National record for Harte as Kildare secure three golds
Florence Harte of Crookstown Millview A.C. Kildare who won the Under-15 girls Triple Jump in a new national record of 10.26M during day three of the 123.ie National Indoor Juvenile Championships at the TUS Indoor Arena in Athlone, Westmeath Photo: Matt Browne/Sportsfile
Kildare athletes had phenomenal success at last Saturday’s final day of the National Juvenile Indoors. The star performer was Florence Harte (Crookstown-Millview) who set a new championship record in the girls’ u15 Triple Jump. Harte bettered the old mark with all of her jumps. Gold medals also went to Georgia Myerscough (Crookstown-Millview) in the girls u17 Triple Jump and Theo Hanlon (Suncroft) in the boys u19 Shot Putt.
St Coca’s AC hosted the county intermediate and master’s road championships at Kilcock on Sunday last with a bigger crowd that usual participating. Eadaoin McCourt (Clane AC) and James Smith (Celbridge AC) were winners of the ladies and men’s intermediate with Breffini Kelly (Clane AC) taking the overall masters ladies title and Niall McLoughlin (Newbridge) the men’s. Newbridge AC proved themselves the best overall club as they took the gold in all four team sections.
As the intermediate and masters were pounding the greenway at Kilcock, the field eventers were in action at the National Spring Throws held in Tullamore. Isobel Kearns (Naas) topped the table in the 500g Javelin competition with a new personal best in the process.
Three gold, one silver and one bronze medal came from individual events from Day 3 of the All-Ireland Juvenile Indoors. Day 3, the last of the three days of the National Juvenile Indoors was held last Saturday in Athlone. As with the previous weekend, the events were exciting, stacked and an indication of the future athletics talent within Ireland that are on the rise. Theo Hanlon (Suncroft) took yet another national title. Hanlon won the boys u19 competition with a runaway win of 16.49m, two and a half meters ahead of his nearest competitor Conor Quinn (Crusaders) who threw 14.02m. Any one of the five legal throws putted by Hanlon would have won the competition. However it was his third throw that was the furthest. Hanlon is steadily closing in on the ability Irish International James Kelly (Donegal) had at his age. Kelly recently finished second in the Irish National Senior Indoors. Back in 2014 he set the u19 Indoor shot putt record of 17.80m. Hanlon has already thrown 17.39m at the Leinster Indoor Championships on the 2nd March using a 6kg shot. A 1kg weight heavier than that required of u18s. In the same competition Dominic Burke (St Coca’s) finished 5th. This was the final indoor competition of their juvenile career for the two athletes.
The Triple Jumps produced plenty of glory for Kildare athletes. There were two gold medals; both from Crookstown-Millview athletes. The first came from Florence Harte who not only won the girls u15 Long Jump but also secured a new championship record. Harte finished 6th in the long jump at the previous iteration of the All-Irelands. Last weekend she more than made up for her disappointment on that occasion with her triple jump gold and national record combination. Harte’s winning jump of 10.26m came from her final jump and smashed the previous record of 9.69m set by Rebecca Trimble (Dundalk St Gerards) last year. The enormity of her achievement was evidenced with all of her legal jumps surpassing the existing record. The Athletics Ireland verifier remained at the triple jump for quiet a while it seems. In the same competition her clubmate Niamh O’Shea finished third with a leap of 9.71m which also surpassed the previous championship record. O’Shea’s best jump came from the fourth round.
Georgia Myerscough (Crookstown-Millview) took yet another gold medal in a national triple jump competition, this time in the girls u17. Myerscough was one of just two athletes to better the 10m mark with all of her jumps well over that magic barrier. Her furthest jump was her 6th and final jump. Myerscough is the reigning track and field triple jump champion and will now head into the track and field season hoping to keep her crown.
John Paul Archbold (Newbridge) the u17 Long Jump champion from the previous weekend, finished second in the Triple Jump with a new personal best of 12.37m. Archbold struggled somewhat with getting “his mark” correct and qualified for the final eight with just one legal jump out of three. Taking the conservative approach for the next two jumps, he gave it all for the final round, which produced his best jump of the day. There was bronze for another Newbridge AC athlete; Henry McCormack in the boys u15 Triple Jump. In his first year of national competition, McCormack was only 4cm off the silver medal as he and Ashton Forrester (Belfast) oscillated between silver and bronze medals throughout the duration of the competition. He cleared 10.30m on his third jump to secure the bronze medal. Four out of his six jumps were in excess of 10m. Forrester on the other hand only surpassed the 10m mark on one occasion and that was his final jump, where he snatched sliver from McCormack. The competition winner was Matt David Duro (Kilmore) who set a new championship record.
In the girls u18 High Jump Lydia Fleischer (Celbridge) was unlucky to walk away from the competition without a medal. Fleischer was one of three athletes to clear 1.50m, however based on the rules of “countback” the bronze went to Alannah Anderson (Tir Chonaill) who cleared the height on her first attempt leaving the Celbridge athlete in fourth place.
