Latest news with #LouthChampionships
Irish Independent
03-06-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Magnificent May as Drogheda & District AC youngsters show their mettle
The club had athletes competing in Leinster Schools and Louth county individual and relay championships, along with Leinster relays and combined events competitions. At the Louth Juvenile Track & Field Championships there were outstanding performances from individuals and relay teams, with more than 60 athletes competing in a range of track and field events. Drogheda & District AC's final haul was 33 individual medals along with five gold and two bronze medals in the relays. Junior athlete and Leaving Cert student Louis O'Shea is new to athletics as this is his first full year of training and competing, and at the North Leinster Schools Senior Boys 400m he finished second in 50.6sec (hand-timed). Louis gained automatic qualification for the Leinster finals in Tullamore where he finished seventh with a time of 51.44sec on a very blustery day, and that run suggests that there is plenty more to come from this young man. Outstanding individual performances at the Louth Championships came from the Cunningham sisters Beatrice and Hannah. In the Girls U14 1500m Hannah finished second, running a super time of 5:10.8, while Beatrice also finished second in the U15 1500m in another great time of 5:04.89 and picked up another silver medal in the 800m with a time of 2:22.6. These were remarkable performances from these very young girls, propelling them both into the top 10 in the current Louth senior ranking list. The outstanding performances in the relays came from the Girls U11 team of Laura Clarke, Lucy Cooney, Eabha Flynn and Aine McHugh. This team had two magnificent runs when becoming Louth champions and going on to finish seventh in the Leinster final. The U15 team - comprising Bonnie Breach, Eve Russell, Emily Cooney and Dani Nolan- finished a striking sixth in the Leinster final. In the field events Drogheda & District AC have a lot of new talent emerging and at the Pre Louths Euan Kirwan finished third in the Boys U14 shot put, while in the Girls U12 turbo javelin Lucy Russell came second and Nancy Clerkin third. At the Louth Championships Nancy Clerkin continued her fine early season form when finishing second in the U12 Girls shot putt. In the U14 javelin for boys Cillian Russell placed second, and in the U13 Girls event Isabella Ojo St Paul came third. In the U15 high jump for girls there was gold medal joy for Dani Nolan, while Cormac Russell scooped third in the U19 Boys category. Two long jumpers from the club picked up bronze medals, Sam McGinn (U15) and Cormac Russell (U19). Turning to the 1500m, Aine Carroll had a very good run to win the U17 Girls race in a new personal best, and over the same distance Niamh Carroll was third in the U19 race and Eleanor McMahon (U15) placed sixth. There was more medal success in the 600m races as Eve Cunningham (U11) came second and Dearbhla Johnston placed third in the U12 event, with two other U12s - Yasman Nuri and Cian Bolton - just missing out when placing fourth. There were second places for two of Drogheda & District's 100m sprinters, Michael Iloduba (Boys U16) and Ruby Berrill (Girls U17), with Bonnie Breach third in the Girls U15 race. Over 60m Aine McHugh came second and Eabha Flynn fourth in the U11 Girls final and Dearbhla Johnston third in the U12 race, while turning to the boys there was silver for Semi Johnston (U9) and two medals in the U10 race as Jack O'Connor stormed to victory and Rocco Kermode placed third. Last but not least, Drogheda & District;s Eve Russell, Emily Garvey and Emily Cooney placed second, third and fourt respectively in the Girls U14 200m.
Irish Independent
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Talented Boyne athletes take sun-drenched Bush by storm
From the first event to the final finish line, something special unfolded at Day 2 of the Louth Championships. Boyne AC led the charge, leaving their mark on every age group from the fearless U9s to the powerful U19s, bringing home medals, smashing PBs and showing the kind of heart and talent that define champions. From the long jump pit to the javelin throw, from the 60m sprints to the 800m battles, the yellow and green of Boyne AC was everywhere. And behind it all, as ever, were coaches Keith and Ken, whose unwavering dedication and support ensured their athletes were ready to perform. Ruby Winters opened the day with a fantastic bronze in the U9 long jump. Sophie Halligan impressed with PBs in both the long jump and turbo javelin, as well as producing a strong 60m run, and she is a potential future star. In the U10 age group Cormac Brodigan earned a brilliant silver in the 500m and Folasade Chloe Bello-Osagie delivered a sensational hat-trick, with gold in the 60m, silver in the turbo javelin and bronze in the 500m. Neasa O'Sullivan showed great promise with strong runs and a confident long jump debut. Nicholas Carolan, in his first ever competition, tackled four events and showed enormous potential. Stella Gow took gold in the long jump and silver in the 500m, and she narrowly missed another medal with fourth in the 60m. Una McEntee competed bravely across four events and finished just outside the medals, but she is one to watch. At U11 level Beyla Bowler Stone showed her all-round ability across the 600m, 