Heaney jumps to new personal best
Ella Hanlon (Suncroft) takes silver in the girls u14 Shot Photo: Perri Williams
The preliminary round of the National League took place in Athlone last weekend with Kildare having both a men’s and ladies county team. The ladies’ team are ranked fourth after the first day of competition, with the men’s team in fifth place, just six points off fourth. Star of the day was Alex Heaney (Clane AC) who not only won the high jump but recorded a new personal best in the process.
Then national league has always been regarded as a competition that offers more inclusivity for Irish Track and Field athletes as a whole. Athletes compete at different levels and while our elite shone at the National Track and Field a week ago and will move on to other races around Europe in advance of the Olympics, domestic competitions like the National League offer others a chance to join club or county teams and strive for success in other avenues. A number of years ago Athletics Ireland included County Teams in the National league. This offered counties who do not have clubs big enough to cover the plethora of events that the league mandates, an opportunity to compete as a single entity. It has to date proved to be a major success.
Alex Heaney may have been stuck for several months at 1.90m in the high jump, but these past few weeks have seen estrange himself from this static state. At the Leinster Juvenile Championships he produced a 1.93m to win the u18 High Jump, his first leap of faith out of the clutches of that 1.90 stronghold. Last weekend he further improved his height, when he jumped 1.95m and cleared it on his first attempt. He then made his first ever attempt at the 2.00m mark and came quiet close on his first attempt.
Eoghan McGrath (Celbridge) may not have taken a lead in any of the events but he did record some second and third placings amongst the four events he took part in. McGrath finished second in both the long and triple jumps and took third in the 100m. He was also part of the 4x100m relay that finished in second place. It was a third place finish for Adam Quinn in the 110m hurdles with Dylan Heffernan (Clane) being so close to second in the 400m hurdles. It took a photo finish to decide the fate of Heffernan and Louth’s Charlie Sands.
Recording top points for the ladies were Anna Taylor (Triple Jump) and Holly Wright (Discus). Taylor (Crookstown-Millview) competed in her signature event – the Triple Jump a best jump of 10.45, nervously approaching the run-up after two fouled attempts. Thankfully, her final two – both over 10m were further than any other competitors and propelled her into the lead.
Taylor’s clubmate Holly Wright, also competed in her signature event – the Discus. Earlier this year in Belfast, Wright posted a personal best of 41.50m. Inclemental weather at the National Seniors a week ago rendered further attempts of making indents into this distance impossible. Wright came close on two occasions last weekend to another over 40m throw. Her first-round attempt of 39.97 was just three centimeters shy but it was, however, her national league winning throw.
Isobel Kearns (Naas) was a close second as she threw 31.08 in the Javelin, on her first round. She was for a period leading but a third-round throw from Tipperary’s Jade Barry, overtook Kearns for the leading position. There was some stellar performances from Saoirse Reynolds (Le Cheile) as she championed the middle-distance events, competing in the 800m and both the 4 x 400m and 4x100m relays. Reynolds finished second in the 800m with a time of 2.17 just two seconds behind Sarah Lane (Tipperary). It is always good to have a multi-eventer on any team. Versatile across multiple events, they can fill in on jumps, throws and running. Alison Dempsey (Naas) has such capabilities. Dempsey finished third in the High Jump and then proceeded to the shot putt, where she was placed 5th.
For both the men’s and ladies’ teams, there were some notable absences; juveniles who had to give the league a miss in favour of their juvenile All-Irelands the following day and some seniors who had other commitments or needed to recover after the senior championships the week before. There is plenty of great athletes in Kildare that can elevate these teams into higher ranking positions.
There was an impressive turnout at the annual Kilcock 5km hosted by St Coca’s AC. A total of 516 finishers, 355 male and 161 female. The overall winner was Tadgh Donnelly (Drogheda and District) in a time of 14.34 followed by Ian Guiden (Clonliffe) in 14.47. Both Donnelly and Guiden had been making an indelible impact on the 5km road racing scene this summer. Donnelly returning from Iona College (New York) where he is currently on Scholarship and Guiden returning from Canada. Jermiah Sheehan (North Cork) was third in 14.57. This notoriously fast course attracts athletes from far and wide all hoping to achieve new personal bests. Best of the ladies was this years All-Ireland steeplechase champion Michelle Finn (Leevale) who recorded a time of 16.01 with DSD’s Grace Lynch second in 16.10. Lisa Madden (Sportsworld) was third. Conor Sherwin (Mullingar) won the men’s junior title with Kildare athlete Rhys Johnson now competing with Donore second. There was a great battle for the Junior ladies title with Rachael Keaney (Newbridge) just getting the better of local St Coca’s AC athlete Maebh Caffery.
Donore Harriers and Sportsworld won the men’s and ladies teams respectively.
