Athletes did not have far to travel for today’s cross country as Moyne was hosting the County B Championships thanks to the kind permission of the Daly family. This event saw very pleasant weather and ground conditions due to the unseasonable like weather conditions. Our group of athletes were in high spirits following Moyne Templetuohy’s momentous success in the County Intermediate Hurling Championship the day before.
First away was our girls under 9 which saw the trio of Eva Maher, Poppy Lyons and Doireann Quinlan don the green and gold and what a return for the girls. Poppy bravely led the field until the chasing pack closed in the late stages to upset the apple cart. Not to worry as Eva Maher was on hand to offer support and crossed the line in 2nd, Poppy gallantly finished just behind in 3rd and Doireann flew home in 4th place! What a result!! These girls were clear winners in the team event!
The starter didn’t delay in getting the boys under 9 underway and Moyne’s success continued as the green and gold singlet of Geoffrey Morrissey came around the bend heading for home all guns blazing and came away a very worthy winner of the race! Massive congratulations to Geoffrey. Next in was Leo Cullen who ran his best race yet for the club to finish an excellent 7th just ahead of Zach Ryan. The three boys combined well to finish second in the team event!
There was a big, competitive field in the girls under 11 which saw Grainne Daly and the two Abbie’s of Abbie Manton and Abbie Delaney set off on a tough 1,000m course. The 3 girls worked extremely well particularly in the latter stages when others began to fade and picked off athletes and finished strongly. Grainne led them home in 11th, just outside the medals, Abbie Manton rallied to finish 21st and Abbie Delaney brought the team home in 24th. The girls finished in 5th place on the team event. Plenty to build for next season.
The boys u11 of Billy Flanagan, Michael Doyle, Dannan Sweeney and Gerard Delaney kept the good momentum going where we saw Billy in a battle for the win coming into the finish. Billy was just edged out to 2nd in a sprint finish. Billy was followed home by Michael Doyle who finished in 17th, Dannan Sweeney in 23rd and Gerard Delaney in 24th. The boys ran exceptionally well and were rewarded for their efforts as they finished 2nd in the team event.
Last event for the juveniles today was for our boys under 13. Again, we saw great runs by our three boys, Jack Renehan who led them home in 8th, David Nolan was next in 12th and Daithí Cussen in 16th. Great result for the lads who were rewarded with 3rd team on the day! A job well done.
On reflection, the athletes can take great satisfaction in their cross-country season and use this as motivation heading into the indoor and track and field season. Best wishes to the Moyne athletes who qualified to represent Tipperary in the up-coming All- Irelands. The club is very proud and looking forward to seeing you all in the blue and gold!
