An amazing day of Juvenile Cross Country Athletes took part in the the challenging and technical course of the Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park. What started as a mild morning quickly turned to biblical rain, yet hot and sticky. “Proper Cross Country Weather”
Official results are not yet available but a few notable results worth a mention
On the team Medal FrontBronze for U12 BoysGold U14 BoysGold U18 Girls
Individual medals forU12 Girl – Ava Fagan who came 10thU12 Boys – Isaac O’Neill, 5th, Conn Fore, 11th, Finn McGurren 12th, U14 Boys – Mark Kelly, Braxton O’Shea and Connor Kenny all achieved top 12 spots with Eoghan Thompson being a fantastic 4th scorerU16 Boys – Sean Henry 2ndU18 Girls – 1st with an incredible win was Emily Bolton with Lorraine O’Connor taking an equally impressive silver. Isla Duncan finished 11th securing automatic qualificationU18 Boys – Matei Ursachi 5th
A spectacular day for Clonliffe Juveniles. We had big numbers out in all age groups which was fantastic to see. The U10 girls started the day with Ellie Walsh finishing in the top 20 . Ivy Haughey, Jessica Smyth and Faith Brady had very fine runs. U10 boys were very well represented by Leo Dunne, Tim Joyce, Adam Jenkinson, Danny Lawler, Odhran Kidd, Thomas O’Brien and Alex Ryan. Gladys was bursting with pride by the performance put on by her young guns.
U12 Girls had some very brave runs and definitely a group to watch. Ava Fagan is continuing her fine from and achieved a 10th place automatic qualification for the National Championships. Sarah Thomas was also very impressive today, as was Ria Hobbs, Muireann Spence, Adrianna Madrzynska, Lucy Fagan, Emily Galvin, Molly Hughes, Molly O’Brien, Matilda Hughes, Aoife Henry, Aoife Folwer, Siun O’Donovan, and Grace Byrne. These ladies showed great guts and determination on this gruelling course and are going from strength to strength as they continue with their training. Some exciting days ahead from this strong girls group.
The Boys U12 had a fantastic run. Isaac O’Neill lead the lads home in 5th. Conn Feore and Finn McGuirren all achieved individual qualification. Also putting in fine runs were Todd Kelly, Tom Byrne, Channing O’Shea, Tim O’Sullivan, Rhys Jenkins
U14 Girls – Another hard working crew of girls, who sacrificed matches and rehearsals to compete today. Kate Gill and Carragh Nigfhloinn ran solid races with Sophia Tennant having the best race she has had for a while, despite being unable to train all week with an injury. She showed great progress today and looking good going forward. Ailbhe Clerkin went out hard at the start and paid for that a little later in the race but Ailbhe is gutsy and will build on from today, nonetheless a fine run from her. Nessa Byrne continues to improve and putt in a good race, and considering she was running up an age did exceptionally well today. Aoibhe Devaney ran a good race today and is certainly finding her feet in this event, one to keep an eye on. Julia Rzeszutko who joined Clonliffe some months back had a fantastic run and even said she enjoyed it a the end!! A lot more to come from Julia as she continues with her training, another young lady to watch. Rosie Moyles took on her first cross country race today as did Aliyah Riyad. Both girls did extremely well in their athletic debuts. Eleanor Fanning also showed great form today as she navigated the course, a lot different from her Javelin throwing. Sophie O’Connor unfortunately had to drop out as she became unwell during the race. We wish her a speedy recovery.
U14 Boys and the first team gold of the day!! This is another very hard working group who love to race, this includes, warm ups, cool downs and even trips to the toilets! That said, when it mattered they raced well, packed well and got the Team Gold. Mark Kelly, Braxton O’Shea and Conor Kenny all achieved individual qualification. Eoghan Thompson had a fantastic run today and a very impressive finish. Hayden Kenny also fought hard for the team today and that solid run sealed the deal. Sam Steenson, who ran up an age, was also very strong today. Joel Thomas and Peter O’Sullivan are continuing to improve and showed what they are made of. Adam Phelan is one of the most determined and impressive young runners we have. Despite feeling unwell coming into the finishing straight, he pushed through, what I can safely say would have had some of our seniors withdraw. A true Clonliffe Harrier. Ollie Galvin covered the distance impressively well and had that all important kick finish at the end fighting for places. Patrick Ryan, Elliot Ryan and Dylan Lawler ran a good race with more to come from them in their U13 race in a couple of weeks.
The U16 Girls team was small but mighty. Sophie Kernan lead the girls home. Lucy McFetridge had a great run, again, running up an age and finished strong. A good lead into her U15 race in a few weeks. Leah O’Reilly ran well despite having to ditch the glasses mid race due to heavy ran, a tactic that seemed to work well for her! Mae Rose Mason, one of our newest members got her first Championship race under her belt and also had a fine run in her debut.
U16 Boys saw the welcome return of Sean Henry. Sean ran a very tactical race, and putting his injury well and truly behind him took the Silver in this race. Edy Blacque was next man home with Joshua Chalmers covering the course very well. Fiachra O’Donovan seems to get stronger as the race went on as did Cormac Tynan, running up an age. Dev Kartha showed great consistency in his laps and finished strong and determined for his finish.
U18 Girls – Emily Bolton was as impressive as ever as she lead the girls team home to a team Gold. Lorraine O’Connor showed equal talent as they broke away from the pack. Isla Duncan had a fantastic run finishing 11th. Mya O’Reilly seemed to get stronger as the race when on. Hannah Walsh, running up an age put in a good race and again, seem to settle in well and getting better as the race unfolded. Paige Eliott ran her first Cross Country Race today and settled in very well. She pushed through the field picking up places. Rachel Ardiff had a very strong finish as always. Rebecca Finn put in a brave run over this gruelling course.
U18 Boys – Matei Ursachi got into the leading pack early on in the race. Matei looked strong throughout but with a surge coming out of the woods fell off the Donore Lads and finished 5th. Harry Bogan ran very well in his first Clonliffe race and finished 13th overall. William Walsh also looked strong today as did Aidan Benjacar as he too returns from injury. Harry Lynam picked up places throughout the race and showed good form and strength. Jack Quinn also looked good today with Aaron Murray putting in a good race. Liam Arthur and Tadgh Cowley ran up an age in preparation for their U17 race and showing good form. Jack McDonnell finished well looking strong to the finish line.
Official results are not available at this stage but will be shared with the coaches when they come through. Apologies for any errors or omissions.
Well done to all who took part today and particularly to those who qualified for National Championships.
Next up is the Uneven Age Championships which take place in City West on Sunday 3rd November. Entries will open shortly on the portal.
Special thanks to Siobhan McCarthy who volunteered today to ensure that our club could take part, very much appreciated by all.
Photos will go up on Instagram later this evening, don’t forget to tag the Clonliffe Harriers Juvenile page in your photos.
Full results:
Congratulations to our magnificent six teams that have qualified for Nationals: U/12 girls, U/12 boys, U/14 boys, U/16 boys, U/18 girls and U/18 boys. Great job by our athletes and of course their coaches.