (2nd), John Cormican (4th), Luke Evans (5th)
Sinéad Kennedy (4th), Arlene Earls (2nd) and Sinead Gaffney (3rd) in the Senior Womens 800m
at the Galway Indoor Track & Field Championships in Athlone
Full details of the athletes who made it to the podium are as follows and well done from the club to each and every one of our participants on what was a great occasion.
Senior Women Long Jump 1 Siona Lawless (4.49), 2 Orla Ryan (4.44), 3 Lorraine Delaney (4.44); Triple Jump 1 Laura Cunningham (10.02); High Jump 1 Katie O'Donoghue (1.60), 2 Laura Cunningham (1.55), 3 Orla Ryan (1.50); Shot Putt 1 Katie O'Donoghue (8.51), 2 Laura Cunningham (8.29), 3 Orla Ryan (5.60); 60m 1 Sinéad Treacy (8.04), 2 Katie O'Donoghue (8.38); 200m 1 Sinéad Treacy (25.62); 800m 1 Sinéad Gaffney (2:23.38), 2 Arlene Earls (2:26.65); 3000m 3 Dearbhaile Walshe (11:57.40)’ 4x200m 1 Craughwell AC Sinead Treacy, Sinead Gaffney, Katie O'Donoghue, Orla Ryan (1.48.93), 2 Craughwell AC Arlene Earls, Laura Cunningham, Siona Lawless, Lorraine Delaney (1.52.13).
Senior Men Long Jump 2 Ben Garrard (5.87); High Jump 2 Paul Armstrong (1.70); Shot Putt 2 Ben Garrard (8.18); 60m 1 Conor Duggan (7.22); 800m 1 Ben Garrard (2:00.73), 2 Gavin Cooney (2:02.32), 3 Jack Miskella (2:06.50); 3000m 3 Patrick Noonan (10:01.09); 4x200m 1 Craughwell AC Conor Duggan, Gavin Cooney, Ben Garrard, John Cormican (1.36.96).
Lorraine Delaney and Dearbhaile Walshe bronze medalists in the Senior Women's Long Jump and 3000m
Gavin Cooney racing to victory in the Senior Men's 4x200m
Laura Cunningham and Paul Armstrong in action in the
Senior Women's and Senior Men's Long Jump
Craughwell AC's Senior Women's 4x200m Relay Teams who placed 1st and 2nd at the Galway Indoors
Sinéad Treacy, Orla Ryan, Sinéad Gaffney, Katie O'Donoghue, Siona Lawless,
Lorraine Delaney, Laura Cunningham, Shauna Tobin, Arlene Earls
Ellie Cronin leaping to victory in the U17 Girls High Jump
U16/17 Girls Long Jump 2 Leanagh Gilligan (4.89); High Jump 1 Ellie Cronin (1.55), 3 Aine Kelly (1.45); Shot Putt 1 Chloe Casey (12.03); 60m 2 Aleisha Larkin (8.52); 60m Hurdles 3 Ellie Cronin (9.95); 800m 3 Ailbhe Miskella (2:39.17); 4x200m 2 Craughwell AC Freya Bohan, Jane Trehy, Chloe Casey, Leanagh Gilligan(1.54.95), 3 Craughwell AC Ailbhe Folan, Alisha Larkin, Ellie Cronin , Ciara Hughes (1.57.15).
U16/17 Boys Long Jump 3 Conor Trehy (4.94); High Jump 2 James Furey (1.50); 60m Hurdles 3 James Furey (11.43); 800m 1 Kyle Moorhead (2:09.90), 2 Finbar McFadden (2:11.97); 4x200m 2 Craughwell AC Shaun Gilligan, Lughaigh Morgan, Paschal Walsh, Robert Urquhart (1.48.81), 3 Craughwell AC Oisin Davis, Liam Leen, Conor Trehy, James Furey (1.53.00).
Kyle Moorhead and Finbar McFadden on their way to gold and silver in the U17 800m
Chloe Casey heaving the shot putt to victory in the U17 Girls Shot Putt
and Ailbhe Miskella, Bronze Medalist in the U17 Girls 800m
Patrick Noonan, bronze medalist in the Senior Mens 3000m
Saoirse Moore on her way to victory in the U15 60m Hurdles
U15 Girls High Jump 1 Saoirse Moore (1.48), 2 Saoirse Pierce (1.40); 60m Hurdles 1 Saoirse Moore (10.87); 4x200m 3 Craughwell AC Saoirse Pierce, Saoirse Moore, Elanor Mc Nicholas, Aoibhinn Keane (2.05.63).
