Munster Even Age Juvenile & Novice Cross Country Championships
A small but committed group of athletes travelled to Riverstick on Sunday for the first of the Munster Cross Country Championships, the Even Age Juveniles and Novice. The weather forecast during the week did not auger well for the day but thankfully the rain held off and a very mild day ensued. The underfoot was incredibly soft and muddy from all the previous week’s rain but great credit to all our athletes who coped admirably with the conditions, which saw the club returning home with five Munster medals.
Our youngest athletes on the day were Matthew Esmonde, Darragh Maher and Tom Renehan and all three took part in the U10 race with Matthew having a strong run and even stronger finish to come home in 19th place. This saw Matthew finishing fourth Tipperary man home and following the announcing of the results it saw Tipperary in third place in the team event and thus a Munster bronze medal for Matthew. His first of many, I am sure. Darragh and Tom ran very solidly but found the going tough in the final stages but great credit to them in finishing 62nd and 80th and no doubt will relish the chance to take on these opponents again. In the Girls U/12 race Helen Renehan ploughed a lone furrow for the club and despite the energy sapping conditions kept her form to come home 130th. Next up was Aisling O’Reilly in the Girls U/14 event and putting in a sterling performance she came through for 44th place. Alana Spillane led the County charge in the Girls U/16 event and coping admirably in the conditions came through for 18th place. In the Boys equivalent Adam Phelan ran his usual sound race to finish 50th and was the final and vital scorer on the Tipperary team that secured bronze medals. In the Boys U/18 event Aaron Moore and Michael O’Mahoney had to race over 6k and in the conditions probably felt much farther than that but great credit to both athletes as they ran two superb races finishing very strongly on the final run in to secure 14th and 16th places respectively but more importantly were two vital members of the Tipperary team that finished 2nd and earned both athletes Munster silver medals. Our final athlete into action was Sharon Cantwell, in the Novice ladies event. Over sixty athletes toed the line here and after the inevitable charge from the gun, the pace settled, and Sharon was able to get into her running. As with the juvenile events the energy was being sapped with each stride but Sharon motored on and her strength saw her press forward in the final stages to finish 22nd and secure that coveted place on the Tipperary Ladies team – only four athletes score on a team at this level – which when the results were announced were third and for Sharon a very well earned bronze medal.
To return home with five Munster medals from such a small group of athletes is terrific and huge congratulations to them on this achievement. We cannot leave out the others either as every one of them battled through the conditions and mentally held strong through their races. Well done all.
Our thanks once again to the parents who travelled to Cork and to the supporting coaches and club members as I am sure the athletes very much appreciate your support.
All athletes have a well-deserved weekend off this weekend and then it is on to Limerick Racecourse for the second day of the Munster Championships – the Uneven Age, Junior & Senior Championships – on Sunday November 6th. All athletes intending to run in this event are asked to forward their names to our Juvenile Secretary, Ber Spillane, by Friday night next at the latest. This is the final event for those interested in taking part in the Munster “B” championships later that month.
Split the Bucket
The winner of our Split the Bucket for Friday October 21th October was Lily Murphy. The winning amount was €143. Tickets can be purchased at all training sessions and from Tigh Maighne and Quinlan’s Moyne. They are also available to purchase online on our club website www.moyneathleticclub.com. Thanks to everyone for their continued support.
