Archive for June, 2007

Jun 25, 2007 [Noel Guiden] For the second successive year Clonliffe Harriers Track and Field Championships were held on a single day, yesterday, Sunday 24th June and once again the championships proved to be a major success all round. It was truly one of the great club days. Championship Sunday for all from tiny tots to the masters. The day was embraced by all, it was great to see such a good turnout from the juveniles and of course from the seniors and it was particularly pleasing to see that Clonliffe athletes of the calibre of Colm Rooney, Cian McLoughlin, Gary O’Hanlon and Noel Cullen to name just a few, turned out for their club’s championships, the result of which was several cracking senior races and a couple of magnificent PB’s for our athletes.

See bottom for Photos (90+)

The action got underway at 4.00 p.m. on the button in the best weather we have had over the course of a pretty miserable weekend, no rain, a little sunshine and little or no breeze. The atmosphere was cranked up steadily by DJ Joe (not Joe Cooper!) and by the time the seniors and masters lined up – Iggy Pop was blasting away.

The first two races of the day were the tiny tot races for budding Clonliffe Harriers who are a little too young at this stage to join the club. The first race was for the under 5’s and this was won by Ryan Grey, Eoin Richards was 2nd and Eoin McLoughlin was 3rd.

Next up were the 5 to 7 year olds, the winner showing her family pedigree was Lauren Carr, 2nd was David Tuite who undoubtedly can teach dad Paddy a thing or two, and 3rd was Aoife Daly.

Next up were the juvenile championships, the first races being the sprints for boys and girls from U/10 upwards. The results were:

80M Girls U/10 & U/11

1. Lauren Finnegan

2. Lilly McPartland

3. Ellen Hannon

80M Boys U/10 & U/11

1. Keith Hudson

2. Sean McLoughlin

3. Darren Redmond

100M Girls U/12 & U/13

1. Carolyn Murphy

2. Camilla Ratz McDonald

3. Niamh Daly

100M Boys U/12 & U/13

1. David Hussey

2. Conor Dalton

3. Farrel O’Lideadha

100M Girls U/14 & U/15

1. Laura Preston

2. Niamh Lowney

3. Laura Brennan

100M Boys U/14 & U/15

1. Mark Maloney

2. Sean Costello

3. Ian Guiden

100M Boys U/16

1. Graham Mahon

2. Conor Redmond

The presentation of Club Championship medals to the top three took place on the infield immediately after the last of the sprint races, the presentation being made by Clonliffe Olympian Jerry Kiernan.

We then moved onto the distance races for the juveniles, the U/10’s and U/11’s running 500M, the U/12’s and 13’s 800M and U/14’s and 15’running 1000M.

The results of these races were:

500M Girls U/10 & U/11

1. Lauren Finnegan

2. Lauren Carr

3. Amy O’Donoghue

500M Boys U/10 & U/11

1. Keith Hudson

2. Paddy O’Lideadha

3. Sean McLoughlin

800M Girls U/12 & U/13

1. Rachel Murray

2. Niamh Lowney

3. Hayley Kennedy

800M Boys U/12 & U/13

1. David Hussey

2. Farrel O’Lideadha

3. Conor Dalton

1000M Boys U/14 & U/15

1. Ian Guiden

2. Sean Costello

3. Mark Maloney

1500M Boys U/16

1. Mark MacKenzie

In the field events the following were the results:

Longjump Girls U/10 & U/11

1. Lauren Finnegan

2. Lilly McPartland

3. Ellen Harron

Longjump Boys U/10 & U/11

1. Sean McLoughlin

2. Stephen Grimes

3. Cian Dalton

Longjump Boys U/12 & U/13

1. David Hussey

2. Farrel O’Lideadha

3. Conor Dalton

Longjump Girls U/12 & U/13

1. Hannah McLoughlin

2. Carolyn Murphy

3. Camila Ratz McDonald

Shotput Boys (all ages)

