The Claddagh was the venue for day 2 of the Galway Cross Country Championships and proved to be an excellent venue with the combination of gradual inclines towards the seafront and the border of the playing pitches providing almost the perfect cross country course. Perfect weather conditions also guaranteed an enjoyable experience for all participants and spectators and The Claddagh will surely feature again as a venue for cross country competition.

The day threw up a nice mix of results across the county with no less than 9 clubs in the medals during the day with Craughwell AC leading the way when featuring on the podium 21 times throughout the races with 7 golds, 7 silver and 7 bronze.

The day commenced with a fine individual victory for Amelie Bocquet in the U9 Girls 800m, a feat repeated by her brother Mathys in the U11 Boys 1500m – remarkable performances from a very talented family whose sister Shauna is our Paralympic track specialist. Jack Miskella (pictured across) also shined with victory in the U19 5000m in his final year as a juvenile, with sisters Ailbhe taking individual bronze in the U15 3500m and Emily placing 9th in the U13 2500m. Oisin Lyons completed the individual victories for Craughwell AC’s athletes with a fine gun-to-tape victory in the U17 5000m while William Fitzgerald stepped up an age to put in an outstanding run and claim bronze in the same race.

Catherine Noonan and Sinead Kennedy took silver and bronze in the U17 Girls 4000m while Saoirse Moore had a spectacular run to claim silver in the U13 Girls 2500m. Kelly Hallinan and Keelan Moorhead also took bronze in the U9 Girls and U9 Boys 800m – illustrating the strength in the club from U9 to U19!! Sean Cotter was in hard luck not to claim individual bronze in the U13 Boys 2500m with a turbo-charged finish over the last 300m which came up just short by 1 metre from claiming the individual bronze.

Craughwell AC’s U17 Boys Cross Country Team – Galway Champions 2016
Oisin Lyons, Sean Noonan, Patrick Noonan, William Fitzgerald

In the team events, the club had tremendous success with teams making the winners podium in every race. There were Galway titles for the U17 Boys with 17 points (1 Oisin Lyons, 3 William Fitzgerald, 6 Patrick Noonan and 7 Sean Noonan, the U9 Girls with 27 points (1 Amelie Bocquet, 3 Kelly Hallinan, 10 Ciara O’Connor, Emma O’Donovan, 13 Keevagh Barry, 14 Lauren Morgan, 15 Abby Haugh, 19 Sophie Keenan, 21 Chloe Keane, 24 Amy Connaughton, 31 Maria Gorman, 36 Rebecca Doyle) and the U9 Boys with 18 points (3 Keelan Moorhead, 4 Paul Barry, 5 Caelan Coleman, 6 Ben Moran, 7 Declan O’Connell, 12 Gavin Clarke).

Craughwell AC’s U15 Boys Cross Country Team – Galway Silver Medalists 2016

Craughwell AC’s U13 Girls Cross Country Team – Galway Silver Medalists 2016

Five teams claimed the silver medals – the U15 Girls with 28 points (3 Ailbhe Miskella, 6 Ciara Sheppard, 8 Sarah Woods, 11 Asia Clarke), the U15 boys with 26 points (4 Sean Cotter, 5 Finbar McFadden, 7 Liam Leen, 10 Kyle Moorhead, 12 James Furey, 13 Oisin Davis, 14 Paschal Walsh), the U13 Girls with 33 points (2 Saoirse Moore, 9 Emily Miskella, 11 Clodagh O’Meara, 12 Jade Moorhead, 16 Rebekah Flynn, 17 Fauve Aylmer, 18 Abbie Rooney, 24 Leah Farrelly and 29 Grace Leen, the U13 Boys with 38 points (8 Daniel Galvin, 9 Cian Lavan, 10 Robert Urquhart, 11 Evan Hallinan, 12 Darragh McCartin, 15 Noah Keane, 17 Ben Brady), the U11 Boys with 34 points (1 Mathys Bocquet, 7 Liam O’Connell, 12 Lucas Keane, 14 Cormac McFadden, 16 Adam Jordan, 20 Callum Brady, 26 Gavin Keenan, 27 Alan Connaughton, 29 Christian Joyce, 33 Eamonn McGlynn).

And two teams claimed team bronze – the U11 Girls with 69 points (7 Isabella Boland, 17 Luiseach Conaghan, 22 Grace Lynch, 23 Holly O’Boyle, 24 Muireann Leen, 25 Erin Doyle, 31 Nicole Clarke, 32 Vivien Blaine, 33 Wendy Whiriske, 34 Aoibhe Donnellan, 43 Tara Molloy, 44 Carmel Conway) and the U9 Boys second team with 69 points (14 Diarmuid Kelleher, 16 Iarlaith Leen, 17 Sean McDonagh, 22 Paul Thornton, 23 James O’Sullivan, 25 Liam Egan, 28 Leo Molloy, 29 John Donnellan, 32 Donnacha Lawless).

Full results of the day are here:- GalwayCrossCountry-UnevenAges-FINALResults.pdf

Craughwell AC’s U13 Boys Cross Country Team – Galway Silver Medalists 2016