Athletics- Walsh walks to victory in Spain
Two very different athletics competitions were held in the past week. Earlier in the week, the South Leinster Schools competition were held in a sunny but chilly Carlow. Then, on Sunday amid 22 degrees and blazing sunshine, five race-walkers from Kilkenny participated in the Andalusian Championships in Guadix Spain.
South Leinster Schools
The South Leinster schools cross-country championships have been held in Carlow for the past number of years, making this venue a stable on the schools racing calendar. Traditionally schools like St Kieran’s College, Loreto and the Presentation have done very well, but so have students from Scoil Aireagail i Ballyhale, Grennan College in Thomastown, Castlecomer and CBS Kilkenny. The South Leinster region is the biggest region in Leinster, with the counties consisting of Kilkenny, Wexford, Carlow, Kildare, Laois and Offaly.
The minor races produced victories for Loreto in the girls race with Kieran’s finishing second team in the boys. Amelia O’Brien (Loreto) had a fine individual race, finishing in second place and looking in good stead for the forthcoming Leinsters in the Phoenix Park. Amelia was closely followed by Amy Walsh, Emily Hurley, Lauren Phelan, Heather Shillingford, Molly Gannon and Hannah Fitzgerald all hanging gold medals around their necks for the remainder of the day. Katie Byrne (St Marys, New Ross) and Katie Harret (Castlecomer CS) also qualified individually.
The boys’ race was won by Eoghan Doolan of Kildare. The Kieran’s team, with a long tradition of cross-country running, packed well. They were led home by Gearoid Farrell, who was supported by Ben Fitzgerald, Darragh Carroll, Hugo Carroll, Adam Phelan, Harry Phelan, David Timmons and Charlie McCluskey. Lucas Duggan (Kilkenny CBS) qualified as an individual.
Sinead Cormack had a great run in the junior girls’ race. She challenged the outright winner Rachael Keaney (Newbridge) over the course of the race, taking a well-deserved silver medal as she led her Presentation team-mates to the gold medal. Kate Hayden, representing St Mary’s New Ross, managed to gain individual qualification.
It was yet another runner-up position for Kieran’s College in the junior boys’ race. The St Kieran’s team consisted of Kyrell Mtinsi, Max Edwards, Paul Milea, Oisin Maher, Sam McAviney and Shane O’Dwyer. Three more individual athletes qualified - Robert Coogan (CBS Kilkenny), Kyle Bolger (Good Counsel, New Ross) and Victor Lamph (Clongowes Wood College). Mtinsi will hope to defend his Leinster crown at this week’s Leinster schools in the Phoenix Park.
The intermediate races, like both the minor and junior races, saw crowds of athletes take part. In 2023 Katie O’Shea (Presentation) ran a tremendous race in the All-Ireland schools and qualified for the schools international as part of the junior girls team. This year Katie, her twin Amy and Clodagh O’Callaghan once again made up the scoring trio as they finished second to Newbridge College. The three girls were supported by Ada Bambrick, Amy O'Shea and Eimear Cormack. The Loreto were third team with great running from Hazel Coogan, Kate Alymer, Anna O'Shea and Evelyn McEvoy. Lily Ryan, better known for her race-walking capabilities, qualified individually while representing Our Lady of Lourdes, Rosbercon.
Kieran’s College produced their only victory of the day in the junior boys’ race. The team was led home by Conor Carroll and featured Michael Tynan, Paddy Cuddihy, Cian Stapleton, Joe Hayes, Danny Gargan, Jonathan Kennedy and Tomas Carroll.
Pia Langton had had an amazing cross-country season and added to it with a silver medal in the senior race. She led the Loreto to team gold, with great runs also from Isabella Burke, Hazel Coogan, Aoife Fitzgerald, Ruth Coady and Lelia Mahon.
Not only did CBS have the gold team prize, but they also had the winning senior men’s individual title. Billy Coogan (CBS) looked strong and comfortable as he held a convincing lead from the gun all the way to the finish. There were good individual races also from Callum Byrne (Good Counsel) and Michael O'Shea (Scoil Aireagail) who both gained individual qualification. The winning CBS team consisted of Billy Coogan, Paddy Kelly, Matthew McCarthy, Matthew Holland, Tadhg Ryan, Billy Sinnott, Cillian Dunne and Hugh Kavanagh).
In general Kilkenny proved to be very successful for this age group in the boys as St Kieran’s College finished in runner-up position. This was attributed to the fine running of Ruairi McEvoy. Ruairi was supported by Sean Rossiter, Paul Mahon, Luke Phelan, Jack Johnson, Aidan Cashin, Louis Fitzgerald and Matthew McAvinney.
Spanish Victory
Five Kilkenny athletes travelled to Guadix in Spain last weekend as part of a group of over 40 racewalkers who competed in the Andalusian championships. The 22 degree heat brought out the best in the Kilkenny race walkers, who revelled in the electric atmosphere. With four individual victories and two runner-ups, there is no doubt that the Irish walkers are among the best in the world.
Amy Walsh (St Joseph’s) started conservatively. In her first 3km ever, the 14-year-old adopted the correct strategy. Third after 1km, by the 2km mark she had closed the gap to come shoulder to shoulder with the second-placed girl. In the final 300m she passed the Spanish champion and crossed the line in first place in an amazing time of 15.23.
In the 5,000m race, there were four Kilkenny participants - Evan Walsh, Lily Ryan and Maggie O’Connor (all St Joseph’s) and Keelin Duggan (St Senan’s). Evan was right up front, commanding the front line with Irish champion Matthew Newell (Tuam). In only his second ever 5km Evan maintained his position in the top three throughout, working his way into second place to record a new personal of 24.10.
Like Walsh, clubmate Lily Ryan had also made her debut over 5km at Raheny. She finished fifth overall in a time of 27.26. Keelin Duggan, despite an ongoing injury finished the 5km in 10th place, demonstrating true grit and determination, while the St Joseph’s stalwart Maggie O’Connor walked 28.49. The race was won by Savannagh O’Callaghan (Tuam) who led from 300m and also gained qualification for the under-18 Europeans in Slovakia in July.