1. Mark Maloney

2. Luke Maloney

3. Farrel O’Lideadha

Shotput Girls (all ages)

1. Camila Ratz McDonald

2. Hannah McLoughlin

3. Carolyn Murphy

Shotput Girls U/14 & U/15

1. Kate Jones

2. Jenny McMahon

3. Niamh Lowney

Ball Throw Girls U/10 & U/11

1. Lauren Finnegan

2. Lauren Carr

3. Amy O’Donoghue

Ball Throw Boys U/10 & U/11

1. Michael Donoghue

2. Sean McLoughlin

3. Darren Redmond

Ball Throw Girls U/12 & U/13

1. Rachel Murray

2. Hannah McLoughlin

3. Carolyn Murphy

Ball Throw Boys U/12 & U/13

1. Farrel O’Lideadha

2. Conor Dalton

3. David Hussey

On completing the juvenile championships we then moved onto the seniors. There was a great turnout, particularly by the senior men where the race of the day, the 800M, was an absolute corker. The lineup read almost like a national final: Colm Rooney, Conor Healy, Gary O’Hanlon and Eoin McDonald.

Amongst them representing Clonliffe and guest, Rob Connolly of DSD, Pat McCarton of West Limerick, Darragh Bermingham of Raheny. 14 athletes towed the line, at 200M Rob Connolly held the lead with Colm Rooney and Conor Healy in close proximity. The bell was reached unofficially at 56 seconds and with Conor Healy pressing him hard Colm Rooney blasted down the home straight looking strong, comfortable and holding something in reserve as he clocked a very fast 1:50.9. Conor Healy was rewarded for his efforts with a superb PB of 1:51.4 in second place with Eoin McDonnell also running a superb PB 1:54.3 in 3rd place.

The full result of the 800M was:

1. Colm Rooney 1:50.9

2. Conor Healy 1:51.4 (PB)

3. Eoin McDonnell 1:54.3 (PB)

4. Darragh Bermingham (Raheny) 1:54.7

5. Pat McCarton (West Limerick) 1:54.9

6. Aidan Daly 1:55.1

7. Martin Conroy (Sligo) 1:55.6

8. Rob Connolly (DSD) 1:55.6

9. Gary O’Hanlon 1:55.8

10. Stephen Harkness 2:00.2 (possible PB)

11. Paul Breslin 2:00.2

12. Michael O’Sullivan (MSB) 2:03.2

13. Graham Mahon 2:10.8

14. Paul Sherrin 2:15.9

The Ladies 800M was also a very good race with Louise Reilly guesting and coming home 1st in a time of 2:20.7, in 2nd place and 1st in the Clonliffe championship was Sarah Finnegan 2:24.9, Emma Cooper was 2nd in 2:28.2.

The full result of the Women’s 800M was:

1. Louise Reilly (guest) 2:20.7

2. Sarah Finnegan 2:24.9

3. Emma Cooper 2:28.2

4. Kate Purcell

5. Niamh Hussey

6. Yasmin Grey

7. Saoirse O’Higgins

8. Emma Preston

The 100M sprints unfortunately did not attract a substantial field in each championship, the Mens 100M was won by Conor Coleman in a time of 11:06, 2nd was Chris Kelly in 12:05 and 3rd was Eoin Kahn 12:09.

The Ladies 100M unfortunately only had two athletes in it, 1st was Snezana Bechtina 12:09 with Ciara McCallen 2nd in 13:00.

On then to the 3000M where there were three races, first off were the master men, for the first time there was a separate masters track race on championship day with an excellent race up front between David Brennan and Philip O’Doherty with Philip taking the lead with about 600M to go and romping home 1st in 9:38.7 from David Brennan 2nd in 9:43.5, these two were somewhat clear of 3rd place man, former National Cross Country Champion from 1993, in fact he was Clonliffe’s last individual male Cross Country Champion, Noel Cullen.

