Latest news with #AceAC
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Jubilant Ace AC pair medal at All-Ireland Schools finals
Drogheda Independent Today at 06:30 It's been another strong week for athletes from Ace AC, with members delivering solid performances at both national and provincial events as well as at the BMC in UK. At the National Schools Championships, two Ace AC athletes earned bronze national medals while representing their schools. Firstly Eimear Cooney, competing for Sacred Heart Drogheda, took bronze in the Senior Girls 1500m with another fine display. Eimear completed the distance just one second behind the second-place athleted with a time of 4:36.79. Shea O'Donnell is one of the club's most consistent performers and he rarely fails to deliver results at the highest level. He was running for St Mary's DS Drogheda and also earned national bronze in the Senior Boys 1500m with a time of 4:02.23. Both Eimear and Shea will be strong favourites for national club medals later in the season. While these were schools results, both athletes train with Ace AC and continue to impress at national level. There was further success at the weekend, this time in the younger age groups at the Leinster Championships, where Caoimhe Carolan joined an illustrious group of female Ace AC athletes who have won provincial medals, claiming second place in the U13 Girls 600m. The Tullyallen-based athlete came through her heats with a strong time of 1:50 and secured the vital silver medal with a 1:44 personal best in the final. U17 athlete Chloe Cooney travelled to Loughborough in the UK on Saturday to compete in a BMC meeting and continued her strong return from injury, recording a season's best time of 2:16 in the 800m. Chloe has improved her time in each of her last three races and is clearly moving in the right direction. Elsewhere, out on the road, Danny Nugent won the Monasterboice 4-Mile Race, putting in a solid performance over the distance. Also competing in the same event were U8 Finn Murphy and U9 Millie Roche who both raced well and successfully completed the distance despite their young ages.
Irish Independent
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Ace AC runner Lorcan Forde Dunne boosts Euro qualification prospects
Competing against a high-quality field, Forde Dunne clocked a personal best time of 3:50.15. This performance marked his second qualification time for the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), which will be held in North Macedonia this July. Not everyone that meets the qualification standards will automatically be selected, but Forde Dunne's recent times put him in a strong position, so his hopes and those of his club will be high. Meanwhile, closer to home in Carlow, Aoife O'Connor competed at the U16 Leinster Combined Events competition, which involved five events - the 80m hurdles, shot put, high jump, long jump and 800m. O'Connor finished fourth, just missing out on a medal, but her consistent performances throughout the day were a strong indication of her ability in multiple events. Ace AC training continues on Tuesdays at 6.30pm in St Oliver's CC, Thursdays at 6pm in Lourdes Stadium and Saturdays at 10am in Oldbridge and later on at noon in Lourdes Stadium for sprinters and younger athletes. New members are always welcome.
Irish Independent
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
It's Costa del Cooley as Ace team sizzle!
