Kilkenny athletes to the fore at Leinster club-cross country championship

Kilbeggan Racecourse was the venue for day three of the Leinster juvenile and senior cross-country championships.

The day was for the uneven ages with many athletes once again running up in age for their clubs and county. Kilkenny was once again well represented, with over 80 juveniles from seven different clubs all competing for medals and qualifying for the All-Irelands in Abbottstown next month.

The weather stayed fine for the most part after a rather wet and miserable week. Host club Mullingar Harriers did a fine job of setting a great course that was challenging but fair, with no major hills for the athletes to contend with. It was great to see another non-championship race for the younger athletes with so many enthusiastic athletes taking to the start line.

Once again, the younger juvenile races were highly stacked races, with 149 finishers running the 1,500m distance in the girls’ under-11 race. Although there was no individual medal, there were super performances from all the under-11 girls competing.

In the boys’ under-11 race Luke Hanlon (Thomastown) ran an incredible race to finish in third place out of 117 athletes in the 1,500m race. Huw Morgan (St Senan’s) finished in 10th place for a medal and qualified for Nationals. Both boys were top scorers on the county team that finished fourth. Castlecomer’s Diarmuid Maher, Cian Nolan, Rhys Hetherington and Patrick Comerford took the bronze in the club places with the four scorers all placing in the top 50 for a great club result, qualifying for Nationals.

The under-13 girls produced a great finish with Kate Kelly (Kilkenny City Harriers - KCH), Abigail Hunt and Orla O’Keeffe (Gowran), all just narrowly missing out on a top 12 place, but the high placing for the girls, along with Sinead Grant (St Senan’s) ensured a fourth place county team finish to qualify for Abbottstown. Lydia Phelan and Sarah Mulrooney helped Gowran to third place in the club event, finishing on the same points as Ratoath AC, but countback decided the bronze.

Tom Doherty (St Joseph’s), once again produced another superb cross country run to finish seventh and lead the county team home to a silver medal. While KCH may not have had top 12 individual placings, their top four scorers - Daniel McIntyre, Daniel Quinn, Eoin Hoyne and Dylan Guilfoyle - all finished in the top 30 to secure a club silver and score on the county team too. Harry O’Byrne (Barrow Harriers) was the fifth scorer on the county team to secure his silver medal.

The under-15 girls saw Katie Byrne and Emily O’Keeffe (KCH) win medals and also score for the club which claimed another Leinster bronze. Amelia O’Brien and Maria Kraljevic were the third and fourth scorers for the team event, ensuring automatic qualification for Nationals in Abbottstown. The county team narrowly missed out, finishing in fifth place behind Kildare.

The boys’ under-15 race saw success in the individual medals with KCH duo Daniel Greene and Sam Woodcock, both running up in age, having great runs to finish third and seventh respectively. Both have already qualified for Even Age Nationals in Derry and will now run again in Abbottstown in the Uneven finals next month.

Sinead Cormack (KCH) stormed home to a fantastic third place finish in the girls’ under-17 4,500m to earn her a top spot in next month’s Nationals. Ellen Cormack (KCH) was 28th with Kate Hayden, Brid Farrell and Lucy Cunningham (Gowran) finishing in the top 50. The boys’ under-17 4,500m race saw Kyrell Mtinsi (KCH) produce an incredible run in his age group to finish third overall and qualify for Nationals. Conor Carroll (Gowran) also ran a superb race to finish sixth place and earn a medal and national place. Gearoid Farrell (Gowran), running up in age, finished 20th out of 66 competitive finishers on the day.

Hannah Kehoe, Kilkenny City Harriers, won gold in the women’s under-23 race at the Leinster cross-country championships in Kilbeggan. She is pictured with Niamh Brady, St Peter’s AC (second); Edel McCreery, Rathfarnham AC (third) and Athletics Leinster chairperson Catriona Duffy

The under-19 and seniors Leinster and Dublin Championships were run together on the day, which meant more runners per race. The results were still excellent for Kilkenny City Harriers athlete Pia Langton as she earned herself an individual third place medal in the women’s under-19 race. She was also the first home on both county and club teams, winning a bronze medal for each.

Charlotte Carpendale also ran a finely timed race for eighth place individually and was second home on the county team for another bronze. Hazel Coogan (KCH) was the third scorer home for the county team and second for KCH club team, with Evelyn McEvoy making up the third club scorer for KCH.

In the men’s under-19 race Tom Murphy (KCH) finished fifth from a competitive field of 36 Leinster runners, with Evan Aylward 27th over the 5,000m distance.

Hannah Kehoe had the best run of the day, finishing fourth overall in the women’s 6,000m from a field of 56 runners. She was also first and took the title of Leinster women’s under-23 champion on the day.

The senior men’s 9,000m race saw 97 competitors take to the start line to contest both the Leinster and Dublin senior titles.

There were 10 runners from four different Kilkenny clubs on the day, with a runner from each club helping the county to a Leinster county silver medal. James Kelly (Castlecomer) was the first Kilkennyman home on the day in 27th place. Joe Keohane (Gowran) was second home in 35th place, William Fox (KCH) followed just behind in 37th place. Matthew Holland and Martin Desgranchamps (Gowran) were fourth and fifth scorers on the team, with Thomastown’s Michael O’Shea the sixth scorer on the day.

Schools Combined
The All-Ireland Schools combined events got under way in the TUS Athlone on Saturday. The event showcases the amazing talents of the multi-event athletes as they compete for podium places representing their respective schools along the way. The top four junior and intermediate boys and girls (once age eligible) may also earn a spot to represent Ireland at the International Combined Events in Glasgow in December.

Kilkenny athletes Cillian Daly (CBC), Killian Redmond (CBC), Victor Lamph (Clongowes, third) and Fiach Crowley (St Kieran’s) at the National Schools Combined Events in Athlone

On the day, four Kilkenny City Harrier athletes represented three schools - St Kieran’s College, Clongowes and CBC Kilkenny.

Fiach Crowley (St Kieran’s) finished 13th overall in the junior boys’ event with 2,018 points. In the intermediate Victor Lamph secured the bronze medal with 3,339 points for Clongowes School. In the boys’ senior competition Cillian Daly and Killian Redmond both representing CBC Kilkenny placed an impressive fifth and seventh with Cillian on 2,233 points and Killian on 2,095 points overall from the day.