The full result of the masters 3000M was:

1. Philip O’Doherty 9:38.7

2. David Brennan 9:43.5

3. Noel Cullen 10:11.1

4. Maurice McCrohan 10:24

5. Kieran Murphy 10:34

6. Alan Worrall 10:42.8

7. Gerry McCabe 10:49.6

8. Noel Guiden 11:03.5

9. Colm Doran 11:22.6

10. Terry Mee 11:57.5

11. Jimmy Bennett 13:38.4

There were five athletes in the women’s 3000M which was dominated by Ailish McDermott, who has improved dramatically over the course of the last 12 months and romped home a comfortable runner in 11:20 from Emma Cooper 2nd 11:36, 3rd was Rachel McBride 11:51 and 4th was Kate Purcell 12:30.

The men’s 3000M proved to be a very competitive affair with Gary O’Hanlon lining up for his second race of the afternoon with a 1:55 800 already to his name and he had a very good battle with guest Brian McMahon over the early laps before Gary picked up the pace big time with two laps to go, Gary cruising home in a fast 8:30.8. Eoin Pierse came through strongly over the latter half of the race to finish fairly close to his PB in a time of 8:51.9. Both Graham Mahon and Mark McKenzie deserve a mention as they were both running in their second races of the afternoon.

The full result of the 3000M was:

1. Gary O’Hanlon 8:30.8

2. Brian McMahon (guest) 8:39.4

3. Eoin Pierse 8:51.9

4. Michael McDiarmada 9:02.8

5. David Fitzmaurice 9:06.7

6. Cian McLoughlin 9:16.1

7. Graham Mahon 10:36.3

8. Mark McKenzie 11:00.6

The 1500M race was dominated by some new faces in Clonliffe. Super Aussie Brett Paine sat in the pack until the bell and tore over the final 400M to cruise down the final straight to be crowned Clonliffe 1500M champion (and him only a wet day in the club!). In 2nd place was another of the Clonliffe new boys Colm Murphy with Tom Austin an early leader, being swallowed up over the final stages, finishing 3rd in 4:28.05.

The full result of the 1500M was:

1. Brett Paine 4:23 (PB)

2. Colm Murphy 4:27.3

3. Tom Austin 4:28.5

4. Jeremy Walsh 4:30.2 (PB)

5. Eoin Kahn 4:33.1

6. Dara Boylan 4:46.7

7. Paul Duggan 4:52.3

There was a small turnout for the 400M meaning that both the men’s and women’s races were run as one with Ciara McCall winning the women’s race in a time of 60:9 with Sarah Finnegan 2nd 62.9.

In the men’s event the 2007 Clonliffe 400M Champion was judged to be Chris Kelly, the judges being called to adjudicate on what appeared to be a dead heat between him and Declan Moran. The judges however found that Chris Kelly had crossed the line 1st with Declan 2nd, both on identical times of 57.5. In 3rd place, having dusted himself off after the masters’s 3000 was Alan Worrall 62.3.

The two field events on the cards were the men’s discus and men’s shotputt.

In the discus 1st place was Eamon Byrne with a best throw of 37.03M, 2nd was Ben Woods who threw an identical long throw, however on countback the winner was Eamon Byrne with Ben Woods 2nd and in 3rd place, and not a pole vault in sight, was Ian Rogers 20.17. David Gann of Raheny was a guest and finished 4th.

In the shotputt 1st was Eamon Byrne, once again, with a best of 11:10M, 2nd was Ben Woods 10:11 and 3rd was guest David Gann 7:05.

This brought the track and field action to a conclusion and afterwards presentation of club championship medals was made to the senior master athletes by Club Captain Joe Cooper after a few words from Club President Paddy Marley who congratulated all concerned on what were a truly wonderful Club Championship. A special acknowledgement goes to Gladys and Joe for organising the day and to the officials on the day and also to the caterers who provided much needed sustenance for all.

Next years Club Championships will have a lot to live up to.