60m and long jump. Conor Hughes ran brilliantly to finish fourth in the 600m and Heather Kingston delivered a stellar all-round performance, placing fourth in all of her four events - a huge achievement. Malachy Brodigan competed well in a strong 600m field and Mia McSherry gave everything in her events and is an exciting talent. Millie Bell also stood out as a brilliant all-rounder across all her four events. Rasmus Fangerau, on his championship debut, threw a massive 14.29m to take silver in the turbo javelin, while Rhys Farrell delivered strong performances across the board, finishing just outside the medals, but he is clearly a talent to watch. In the U12 age group Caitlin Hughes was a strong fourth in a very tough 600m race, Finnbar O'Sullivan put in a great effort to place fifth in the 600m and also did well in the high jump, while Jesse Fomenky showed solid ability across three events. Jessica McMahon soared to silver in the high jump and placed fifth in the 60m, while Lauren Halligan competed consistently across all her events. At U13 level Cillian Hickey sprinted to fourth place in the 80m. Garvan Lundon and Harry Kingston competed well in the high jump, with Harry also showing strong form in the 80m where Sean Clarke ran well to place sixth. Will Gow stormed home with a brilliant silver in the 600m. Moving on to U14 level, Hila Raji dominated the long jump to take gold, Isabelle Winters secured a well-earned bronze in the 800m and Moya Kennedy placed fourth in the 80m and achieved a new personal best of 3.33m in the long jump. The U15 athletes brought medals and fire. Aaron McMahon won bronze in the 100m and Georgia Rice impressed with silver in the shot put. Joe Bell ran strong races in both the 100m and 800m, finishing just outside the medals, and Riley Byrne claimed gold in the 100m with a standout performance, while Ruadhan Fangerau took silver in the shot put with a new personal best of 8.42m and finished fourth in the 100m. In the U16 age group Dara Ellie Winters took gold in the 800m with a commanding run and Jack Willis brought home bronze in the same race. Karl McDonagh and Sean Luke Alhaddad both ran well in the 100m, with Sean also securing silver in the shot put with a personal best of 8.25m. Boyne AC's U17s were bursting with talent. Evan Gamble earned bronze in the 400m, Hannele Raji achieved an incredible double with gold in both the 100m and shot put and Harvey Fomenky placed fourth in a quick 100m final. Ryan McMahon completed his own double with gold in the 100m and silver in the 400m, with Sam Doyle running hard to place fourth in both those events. Seamus Keenan was fourth in a competitive 800m race and Shauna Rice ran a smart race to claim bronze in the 800m for girls. Wrapping up the day in the U18 and 19 categories, Aimee Rice bagged silver in the 100m and bronze in the shot put, Eilish Keenan ran a powerful race to take silver in the 800m and Romeo Fomenky rounded off a stunning day with gold in the 100m and silver in the high jump. With medals in every age group and dozens of personal bests, Boyne AC once again showed what teamwork, determination and great coaching can deliver. Next stop, the Leinster Championships!
Irish Independent
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Drogheda & District AC's Aoife Mundow is ‘ultra' impressive as she sets stunning new course record
Aoife finished in a time of 2:06:17, taking nine minutes off the previous best time and finishing first female and third overall. The race started at Dublin Castle and the runners made their way out to Kippure Estate in Wicklow, a distance of approximately 26km with a 650m elevation. Much further afield, Drogheda & District's Tadhg Donnelly had another incredible run in the 1500m at the Harry Ellis Invitational Meeting in New Jersey as the young man from Clogherhead finished sixth for his Iona college team in a super-fast time of three minutes 43.97 seconds and he is now the third fastest 1500m runner of all time in Louth. Back in Europe, Liam Farrell completed the Geneva 10K on Saturday evening in 51:15 and Fiona Branigan finished in 1hr 16min. Also on Saturday, there was fantastic running from the Drogheda & District juveniles at the Louth Championships up in Bush. The sun was shining and the atmosphere was electric as more than 40 of the club's juveniles took part and there were medals galore. Nancy Clerkin was second in the U12 shot putt, Isabella Ojo of St Paul's school was third in the U13 javelin, Euan Kirwan was third in the U13 shot put and Hannah Cunningham placed second in the U14 1500m race. In the U14 200m heats Eve Russell was second, as was Emily Garvey in her race, with Emily Cooney fourth. Danielle Nolan was second in the U15 80m hurdles and won both the high jump and 200m in her age group, while Beatrice Cunningham came second in the U15 1500m race. The podium finishes continued as Micheal Iloduba won the U16 200m, Lily Fitzharris came third in the U17 200m race, Aine Carroll won the U17 1500m, James Traynor placed third in the U18 200m, Niamh Carroll came third in both the U19 200m and 1500m races and Cormac Russell took first place in the javelin. There was more good news when Drogheda & District clubman Christopher Keenan was selected on the Leinster team for the Men's 1500m in the CSIT Games in Greece, based on his fine run last weekend.
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.
