Delight in Derry as Kilkenny star races to national gold medal

A small contingent of Kilkenny athletes made the long journey to Templemore in Co Derry for the National even age, under-20 and senior cross-country championships at the weekend.

In true cross-country style the athletes not only battled against their competitors but took on the elements on a typical Irish winter’s day. The competitors had to contend with blustery winds, sporadic downpours and a winding mucky course that tested the endurance of all.

The younger juveniles certainly benefitted from the earlier starts, as the course and grounds deteriorated more and more during each race, with over 100 runners taking to the start line in each race. County Kilkenny was well represented on the day, with no less than five clubs having athletes compete as individuals or members of club and county teams.

The under-12 boys’ county team qualified for the Nationals having won gold at Leinsters in Gowran back in October and placed a respectable eighth overall on the day at Nationals. Kilkenny City Harriers (KCH) had a club team competing in the under-12 also after qualifying in Leinsters with a club gold. They went on to place 10th overall in the national club event in Derry.

Laura Aylward (St Senan’s) was the sole runner in the girls’ under-14 event, having won an individual medal running in 10th place at Leinsters. Laura qualified for her first ever All-Ireland in her first year of running cross-country. She placed 50th out of 178 runners in the girls’ under-14 race, an amazing feat for a new cross-country runner; no doubt this is just the start of her cross-country journey.

The boys’ under-14 race was an epic battle that saw just four seconds separating the top four finishers across the line. Daniel Greene (KCH) stormed to a fantastic first place finish in Derry. One of the highlights of the day, the race started out fast, with the leading pack breaking away from the others very early on. Daniel remained deep in the pack and when the time was right, pushed his way into second place heading into the last 100 metres, where a sprint finish saw him clinch first spot from Harry McVeigh of Newcastle & District AC who had led the race for the most part. A fantastic finish for Daniel, it was his best performance yet at the national championships.

In the girls’ under-16 event KCH had six members representing both club and county in the 4,000m race. Although there were no individual medals earned on the day, the brilliant running from Sinead Cormack (19th) and Emily O’Keeffe (28th) saw the club team taking second place on 135 points with Amelia O’Brien (37th) and Katie Byrne (51st) the third and fourth scorers on the club team to earn themselves the silver medal. The county team was ninth overall with Ellen Cormack (88th) and Heidi Ryan (129th) making up the team.

In the boys’ under-16 race Lewis Morgan (St Senan’s) and Gearoid Farrell (Gowran) were representing their respective clubs. There was great running from both guys in a large field of 132 finishers who took on the 4,000m course. Lewis finished 91st with Gearoid crossing the line in 97th.

Both the girls and boys under-18 and under-20 races were combined together again like Leinsters a few weeks back. In the girls’ race 165 finishers altogether made for a very stacked race over the 4,500m distance. United Striders runner Emma Hickey, fresh from her win in Leinsters, dominated the race once again and earned her European berth, winning both the under-18 and under-20. The first home for Kilkenny in the combined race was Pia Langton (KCH) who was fifth in the under-20 rankings, followed by Clodagh O’Callaghan who was eighth under-18, earning herself an individual medal when placing 12th in the under-20. The Kilkenny City Harriers under-18 team was 11th overall while the under-20 team was seventh in their club event.

In the boys’ under-18 and under-20 combined race Callum Barron (KCH) was just pipped at the finish line by Tom Fleming in fifth place with both athletes finishing in 00:14:16, Callum placing sixth. The KCH club team placed fifth overall on 184 points. Kyrell Mtinsi (KCH) was the first home in the under-18 category when finishing 51st out of 124 runners. Kyrell was also the fourth scorer on the under-20 club team.

Hannah Kehoe (KCH) was the only Kilkenny runner in the women’s under-23 7,500m race which was also run with the women’s senior event. The course at this stage in the day was rather dismal, with runners opting to run on the outside of the course where possible to avoid the drag of the mucky course from impeding their race.

Grace Richardson was the sole Kilkenny runner in the women’s senior race and placed 12th, finishing the tough 7,500m course in 28:16. Cathal O’Reilly and Myles Hewitt were the two KCH runners who contested the men’s under-23 7,500m distance. The last race of the day, it was awash with heavy downpours and cut-up ground that tested the will of each athlete throughout the race.

Both runners had good races with Cathal placing in the top 20, running in 27:27, while Myles finished a minute later in 28:32 for 27th place.