Kilkenny Juveniles deliver more top results indoors in Athlone

Day three of the national indoor All-Irelands on Saturday again showcased some amazing performances from Kilkenny athletes. The county’s young stars brought home two gold medals, two silver medals, numerous top 10 placements and two spectacular relays that set two new championship records.

The day held the last of the individual events with high jump, shot-put and triple jump the three events for the day. James Kelsey (Gowran) was the sole individual medallist on the day securing a stunning silver and new personal best (PB) of 1.80m in the boys’ under-18 high jump. James also competed in the boys’ under-18 triple jump, placing fourth and just missing out on a second medal.

Daniel McIntyre (Kilkenny City Harriers - KCH) jumped an impressive 1.25m in the boys’ under-12 high jump, narrowly missing out for a medal as he finished fourth. Nuenna duo Joey Nolan and Aidan Banville were both back in Athlone to compete in the boys’ under-13 high jump. Placing ninth and 11th respectively, the boys can take plenty of positives from their All-Ireland experience as they look towards the outdoor track & field season.

The shot-put competitions saw Jack Gardiner (Gowran) competing in the boys’ under-17 shot-put. He threw 9.38m to finish ninth. Colum Quinlan (Brow Rangers) was in action in the boys’ under-18 shot-put, throwing 8.11m to finish 13th.

Rachel Gardiner was also back in action, finishing sixth in the girls’ under-19 shot-put with an impressive throw of 8.83m in the 4kg competition.

The uneven and even age under-12 to under-19 relays were the big competition on the track. KCH had seven teams competing across the different groups, with some stunning performances throughout. First to set a new championship record was the girls’ under-15 team of Emma Kelly, Jasmine Timmins McEneaney, Mollierose Keegan and Ella Sorohan. The team broke the record from 2024 that was set by their club mates in last year’s indoors, running the 4x200m today in a speedy time of 1:45.73.

The girls’ under-16 team of Ellen Daly, Cara Canavan, Aishling Phelan and Jasmine Timmins McEneaney were looking to build on the success of last year’s indoor relay finals gold and again set a new championship record as they broke the 16-year record in the 4x200m, claiming gold in a time of 1:43.26.

The boys’ under-16 team of Patrick Wall, Eogan O’Farrell, Danny Direen and Fiach Crowley also ran an astonishing relay race to claim silver in the final with a time of 1:39.40.