The relays at any age category always produce plenty of excitement and none more so that the juvenile relays. Set at 4x200m for indoor competitions, Kildare had some representation, with teams having to qualify via the provincial championships. Crookstown-Millview competed in the girls u13 relay. Run as time trials for this young age group, Crookstown-Millview finished 3rd in their heat with a time of 2:00.57. The team of Roisin Allen, Georgia Coughlan, Layla Clarke and Ella Murphy finished 8th overall. Naas AC represented Kildare in the boys u13 with the team of Oscar Ross, Michael Brennan, Senan Smyth and Max Drennan finishing 9th overall. Also run as a timetrial was the girls and boys u12. In the girls u12 the Clane AC team of Hayley Dunne, Annie Gray, O Jane Isatu Bangura and Amelia Osarugue Owie finished second in their heat behind eventual silver medallist’s Dundrum South Dublin. Their time of 2:06.06 placed them fifth overall. This is the first time this relay team has competed together at a national indoor championship.
Coming into these national championships, Clane AC knew they had a good u14 girls team. The team of Kate Ormsby, Robin Denehan, Isla Corcoran and Iris Mc Cartan won their heat with a time of 1:53.10 and gained an automatic qualifying spot for the final. The team finished 4th in the final, less than one second off bronze. These girls individually are specialists in a variety of events from middle distance to shot putt, multi-events and more. Yet collectively they have a great relay team. Thus, proving that all athletes can be brought together in athletics no matter what discipline they pursue.
Newbridge AC boys u16 relay took finished third, securing bronze medals for: Alexander Guther, Eoghan Gallagher, Kyle Byrne-Ward and Robert Gleeson. With Gleeson back from injury, the team once more were in the hunt for the medals. They won their heat in 1:41.77 from Dundrum South Dublin and came to the finals as the third fastest of all the qualifiers behind Clongriffin and Kilkenny City Harriers. The latter two of whom has pushed each other to better times in their heat. The final produced that exact same order with Clongriffin taking the gold, Kilkenny City Harriers taking the silver and Newbridge the bronze. Although the time gap between KCH and Newbridge has somewhat narrowed.
Celbridge AC were fourth in the boys u18 relay with a team consisting of Liam Escuder Duggan, Daire O Dowd, Seán O'Sullivan and Jack Gilmartin. Gilmartin ran an excellent leg, displaying the same turn of speed he demonstrated in the 400m the previous week. In the u17 mixed relay, Newbridge AC were unlucky to be drawn in the slower heat, in a competition that was based on time trials. This left the top three teams coming from the other heat. The team of Cillian Hughes, Eabha Brennan, Eve Dowling and John Paul Archbold won their heat and were just a tantalizing two tenths of a second off the bronze medal. In the aftermath, one was left with the question of what if they were in the other heat.
While Kildare would have liked more medals from the relays, it is very hard to compete against the larger clubs like Ratoath, Dundrum South Dublin and Clongriffin, who specialise in relays. Many smaller clubs do struggle with just getting four in an age group, especially as the age groups advance. However, overall, it was a good conclusion to the juvenile indoors with Kildare getting an ample medal count and championship records to boost.
The European Throws was the first competition to get underway for the Irish Throwers. However, the domestic scene kicked off last Sunday with the National Spring Throws held in Tullamore. This annual event sees throwers from across the nation from older juveniles to masters throw their relevant competition weight while being part of one competition. With the focus on the ‘long throws’ who do not have the opportunity to have indoor competition, its always an exciting time to reveal how the winter training has set the athletes up for the coming track and field season. The community of athletes involved in the throwing events are excellent to support the competitions like the Spring Throws, thus ensuring high participation numbers to induce a competitive competition.
There were several Kildare athletes in action across the Discus and Javelin events. Isobel Kearns (Naas AC) got her season off to a good start with a personal best of 37.49m on her first throw. This was enough to see her top the table for the 500g Javelin section. Behind her Abby Lewis finished 4th with her best throw of 28.81 coming in the final round. In 5th place was Grace Garvey (Clane AC) with a personal best of 27.67m. In the 600g javelin category, Kildare native Grace Casey (formerly Eire Og) topped the table with 43.15m. Now throwing in the colours of Clonliffe Harriers Casey has won National Senior Javelin titles.
Noah Treacy (Kildare AC) saw the benefit of his winter work. The Kildare AC juvenile finished second in the 600g section with a new personal best of 40.79m. Throwing in the 700g category Eoin Cassidy (Naas) finished 8th.
Holly Wright (Crookstown-Millview) was the sole representative in the Discus for Kildare. Wright had a best throw of 37.31m to finish second to Anna Gavigan. All the throwers will be in action again this coming weekend in Templemore.