Amidst the heat and excitement, Ace AC athletes shone brightly, collecting an impressive haul of medals and setting personal bests. The morning's action was dominated by sprint heats, semi-finals, and finals. U10 runner Maeve Reynolds, competing despite carrying an injury, battled through to win her sprint heat and Smirthi Prasad and Farrah Smith both impressed, reaching the later rounds and narrowly missing out on medals. Among the sprint medallists were Niamh Faulkner, who claimed her second gold of the championships with a commanding victory in the 100m. She had previously won the 200m on Day 1, marking a clean sweep in her sprint events. Daniella Adebola mirrored that achievement, completing her own golden double by winning the U19 100m following her 200m victory seven days earlier. Bronze sprint medals went to Cathryn Cumming (U10) and Caoimhe Carolan (U13) in their respective finals. U17 athlete Chloe Cooney, the current Leinster 1500m champion, decided to step out of her comfort zone and try the 400m for the first time in her life. She actually ran in the boys race and delivered a commanding performance, winning in 58 seconds and adding another gold to her club's medal tally! Ace AC's field athletes also had a day to remember. In the shot put Jaheim Humphrey (U17) not only secured a silver medal, but broke the championship record twice, culminating in a huge 11.42m final throw. An Ardee athlete did edge ahead with his final throw, but Jaheim's performance signals strong form ahead of the All-Ireland Schools competition, where he will represent Balbriggan CC. Aoife O'Connor also earned a silver medal, capping off a strong showing in the field for the club. The latter part of the day saw a series of middle-distance races, where Ace AC athletes dominated across the age groups. Saibh Jordan (U11) won her first individual medal for the club with a gutsy 600m run, claiming bronze in a large and competitive field. Cathryn Cumming returned to the podium with gold in the U10 500m, leading from start to finish with a powerful display. Her teammate Millie Roche ran very well, finishing seventh in the very large field. Maeve Reynolds also ran strongly in the same event. Caoimhe Carolan added to her sprint bronze with gold in the U13 600m in an impressive time of 1:46 and will be looking to secure a Leinster medal on this form. Ruairi Cooney's U12 600m race was split into two heats due to high numbers, with the winners picked on times. Ruairi finished second but missed out on a medal, due to it being the slower of the two heats. Felix Everettt and Tadgh Kelly continued their improvement with strong runs in the same race. Tayo Lawrence impressed in the Boys U14 800m, moving from fourth to second in the final 50 metres to grab a thrilling silver medal. His sister Sholah continued her strong return to fitness by winning gold in the U19 800m. Taylor Gregory secured silver in the U15 Boys 800m, while Lauren Faulkner added a bronze in the U16 Girls 800m. The U17 Boys 800m saw two Ace athletes medal as Daniel Hanley took silver and Liam Lynch bronze, with Killian Sheridan and Tadhg Forde Dunne also shining. The final medal winning performance came from Jamie O'Reilly, who stormed to gold in the U19 800m with another new PB, with Christian Kelly taking silver. Some of the other standout performers on the day came from Cathal Thompson, Hannah Black, Ollie Marron and Niamh Lynch.
Irish Independent
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Ace day out as Aoife O'Connor completes hat-trick at the Louth Championships
That was despite the fact that a lot of the older Ace AC athletes did not attend as they were competing in Belfast at the Irish Milers meeting. Niamh Faulkner has been showing some fine form at training and she won the U15 200m in style to secure her first Louth title. Other sprinters to medal were Daniella Adebola (U19 200m gold) and U18 athlete Chloe Hanley who secured a 200m silver medal. Ace AC also collected many medals in the middle distance events. U14 contender Seamie Sheridan won silver in the 1500m, with his teammate Adam Cumming just behind in the bronze medal position. In the U16 age group Kate O'Donnell won gold in the 1500m, U15 Taylor Gregory also won his 1500m and the ever-improving duo of Liam Lynch and Killian Sheridan won silver and bronze respectively in the Boys U17 1500m. However, the Ace AC stars of the day were U16 all-rounders Aoife O'Connor and Naiya Semple, who won no fewer than five medals between them! Aoife won three silvers in the long and short distance hurdles, plus the javelin, while Naiya - who is just returning after injury - won silver in the long jump and bronze in the 200m. Caoimhe Carolan was second in the U13 long jump, while Brian O'Gorman also got an impressive second place in the Boys U17 long jump. Other athletes to impress on the day in Bush were Alphie Marron, Aibhlin Kelly and Farah Smith and Ace AC will be hoping for lots more success this coming Sunday on day two of the Louth Championships. At the Irish Milers event in Belfast there were some great performances and several PBs. U17 athlete Daniel Hanley ran in the 800m and finished with an impressive PB of 2:04, while Tadgh Forde Dunne continued his long-awaited comeback from injury and also got an 800m PB. In the U18 age group Rhys Clarke impressed again with a new 800m PB, as did Lorcan Forde Dunne in the 1500m with a time of 3:51. U19 contender Shea O'Donnell and senior athlete Danny Nugent both continued their good form as they set new PBs over the 1500m distance.