Jun 16, 2007 [Noel Guiden] By close of business on the first of the two day Dublin Juvenile Track and Field Championships 2007 today the Clonliffe stats read : Bronze medals 9, Silvers 13 and Dublin Champions 11. There is ,however, much more to report than mere stats. These outstanding results recorded by Clonliffe`s youngsters are a testament to the efforts they put in session after session under the guidence of the wonderful coaches we are so lucky to have in Santry.Accross the spectrum of track and field in the Morton Stadium the black and amber was to the fore : Gold in the long jump pit provided by Mark Moloney, in the throwing cage Tony Gallagher Gold in the Discus, Katie Jones Gold in the Shot Putt, on track from sprints, John Conroy delivering Gold, to distance Eoin Pierse (left) with Gold in the 1500m in the day`s fastest time (4:07).A day which well uses the phrase from a TV advert from long before Sky Digital ..”it were champion”.

Thing started off bright and early today with the throwers stepping into the cage well before most of us had even had our breakfast, health and safety fears concerning the cage, mean that throwing cannot take place while the track is in use. The early morning didn`t deter Tony Gallagher in the U/19s taking Gold in the Discus and Bronze in the Hammer.Also in the Discus (U/18) Ben Woods took Silver, while Katie Jones took to the circle for the U/15 Shot Putt where she also struck Gold.

The first track events of the day were the various Hurdle races where medals were won by Shauna Furman, Gold no less of course ,girls U/17 100m H and in the boys U/14 75m H Mark Moloney took his first medal( of three) of the day with Silver following this up later in the afternoon with Long Jump Gold and 80m Silver.

In the sprints there was a most impressive run from John Conroy, a recent gold medalist in the All Ireland Schools, today in the 200m when after an excellent bend he was strong enough to hold off a late challenge over the last 50m. Also in the sprints Patrick O`Connor took silver in the U/15 100m and Keith Hodson became our youngest medalist of the day when he took Bronze in the U/10 60m.

Mark McDonald, better know as an 800m man came down in distance to the 400m where he was a comfortable winner , Mark goes in tomorrow`s 800. Paul Breslin was 3rd in the same race. In the U/17 400 Gavin Redmond was a silver medal winner.

Sarah Finnegan also took Silver for Clonliffe in the U/18 300m.

In the boys steeple chase we had further success. First off from Larry Brady in the U/17 1500m 2nd, then in the U/18 2000m 2nd Tony Kavanagh with Paul Sherrin 3rd and Owen Khan taking U/19 Gold.

On then to the 1500m were Clonliffe dominated accross all of the boys age groups. First off in the U/14s where there was a great battle between the 3 Clonliffe lads and down the final 100 between Ian Guiden and Adam Greene with Ian retaking the lead he had held for most of the race only 30m from the line to take gold with Adam taking silver.In the U/16s Tom Austin showed great form to win Gold. A very classy performance by Eoin McDonnell, who has already had a great track season with the European Youth Olympic qualifying time to his credit and All Ireland Schools 1500m Gold, saw him run away from the field to win the U/18s in 4:08.04 with club mate Colin Murray 3rd after a gutsy last lap. On then to the all Clonliffe U/19s race and what a race it was with Dave Flynn up front Eoin Pierse on his shoulder and these two pulling away from their club mates, on to the last lap when Eoin unleased his finish to pull away and win in 4:07 with Dave Flynn 2nd and Dara Boylan proving stronger than the rest for 3rd.

Our girls were of course not to shy in showing that they too can do the business over 1500, Khadijah Dridi U/19 Silver, Lorna Preston U/14 Bronze, and Denise Callaghan U/16 Bronze (Denise also took Silver in the High Jump for good measure!)

Finally our other medal winners were Wayne Plunkett U/14 Long Jump bronze and Leah Bergin U/14 Long Jump Silver.

A great day for all our young athletes whether they were winners or not winners, (there`s no such thing as a looser when a young athlete pulls on a Clonliffe vest and does their best) and you know what? Tomorrow we`ll do it all over again.

A special thanks from Clonliffe Harriers to all the hard working officials at these Championships.