U15 Boys High Jump 1 Lukas Schukat (1.60), 2 Oisin Keane (1.48); 60m Hurdles 3 Robert Urquhart (9.89).
Craughwell AC U14 Squad at the Galway Indoors
U14 Girls Long Jump 1 Katie Scully (4.27), 3 Siofra Davis (4.00); High Jump 1 Jade Moorhead (1.50), 3 Siofra Davis (1.35), 4 Aoibhe Carr (1.35); Shot Putt 2 Helen Callaghan (7.40), 3 Millie Geraghty (7.19); 60m 3 Fauve Aylmer (9.03); 60m Hurdles 3 Katie Scully (10.48); 800m 2 Fauve Aylmer (2:32.79); 1km Walk 1 Alana Grogan (7:09.32); 4x200m 2 Craughwell AC Katie Scully, Fauve Aylmer, Jade Moorhead, Clodagh O'Meara (2.01.35).
U14 Boys Long Jump 1 Evan Hallinan (4.37), 2 Cian Lavan (4.37); High Jump 1 Evan Hallinan (1.55), 2 Cian Lavan (1.45), 3 Ódhran Gilligan (1.35), 4 Calvin Ryan (1.35); Shot Putt 2 Calvin Ryan (7.94); 60m Hurdles 2 Cian Lavan (11.15); 800m 3 Daniel Galvin (2:31.94); 4x200m 2 Craughwell AC Cian Lavan, Evan Hallinan, Luke Flynn, Daniel Galvin (2.01.86).
U13 Boys Relay Teams - Gold and bronze medal winners
U13 Girls Long Jump 1 Siobhan Carr (3.98), 2 Chloe Hallinan (3.95), 3 Grace Keaveney (3.81); High Jump 2 Chloe Hallinan (1.25); Shot Putt 1 Niamh Duffy (9.55); 60m 1 Niamh Duffy (9.13), 3 Aoibhe Donnellan (9.35); 60m Hurdles 3 Chloe Hallinan (11.85); 4x100m 1 Craughwell AC Aoibhe Donnellan, Niamh Duffy, Siobhan Carr, Chloe Hallinan, Grace Lynch (59.65), 3 Craughwell AC Grace Keaveney, Sole Lopez, Tara Morgan, Isabella Fitzgerald, Ashling Whyte (1.03.54).
U13 Boys Long Jump 1 Conor Gilligan (4.13), 2 Eddie Silke (4.09); High Jump 1 Cormac McFadden (1.35), 3 Eddie Silke (1.35); Shot Putt 2 Gavin Keenan (6.33); 60m 3 Evan Moran (8.97); 60m Hurdles 1 Evan Moran (10.43), 600m 2 Evan Moran (1:47.59); 4x100m 1 Craughwell AC Eoin Spellman, Eddie Silke, Conor Gilligan, Evan Moran (56.82), 3 Craughwell AC Jamie Collins, Adam Jordan, Cormac Mc Fadden, Lucas Keane (1.03.58).
U12 Girls Long Jump 1 Ella Farrelly (3.79); High Jump 1 Ella Farrelly (1.30); Shot Putt 1 Shannon Quinn (5.53); 60m 2 Ella Farrelly (9.41); 4x100m 2 Craughwell AC Tara Keane, Ella Farrelly, Gillian Crowe, Isabel Schukat (1.02.00).
U12 Boys Long Jump 3 Fionn Higgins (3.68); High Jump 1 Darragh Kelly (1.30), 2 Fionn Higgins (1.20); Shot Putt 2 Darragh Kelly (6.85).
U11 Girls Long Jump 1 Emma O'Donovan (3.60), 3 Katelyn Walsh (3.21); 600m 2 Emma O'Donovan (2:08.67); 4x100m 1 Craughwell AC Lauren Morgan, Katelyn Walsh, Emma O'Donovan, Claudia Fitzpatrick (1.06.31).
U11 Boys Long Jump 1 Ben Moran (3.75), 2 Sean Hoade (3.43), 3 Dara Zimmerer (3.36); 60m 2 Ben Moran (9.38); 600m 1 Keelan Moorhead (2:00.30); 4x100m 2 Craughwell AC Caelan Coleman, Dara Zimmerer, Sean Hoade, Ben Moran (1.02.08), 3 Craughwell AC Keelan Moorhead, Paul Barry, Dean McNally, Jason Greaney (1.06.26).
