County athletes ‘rain’ supreme at stormy Bellurgan Park

The constant rain that poured down in Bellurgan Park couldn’t dampen the spirits of the Kilkenny athletes who delivered top class performances at the Leinster even age and novice championships.

An army of the county’s best travelled north of Dundalk and battled through hours of incessant rain as they made their way through each race on Sunday. It has been a few years since athletes and spectators experienced such a washout, but the conditions mattered little to the tough breed of men, women, boys and girls who produced amazing performances.

The county was very successful overall with 16 athletes making Leinster teams. There were six out of eight possible top three finishes for the county teams while five club teams made it to the All-Irelands in Donegal. In total, a staggering 74 medals made their way back to Kilkenny from the day’s races.

Numbers overall were down on the 2021 races, which were hosted by St Senan’s in Mountain View, but it did not take away from the excitement of the day’s competitions, with some impressive performances from across the province and county.

The course itself was well laid out and as cross-country courses go, not too challenging. What made things more challenging was the atrocious weather conditions, but cross-country runners are hardy souls who managed to produce the goods regardless.

Big win for boys

The under-12 races produced a fine haul of medals, with the county girls’ team finishing third and the boys making their mark with the gold.

The girls were led home by Amelia O’Brien (Kilkenny City Harriers - KCH) in 15th place, with Emily O’Keeffe (Gowran) in 16th and Katie Byrne (Barrow Harriers) in 17th.

Things were looking good for the county with three girls bunched together up front. They were just six points off taking the silver medal and settled for bronze with 10 girls now off to Donegal for the All-Irelands in November.

Lydia Jordan (Ratoath) may have finished fourth last year, but there was no mistaking her victory this time as she led her county Meath to gold. Her clubmate and the reigning champion from 2021, Tara Hunt settled for fourth place this year.

While the Kilkenny girls did not produce any individual top 12 qualification spot, their performances improved from 2021, which should provide encouragement.

The girls’ race may have started the championships in dry conditions but everything changed for the boys’ race when, midway through the 2,000m event, the heavens opened and a deluge that saturated the field ensued.

Leinster 2021 champion Aaron Carrigan (Gowran) set a blistering pace in this race, taking an early lead. He was chased down by Cillian Galvin (Mullingar Harriers) who pursued him through the first loop in the course.

With 700m of the first lap completed Carrigan had faded into second place. Behind him Finn Kavanagh (St Senan’s) had emerged from the chasing group to move into third place. He was closely followed by eight athletes, making for an interesting second lap.

With the rain falling hard in lap two the young athletes made light of the rapidly declining conditions. While Carrigan and Kavanagh fought to maintain their positions behind them MJ Carroll (Gowran) was moving between eighth and 10th places while Daire O’Flaherty, who was third in the 2021 event, were gaining ground and entering the top 12. Carroll finally settled on 10th spot, while O’Flaherty passed Zach Ryan (Dunboyne) in the home straight to finish 11th.

With four athletes in the top 12, the results could only be good for the county team. They were runaway winners of the gold medals and had over 50 points to spare on Kildare in second place.

Thomastown conquer elements

The cross-country course itself was well laid out, with a decent distance from the start to the first bend. However the volume of rain that fell for the girls’ under-14 race made conditions not only miserable, but visibility almost impossible. The rain came down in torrents, with the supporting crowd rushing for shelter, leaving the field of 115 girls stranded on the starting line.

These girls have to be applauded for completing their 3,000m race in what were the worst conditions of the entire day.

Thomastown, winners of the club team gold in the girls’ under-14 race at the Leinster cross-country championships in Bellurgan Park

Tianna O’Leary (Mullingar) retained the title she had won in Kilkenny in 2021 just as Thomastown AC retained their club title. Katie O’Shea (Thomastown) improved on her 2021 performance, moving from ninth to sixth. Behind her Amy Walsh (St Joseph’s) ran a strong final lap to move from 13th to eighth and make the Leinster team. Sinead Cormack (KCH) secured the final spot on the Leinster team when finishing 12th. These three girls now form part of the Leinster team for the All-Ireland.

The county team finished second, ensuring that athletes from five clubs will now run in Donegal.

It was a double county silver with the under-14s, as the boys also took silver in the county section.

Kyrell Mtinsi (KCH) had a ding-dong battle with Carlow’s Jack Mahon for most of the 3,000m race. Neither athlete was prepared to break away too early. With the rain having reduced the path created from the previous races to muddy slime, conditions were beginning to get challenging. Spikes were being lost as the mud sucked them from the athletes feet.

