Eugenia Bateson reports: What a day for our Juveniles. On Sunday 5th November, Clonliffe Harriers A.C hosted the Juvenile Dublin Cross Country in the glorious Santry Demesne. Conditions were challenging with mud and puddles but our Juveniles were out in force with 85 Juveniles from U9 to U19 taking part. Under 19 report is available on the website with the Junior and Senior Races.
First up was U9 Girls – 800mEllie Walsh was our sole participant, finishing 22nd out of 68 runners. Gutsy is the word that springs to mind and Ellie showed great promise .
U9 Boys800mThis was our first medal of the day with Tim McFetridge taking an impressive 3rd place in this 800m race. Leo Dunne was the next Clonliffe runner in, taking 37th position followed by Evan Rock in 44th. Kevin Jenkinson, Rhys Lynch and Liam Meaney finished strong in this race.
U11 Girls 1500mThe first group to take on the 1500m loop incorporating the Walled Garden. Very strong runs from the girls who completed this race. Ava Fagan lead the girls home in a fantastic 15th place showing great focus and determination throughout. Annabelle Gitto is also one to watch, she placed 36th in the field of 105 finishers. Ava’s twin, Lucy came in 54th followed by Grace Byrne, 62nd and Sarah Thomas in 63rd. Other strong finishers were Grace Keegan, Millie Ryan, Kayla Rattigan, Bethany Hollywood, Aoife Fowler, Brianna Lawless and Ashley Waters. Great work girls, well done.
U11Boys 1500mIssac O’Neill bought home our 2nd medal of the day with a silver and led the U11 Boys team to 3rd place. Rhys Daly finished 15th, Conn Feore 16th and Finn McGurren in 26th with team points of 59. Next home were Eric Scanlan, Seb McDonnell followed closely by Oisin Clerkin, Fionn Thompson, Oisin Daly and Tom Byrne.
U13 Girls 2500mThis group took on two laps. First in was Ailbhe Clerkin in 26th, Eleanor Fanning in 27th with Nessa Byrne, Katie Bannon and Lucy Donnelly showing fine form in their race.
U13 Boys 2500mEoghan Thompson was first man home in 5th position leading the team to 4th position. Seamus Phelan, 29th, Braxton O’Shea 32nd, Sam Steenson 33rd gave a team score of 99 for 4th. Senan Doherty finished 40th, Adam Phelan 45th, Tim Scanlan 47th. Also finishing nicely were Joel Thomas, Sean McMahon O’Shea, Sorley Mullett, Joshua King, and Max and Aaron Mulcahy. Great work boys.
For many of these younger groups, this was their first Dublin Championship Cross Country Race. The conditions were difficult to say the least but Gladys and her team of coaches could not be more proud of the performances of our younger athletes. It is safe to say, the future of Clonliffe Cross Country is looking promising.
Next up were the more experienced group, however, again, the teams were laced with young athletes who had not yet had the opportunity to run Cross Country Championships but they were up for the challenge.
U15 Girls 3500mOur small team of 4 moved the distance up to 3500m on the course which was now well churned up, slippery and challenging. This team of 4 found the course difficult. However, superb run form U14 girl, Lucy McFetridge who finished 26th overall after patiently working her way through the field. Sophie Kernan finished 32nd, Leah O’Reilly 35th and Ava Ahern 43rd, all fought hard showing good team spirit.
U15 Boys 3500mSilver for Sean Henry who is coming back to form after 4 months rest and recovery. This team, who have worked hard over the past 12 months have grown in confidence and strength and took the Team Silver, and a well deserved place in the National Uneven Age Cross Country Championships in December. Joshua Chalmers finished th followed closely by Sean Sinopluoglu in 15th. 4th scorer was U14 Cormac Tynan who has worked hard over the past few months and seemed to have enjoyed every splash of mud that came his way. Fiachra O’Donovan and Cuan Higgins completed the top 6 with Conor Tynan finishing strongly after a long spell of injury and is improving in every session. Dev Kartha had a fine run to complete this promising group of athletes.
U17 Girls 4500m. U16 Hannah Walsh had a fantastic run, showing great promise and talent and took the unfortunate position of 13th, just narrowly missing individual qualification. Hannah can take great confidence in her ability and talent from this race. Unfortunately, despite good runs from Mya O’Reilly who finished 20th and Rachel Ardiff 37th, with only 3 finishing, the team on this occasion won’t be going to Nationals but better days are coming.
U17 Boys 4500mAlso running the distance of 4500m saw dominance from the gun from Clonliffe. Rory Quill and Matei Ursachi were threating from the start in this very exciting race. Rory Quill took the honours and title of U17 Dublin Cross Country Champion followed closely by Matie. William Walsh finished 7th. U16, Liam Arthur having an outstanding race as he continues to develop into a fine athlete being 4th scorer in 22nd position. Harry Lynam finished 26th and Aaron Murray finished 30th and Jack McDonnell 31st. Despite having three athletes in top ten and a score of 32 points the team were awarded 2nd on countback.
What a day for our Juveniles. Great to see such good numbers out there on home turf. Special thanks to the parents who endured the mud and to the band of coaches who came out to support the younger athletes . Coaches went home bursting with pride as no doubt did the parents.
Well done to all and the best of luck to those who will go forward to represent Clonliffe Harriers in the National Championships in December. Nil Desperandum.