U10 Girls Relay Galway Indoor Champions 2018
U10 Girls Long Jump 1 Lauren Morgan (3.44), 2 Mia Hollingsworth (2.94); 60m 1 Lauren Morgan (9.90); 400m 2 Saoirse Mullins (1:16.55); 4x100m 1 Craughwell AC Lauren Morgan, Saoirse Mullins, Mia Hollingsworth, Kayleigh Rabbitte and sub Saoirse O'Donnell (1.08.11).
U10 Boys 400m 3 Leo Molloy (1:23.92); 4x100m 1 Craughwell AC Eanna Morrissey, Tom Malone, Eoin Middleton, Oran Collins and sub Daniel Farrelly (1.08.32), 3 Craughwell AC Jack Doyle, Daniel Farrelly, Darragh Farrell, Liam Reilly and sub Calum McMahon (1.11.34).
U9 Girls Long Jump 2 Aisling Lavan (2.40), 3 Julia Fleming (2.40); 200m 3 Aisling Lavan (39.62); U9 Boys Long Jump 2 Daithi Lawless (2.80); 60m 2 Alan Hallinan (10.42), 3 Calum McMahon (10.74); 200m 1 Alan Hallinan (34.86); U8 Girls Long Jump 3 Grace McGlynn (1.82); U8 Boys Long Jump 1 Cian Kelly (2.14); 60m 1 Darragh O'Donnell (11.33), 3 Cian Kelly (11.72); 200m 1 Darragh O'Donnell (39.77).
Super Performances in National Pentathlon
Some of Craughwell AC Juveniles at the National Indoor Pentathlon Championships in AIT
A number of our talented athletes made the short journey to Athlone IT on Saturday for the National Pentathlon Championships in Athlone IT with some impressive performances.
The day kicked off at 10am with the U14 Girls hurdles where Clodagh O’Meara blasted to a time of 10.79 almost a half a second faster than her PB from last weekend at the Galway indoors. Fauve Aylmer was equally impressive in the U14 Girls hurdles competing in the event for the first time and recording a very good 11.44. Also at 10am Ellie Cronin got her U16 pentathlon underway with a decent 4.28m leap in the long jump and followed it up with a brilliant 10.07 hurdles. Both Lukas Schukat and Saoirse Moore kicked off their day with the high jump at 10am where Saoirse was jumping very well at the early heights clearing them comfortably but had to settle for 1.36m on this occasion as she clipped 1.42m with her heels on each attempt to bring it down. But very positive as she was high over the bar each time and has only a small glitch to correct to get her heels out of the way. Lukas made sure he got his heels out of the way with a fantastic series of jumps to obtain not 1, not 2 but 3 PBs in the high jump clearing 1.60m, then 1.63m and finally 1.66m to win the high jump before exiting at 1.69m.
And Cian Lavan got his day underway with a brilliant 10.42 in the hurdles, almost a second faster than his Galway time a week ago and followed it up with a fine series of high jumps to clear 1.41m before exiting at 1.44m just shy of his PB of 1.45m from a week ago. Cian added a decent long jump of 4.11m to stay in the top half of the field in his age group while both Clodagh and Fauve leaped excellent jumps of 3.64m and 3.49m and Saoirse and Lukas leaped a brilliant 4.25m and 4.48m. Saoirse was in blistering form in the U15 hurdles racing to a splendid time of 10.55. Clodagh and Fauve also did very well in the unfamiliar high jump with Clodagh leaping 1.20m and Fauve 1.15m. Clodagh picked up a bad knock on her first attempt at 1.25m so passed on her final 2 attempts in order to recover for the 800m.
Laura Cunningham pictured with a number of the Senior and Junior Men and Women
at the National Indoor Pentathlon Championships in AIT
Meanwhile the senior and junior women’s program got underway at 11.35am with the hurdles which saw Laura Cunningham race to a PB of 10.32 seconds over the 2’9” height. It was Laura’s first time over the hurdles since taking a heavy fall in the Irish Schools Pentathlon finals last November so it was great to see her navigate them with ease on this occasion. Ellie’s high jump got underway around the same time and she cleared several heights comfortably right up to 1.49m but struggled to get her heels out of the way in time at 1.52m and exited at that height but again can take some solace from being well clear of the bar and just needs to get the heels out of the way quicker.