Mtinsi seemed oblivious to any change in the underfoot conditions as he looked completely at ease on the course. Conor Carroll (Gowran) had been running on the shoulders of Mtinsi in the counties and continued to do so for the first half of the race in Dundalk. With a few slips and slides over the southern part of the course, he slipped back a little and found himself with two other athletes, now battling for the bronze medal.

Robert Coogan (KCH) was struggling to gain speed as he tried to catch his county team-mate. Around him others were having the same problem, with the race becoming more a battle of staying upright than moving forward. While no club team from the county finished in the top three, athletes from KCH, Gowran, Barrow Harriers and St Senan’s worked hard and will now advance to the All-Irelands as part of the county team.

Gold for the girls

The late camogie season may have impacted athletics training, with results reflected in the individual positions to some extent in the girls’ under-16 race. However, with four more weeks to the Nationals in Donegal there is plenty of time to mount a challenge for national medals.

Leading the county home in sixth place was the 2021 Leinster champion Charlotte Carpendale (St Senan’s). She was followed in seventh place by clubmate Eve Dunphy, with the county champion Christina Capitan Martin (KCH) eighth. Local girl Dearbhla Allen who has had a fantastic 2022 season, gaining two international selections for Ireland, was a clear winner and was followed by two more Louth girls in second and third.

However, despite occupying the top three overall individual positions, the home county could not take county gold and it was Kilkenny that did so by 21 points. St Senan’s finished second in the club category with KCH fourth. Lily Ryan (St Joseph’s) who is a year younger, had a great race to finish in 16th place.

The county has always struggled for an under-16 team in the boys’ category and this year was no different. It was the only race in the entire fixture where Kilkenny failed to field a team.

Gold for Coogan

The boys’ under-18 age group is very strong in Ireland generally and in Leinster specifically.

Each year this age group has had a race similar to that of national calibre. With virtually no blade of grass left uncovered, the boys had a challenge before them.

The mire of mud that now carpeted the course made navigating the bends perilous. Billy Coogan (KCH) and David Williams (St Senan’s) were in the leading bunch from the onset, racing hard but careful to stay clear of any pushing that may cause them to fall.

The rain had subsided, but the athletes at this point were indifferent to any weather conditions - their concentration was focused on staying upright. The under-18 race and junior race is run as a combined event, ensuring a tough competitive race for the under-18s.

Coogan, tall and strong, started to make his move on the third lap and surged ahead of the field. Williams chased hard with Gearoid Long, some 40 metres behind, having the race of his life.

Kilkenny had three athletes in the top 12 - Coogan (first), Williams (third) and Long fourth. They helped the county take the gold.

There was some more good news as the county also won the junior event, despite missing Cathal O’Reilly (KCH). The Harriers had a great day on the club front as Billy Coogan was supported by Paddy Kelly, Ruairi McEvoy and Matthew McCarthy to take club silver. They also won junior silver.

Emma Lawlor (Castlecomer) qualified for her first All-Ireland when she finished 11th in the under-18 race. She will be the county’s sole representative.

There were no medals for the county novice women or men as the sun made an appearance for the first time. There are plenty of athletes eligible for this race and while the county had the potential to win the race, in the ladies, the team consisted entirely of St Senan’s athletes. The leading lady was Aine Kinsella in 19th place. James Morrissey (Castlecomer) led the men home in 49th place.

Mountain View

The Leinster uneven ages and seniors will be hosted by St Senan’s AC in the beautiful venue that is Mountain View. With a local venue, it is hoped that the county will achieve results similar to that of last Sunday.

International Selection

There was some good news during the week as three Kilkenny athletes were selected for the forthcoming Masters Home Countries International.

This international, which has seen several cancellations over the past three years due to Covid restrictions, has finally re-emerged from its exile and is being held in Santry in November.

Competing in the over-35s category, James Kelly (Castlecomer) has earned his first masters international vest. James is no stranger to county athletics, competing every year in Kilkenny’s championship events. In the over-40s section former Portmarnock AC athlete Jamie Gahan, now running for KCH, will don his first masters vest for Ireland. Gahan ran a great race recently in the county seniors to finish in third place.

Completing the trio is Brian Maher (KCH), who is in his first year of the over-45s category. Maher, who won the Masters race at the Autumn Open, is no stranger to Irish athletics. Having already competed in high ranking events as a senior (world and European cross-country) Maher has won the home countries international in the over-40s category previously. There is no end to the talent of this man, whose career seems to have lasted longer than most athletes.