McGRADY FINANCIAL SERVICES JUNIOR X/C SERIES
Round 5 of this increasingly popular series took place in the recently watered surroundings of Donard Park on Sunday afternoon, beneath a sun which was actually warm, and produced another enthralling hour's competition to the delight of participants, families and friends.
The person who had the brainwave to run both boys and girls together in their age groups deserves a special commendation if he/she can be identified and the fact that this meant the programme of races was over before coverage of the Ireland vs France Rugby International began was, I'm sure, purely coincidental but ultimately a painful experience which would have been better avoided.
To the races themselves, the P3/4 event saw clean sweeps by Newcastle in both boys and girls categories with Conor Murray winning impressively again from Morgan Steele and Andrew Watson, with East Down's Andrew McGrattan just one second behind in 4th and Callum McLoughlin, all the way from the Isle of Man, adding an international flavour in an impressive 6th place. Kate McAuley, Catherine McVeigh and Ciara McCabe were the podium finishers in the Girls race with East Down's best Miya-Rois Gaffney and Lucy Morgan in 6th and 7th respectively.
It was almost the opposite in the P5 races with east Down dominating. Caoilin Quinn maintained his 100% record with another impressive win ahead of the fast improving Colum Morgan with Newcastle's sole representative Aidan McCauley taking 3r spot. Caoimhe-Grace O'Donnell East Down, just held off Newcastle's fast finishing Cliodhna Carey in the Girls race with East Down's Ciara Flynn in 3rd.
Nathan Heath, who missed the last round through illness, returned to winning ways in the P6 race ahead of Gabriel Corrigan and Caolan Hawkins who appeared to misjudge the distance, with East Down runners led by Mathew McGrattan filling the next 5 places. Newcastle's girls responded by filling all 5 top placings with Sarah Dougherty, Michaela Quinn and Laura Molloy the top three.
Matthew Carrick was a start to finish winner of the P7 Boys race ahead of team mates Paul McMeekin, Jamie Morgan and Matthew Kennedy while the East Down Girls went one better by claiming the first five positions, D'Arcey Campbell making her debut in the series a winning one, followed by the ever improving Olivia Mooney who finished ahead of Aoife Cochrane, Emily Forte and Jemma Black. Perhaps a good night's sleep before the next round would see these placings change?
Jack Quinn literally ran away with the Year 8 Boys event, coming home clear of teammates Corey Smyth and James Maginnis while East Down's Ellen Erskine was the filling in the sandwich of Newcastle's Chloe Rooney and Eilis Doyle.
Patrick Sheridan won the Year 9 Boys race from Arthur Morgan and Rory McMullan while Ciara Gibson again led Anna Rogan and Aisling Pell to a Newcastle clean sweep in the year 9 Girls. This race saw a welcome return from Lauren Bissenden, 4th and a first outing for Hallie Jennings 5th – both will threaten the Newcastle dominance in the next round.
And finally the spot prize of a meal voucher from Toscanos was won by Ross McCrickard, but he could face serious competition from his dad in redeeming it – my money's on Ross though.
Thanks as ever go to McGrady Financial Services for their invaluable support for this series of races which have proved such a hit with everyone concerned and have helped unearth a treasure trove of talent, and to all the other sponsors and supporters.
The final round of this riveting contest takes place on Saturday 12 March in Tollymore Park with the team results still in the balance and many medals yet to be won and the Series presentations will take place on Monday 14 March at 7.00pm in Shimna Integrated College.
Further afield during the week, Caroline O'Hare made her annual pilgrimage to Armagh last Thursday night and performed creditably in the Women's 3K race in which Ciara Mageean was second and big brother James showed signs of a return to form with a sub 15 minute time in the Men's 5K feature event.
And once again Anne Sandford was the sole representative from local clubs when she made the long journey to Stranorlar on Saturday to take an excellent 11th place in the NI and Ulster Senior Cross Country Championships, with James O'Hare taking the same placing in the Men's event. However there was a combined total of 65 athletes between the two races which raises issues about both the accessibility of the venue and the level of interest in cross country running generally.
Next weekend sees the Indoor Championships in the Odyssey arena, with competition on both Saturday and Sunday and the Stormont Cross Country on the following weekend. On Sunday 27th the first Kilclief Ben Dearg Coast 10K and Fun Run over what promises to be one of the most scenic routes in the area. Interest is high and a good entry is expected. The race starts at 1.00pm with entries beforehand in the GAC Clubrooms. And then it's on to Jimmy's Ten on Sunday 13 March for which online entries is available at www.niathletics.org
Surely something for everyone and certainly enough to keep every muscle exercised.
Joe Quinn
14 February 2011