Laura’s next event was the high jump which ended up taking almost 2 hours as the competition started at 1.10m such was the variation in standard amongst the junior and senior competitors. While the high jump was underway, a number of shot putts were completed including the U14, 15 and 16s where Clodagh ‘putt’ the shot out to 5.41m, Cian to 5.94m, Lukas to 6.00m, Fauve to 6.02m, Saoirse to 6.32m and Ellie to 6.38m. And still when the junior/senior high jump was ongoing, the 800s got going for the younger ages with some great performances from the club. Saoirse raced to victory in her 800m in an excellent time of 2.42.96, crossing the line with arms outstretched and a lovely smile on her face. Ellie ran a very measured race in the early laps before accelerating at the bell to record a brilliant 2.41.68 and 2nd place. Lukas ran strongly on the first 2 laps before fading a little when lactic acid took hold but still recorded a decent 2.52.64.
Clodagh set off in heat 1 of the U14 girls running a blistering pace on the early laps and finishing off with a speedy final lap to record a PB of 2.36.03 while Fauve was equally impressive, tearing off into a significant early lead and as she passed me at the 100m mark, still had the energy to casually enquire “is there much of a gap mike?” 😊. Fauve held that lead right through to the end to record a brilliant 2.33.85. And in the U14 Boys 800m, Cian raced into an early lead before being overhauled on the final lap but held on for second place in an excellent 2.33.77.
Meanwhile back to the long running women’s high jump event where Laura was waiting patiently for the bar to reach her opening 1.46m height. When it did, she cleared it very comfortably and went on to repeat this at 1.49m, 1.52m and 1.55m, looking like she would eclipse her 1.65m PB. However, the length of the 2-hour high jump competition probably caught up on her as she clipped the 1.58m height 3 times to exit – but nevertheless very encouraging as her earlier jumps were very comfortable. Transitioning almost immediately to the shot putt, the officials unfortunately got the competition underway with the wrong weight, using the 3kg rather than the 4kg and Laura got a massive PB of 9.70m before the problem was noticed and the throwers had to start again. Laura’s best on the day with the 4kg shot was 7.23m down slightly on her PB from the recent Galway’s. Onto the long jump where Laura hit the board perfectly on each jump with a best of 4.56m, great preparation for later in the indoor season to get the mark right on the board each time.
The final event of a long day the 800m came at 6.15pm and almost 7 hours since Laura’s first event at 11.35am. Very hard to stay focussed for that length of time but Laura put in a brilliant effort in what is not one can safely say her favourite event and ran a PB of 2.45.7 to take 4th place overall in the Junior Women Pentathlon with a point’s score of 2633. Ellie’s series of performances also yielded her a brilliant 4th place in the U16 Girls with a total of 2532 points. Saoirse placed 6th in the U15 Girls with a score of 2281 points while Clodagh and Fauve placed 6th and 7th in the U14 Girls with scores of 1965 and 1848 points. And in the boys events, Lukas placed an impressive 6th with a total of 1867 points while Cian was a brilliant 5th with a total of 1924 points.
So all in all, another great day for everyone. A little long for the older ages but nonetheless a rewarding day.
Craughwell AC 4th in Round 1 of National League
The first round of the National Indoor Track & Field League took place last weekend at the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown Dublin with a strong performance from the Craughwell AC team to place 4th in the team table at the end of the day.
The National League is the preeminent club competition in Ireland where seniors and juveniles aged u17 or older compete for their clubs, scoring points for their team based on their placing in each individual event. It comprises two rounds with the top placed teams progressing to the final. Craughwell AC has fielded a team in the event since its inception a few years, managed by Sarah Finnegan. Last year the team (pictured below) placed 8th in the final.
Round 1 this year saw some excellent performances from the team with Sinéad Treacy taking 2nd place in the long jump with a leap of 5.12m and placing 5th in the 60m sprint in 7.98, Sinéad Gaffney 4th in the 800m in 2.22.62, Eva Kelly 5th in the shot putt with 6.75m and Sarah Finnegan 6th in the 60m hurdles in 11.07. Special thanks to Eva Kelly who lined out in the shot putt at short notice to score valuable points for the club.
Round 2 takes place in Athlone IT on 27th January with the events being contested including 200m, 400m, 1500m, high jump and triple jump with guests permitted and in addition a guest 800m and 3000m. The club hope to have a strong team out in round 2 and hopefully progress to the final which will be held in Dublin on 3rd February.
National Indoor Track & Field League Final 2017
Sinéad Treacy, Ciana Reidy, Lorraine Delaney, Laura Cunningham, Sarah Finnegan, Caoilin Milton