Munster Junior & U/23 Indoor Championships
It was another busy weekend for some of our athletes as they were in action again in Nenagh Indoor Stadium on Sunday January 5 at the Munster Junior and U/23 Championships. Our Junior relay team ran brilliantly to clinch silver and break the 4x200m club record again in a time of 1.54.52. Well done to Aisling Dwyer, Emma Gleeson, Rachel Butler, Katie Bergin and Leona Maher! Katie and Aisling were also in action in the Junior 60m and 200m. Katie was 4th in the 60m in 8.49 and was 2nd in the 200m in 27.71. Aisling was 6th in the 60m in 8.64 and she finished 6th in the 200m despite being obstructed in the last 60m but managed to get a pb of 28.15. Well done to all!
Annual Club Presentation Night
The club held its annual presentation night on Thursday, January 2 and it was great to see the numbers in attendance. Medals were presented to the juvenile athletes from the recent cross-country championships which included twelve sets of team medals, nine Munster team medals and 1 All Ireland team medal which was won by Aaron Moore as part of the Tipperary U/15 team that finished third. Also presented on the night were Munster individual medals to our track athletes with well over 20 involved and to our national individual medallists Naomi Morrissey Liz Power, Sinead Tynan and Sarah McGinley and to team members Jessie Newman, Katie Bergin, Rachel Butler and Aisling Dwyer.
The winner of the U/9-14 Track Athlete of the Year was Sarah McGinley who won amongst others the U/12 Shot at the County Indoor Championships, third in the U/12 Shot at the Munster Indoors which qualified her for the National finals where she finished 18th, second in the U/12 Shot at the County Outdoor Championships, fourth in the Munster U/12 Shot which also qualified her for the National Championships where she finished 15th. Sarah then competed in the Munster B Championships where she won the U/12 Shot and crowned a great year by winning the same competition at the National B Track & Field Championships.
The 14-19 Track Athlete was Jack Hickey. Jack had a very distinguished year with medals at U/19, Junior and Senior level. Just a flavour of his successes – he won the Junior and U/19 200mts at the County Championships and the Junior 100mts at the County Championships. At senior level he finished second in the 200mts and third in the 400mts. Following that he finished second in the Munster U/19 200mts both Indoor and Outdoor to qualify for the National Championships where he finished sixth Indoor and seventh Outdoor. Points earned are calculated on the International Points system used at the Olympics and in four of his performances he had in excess of 800pts.
The winner of the U/9-14 Cross Country Athlete of the Year was Alana Spillane. She began the year by finishing 11th in the All Ireland B Championships and followed this up by winning the Girls U/12 County Championship and helping the club team to third. Following her fourth-place finish at the U/13 championships she finished 13th at Munster and qualified for the National finals where she represented Munster to finish 107th overall.
The 14-19 Cross Country Athlete of the Year was Aaron Moore. He finished 3rd in the U/15 and 4th in the U/16 County Championships following which he finished 13th in the U/15 Munster equivalent. Despite having an injury and then illness struck he still managed to compete at the National U/15 championships where he finished 44th and a member of the Tipperary team that finished third in the Inter-County competition where he also had the honour of being part of the Munster squad at this event. In addition, he was part of the club teams at U/15 & U/16 that won silver medals.
Our two senior awards are Track Athlete of the Year and Cross Country & Road Athlete of the Year and these awards were won by Katie Bergin and Angela Fogarty.
Katie had a superb season with many personal bests of the year. With success as U/18, Junior and Senior at County Level. Her specialist event is the 200mts where she finished second in the Junior and U/18 at County level and Munster level and at national level she had to contend with many international stars finishing sixth at U/18 level. She also competed in the Long Jump, winning the Junior and U/18 competitions at County level and third in the Senior competition. Again, the system used to calculate the points is the International Scoring system and with 12 of her performances earning more than 800points she is certainly a star in the making for the club.
Angela has been one of our most consistent cross country and road athletes and this year finished sixth in the Munster Intermediate, tenth in the Munster Novice along with a twelfth-place finish in her category at the National Masters. She was part of the club team that won bronze at the Munster Novice and was a member of the Tipperary teams at Munster Novice Intermediate and master’s level which captured silver team medals at both cross country and road. On the roads she finished fourth in the County Novice, second in the County Intermediate and fifth in the County Senior. She was a member of the club team that won the Intermediate Road Championships for the very first time this year and was also on the club team that finished second at the County Novice Road Championships.
Our “Most Improved Athlete of the Year” award went to Alana Spillane for her all-round attitude to training and competition and her dedication to athletics. Alana won the U/9-14 Cross Country as mentioned above but such is her versatility that she was runner-up in the Track award at the same level with County individual medals at U/12 level at 60mts, 600mts and High Jump. In the very competitive Munster level, she finished seventh in the 600mts at the Indoor Championships and fourth at the Outdoor Championships
The “Athlete of the Year Award” this year was in fact won by a club team – the Girls U/18 4 x 100mts relay team of Jessie Newman, Katie Bergin, Aisling Dwyer and Rachel Butler who had a terrific season. They won the County Championships and then travelled to Castleisland in June for the Munster Championships where after being overhauled in the final 50mts of the event to finish second they broke the 28-year-old existing club record with a time of 53.22. This record did not last long as they broke it again at the Club’s Summer Games in July, posting a time of 53.04. Travelling to Tullamore in late July they certainly left the best till last as they took on seven similar relay teams at the National U/18 Track & Field Championships to clinch the silver medals with yet another club record time of 52.69. Again, their attitude to training, both at the club and in their individual homes, paved the way for this success and there is surely more to come from this group of girls.
While we highlight those who won awards, everyone at the club is valued, some win medals, some do not, but everyone is successful in their own way and the enjoyment and comraderie is there in abundance for all to see. Our thanks to everyone who made the night such a success and hopefully we can have a similar if not more successful year in 2020.
Training
Training is resuming this week, following the Christmas break. This takes place for juvenile athletes on Tuesday and Friday night at 7.30pm. For juvenile athletes who are committed to taking part in the track and field championships training will take place on Thursday nights at 7.30pm for sprints and jumps.
County Senior Cross-Country Championships
Sunday next, January 12, sees the blue riband of cross country running, the County Senior, taking place in Galbally with a 12-noon start. The ladies run over 6k with the men 10k and the course is certainly one to test the resilience of the athletes. We wish all our athletes the very best of luck on the day.
Club Annual General Meeting
The annual general meeting of the club has been set for Friday, January 17, 2020. The meeting will commence at 8pm sharp and all members are invited to attend.
Registration for 2020
Registration forms for 2020 are now available in the club house. All members, juvenile and senior, need to re-register for the new year. Completed forms and the appropriate monies should be given to club registrar, Sharon Cantwell, as soon as possible. Closing date for registration is Friday, January 17. Please remember that all those attending training must be registered.
Fixtures:
10th January – AGM Tipperary Athletics Board, Thurles
12th January – County Senior Cross-Country Championships, Galbally
17th January – AGM Moyne AC
18th January – Irish Life Health Indoor Combined Events (All Ages), Athlone
19th January – Munster Juvenile Inter-Club Relays, Pole Vault, U/17-19 Field Events, Nenagh
25th January – Irish Life Health National Junior & U/23 Indoor Championships, Athlone
26th January – County Novice Road Championships, Moyne
2nd February – County Road Relays, Clonoulty
7th February – County Tipperary Star Awards, Horse & Jockey