The inaugural national half marathon took place recently with some good success measures for Kildare athletes. Back to running after a few years hiatus, Kevin Kelly (St Coca’s) surprised even himself with his running form, completing the course in 67.01 and securing second place in the National Championships. the race was won by Killian Mooney (Dundrum South Dublin), with Armagh’s AC Michael Fox taking third. This was a great confidence booster for Kelly who was an excellent 1500m runner having made the top three at the senior national track and field and competed at the European u23’s a few year back. Kelly finished 5th at the Streets of Portlaoise on St Patricks Day, a further race over 10km a few weeks later showed more promise. This recent win may lay down some more concrete racing plans over the coming months and who knows maybe we might see him back again on the track over the shorter middle-distance events.
Patrick Monahan (Le Cheile) won the men’s wheelchair race in 50.59. Monahan is a well-known figure on the racing circuit with plenty wins in the Dublin City Marathon and a regular participant in New York and other big global competition.
On a warm if not rather hot Spring Sunday St Coca’s AC hosted the county Intermediate and Masters Road Championships at Kilcock. It has one of the largest number of participants in years, perhaps urged on somewhat by the unusually good weather. St Coca’s AC as usual left no stone unturned with their meticulous preparation for the event, with ample officials to assist on the day.
Under blue skies and along the banks of the canal, a large field of 48 Intermediate ladies and 35 masters’ entered for the ladies, the banks of the canal beyond Allen Bridge were brimming with running enthusiasts. Running 3,500m and with teams to think of there was plenty of motivation to score as high as they could on this mostly flat and out and back course. Several clubs had A and B teams bearing evidence to the popularity of women’s running currently in the county. It is testimony to the clubs in Kildare that they do get crowds in these races, whereas many other counties struggle.
Eadaoin McCourt (Clane AC) was in top form as she crossed the line to take the Intermediate title. Following her was Sarah Gayer (Naas AC) with local athlete Denise Fox (St Coca’s) taking the bronze medal.
There was another individual win for Clane AC as Irish International Breffini Kelly took the Masters title. Runner-up was the Newbridge AC duo of Emma Boland and Alison Duff. Newbridge AC were unbeatable when it came to the team events. They won the Intermediate and masters ladies. Before the day was concluded, the club took all four titles, something a club has not done for many years.
The men’s intermediate and masters boost slightly higher numbers than the ladies, making the greenway path along the canal a haven of non-stop activity from start to finish. It was a race where youth had the advantage. James Smith (Celbridge) in his first year of Intermediate crossed the line to take the overall Intermediate title. Following him Chris O’Sullivan (Naas) got the first of his pair of silver medals, for his second individual placing. His teammates packed well to take second team, giving him his second. It was Tommy Kelly (Newbridge) who took bronze, leading the Newbridge team to their third gold team position of the day.
Newbridge AC had their only individual win from the Masters men. Niall McLoughlin ran a superb race to finish ahead of Terry Shanley (Clane AC) who has been part of many an National masters medalling Clane AC team. It was Marc Augustin (Le Cheile) who finished third. Newbridge AC making it a clean sweep of the gold winning team titles.
Intermediate Women: 1 Eadaoin McCourt (Clane) 2 Sarah Gayer (Naas) 3 Denise Fox (St Coca’s). Team: 1 Newbridge (Michelle Jennings, Elsa Browne, Karina Cash, Erica Hargaden) 2 Celbridge (Rebecca Carroll, Ellen Gannon, Sinead O'Connor, Grainne Hickey) 3 St Coca’s (Denise Fox, Olivia Murphy, Kate Brilly, Emma Lark) Intermediate Men: 1 James Smith (Celbridge) 2 Chris O'Sullivan (Naas) 3 Tommy Kelly (Newbridge) Teams: 1 Newbridge (Tommy Kelly, Eoin Murphy, Dean Ryan, Seamus Cardiff) 2 Naas (Chris O'Sullivan, Stephen McGibney, Conor Cullen, Matthew Shirran) 3 St Coca’s (Stephen Woods, Adriad Cahir, Mark Brogan, John Young) Masters Women: 1 Breffini Kelly (Clane) 2 Emma Boland (Newbridge) 3 Alison Duff (Newbridge) Teams: 1 Newbridge (Emma Boland, Alison Duff, Michelle Guiney) 2 St Coca’s (Sinead O'Reilly, Denise Fox, Olivia Murphy) 3 Newbridge (Michelle Jennings, Vikki Browne, Karina Cash) Masters Men: 1 Niall McLoughlin (Newbridge) 2 Terry Shanley (Clane) 3 Marc Augustin (Le Cheile) Teams: 1 Newbridge (Niall McLoughlin, Tommy Kelly, Rob McCabe) 2 Celbridge (Barry Murphy, James Hoare, Derek Gilmartin) 3 Naas (Chris O'Sullivan, Stephen McGibney, James Killilea)
