Connacht Outdoor Track and Field
Last weekend’s action featured Day One of the Connacht Juvenile Track and Field championships take place on Saturday June 6th , with the Children’s Games for U9-11 and Under 12 and 13 events , held in Claremorris Track. Galway clubs secured a huge haul of medals across both individual and paired events , with Galway City Harriers topping the table with 18 gold and 37 medals overall Craughwell secured 26 medals, Athenry 19 , South Galway and Castlegar 14 each and Tuam 10. Among the day’s highlights across the clubs were Tuam’s great performances , with pride of place to go to Will Tighe who won the U10 60m and Long Jump and also led the team to bronze medals in each event. Anabelle Heneghan had an outstanding day at the Championships wining the U11 Long Jump and then combining well with Caoimhe Murphy to win the paired event in style and qualify for the All Irelands in a few weeks’ time. Cumhall O’Callaghan won the U13 1000m Race Walk while Casey Burke starred in the U9 Long Jump with 3.06m leap.
In the sprints Kate Morris was outstanding in the U12 60m , winning silver with a great run of 8.90 while Dylan Roddy excelled finishing second in the U13 60m Hurdles .Shay Hardiman combined with Wil Tighe to book his ticket in the All Irelands in the U10 60m while Billy Heneghan won a bronze medal in the U10 Long Jump. Athenry A.C secured 17 medals overall (7 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze), as standout performer Eliza Mae Dunne led the way with a superb double gold in the U9 girls’ 60m and 300m, while Emma O’Malley also excelled, winning gold in the U12 girls’ 600m and adding bronze in the 60m. In the field events, Beth O’Kane produced one of the performances of the day, claiming gold in the U12 shot put with a championship record. Relay success came courtesy of Athenry’s U12 girls’ 4x100m team, who took gold in a strong all-round display.
In the boys’ competition, Daithi Nilan stood out with gold in the U9 long jump and silver in the 300m, while Dara Crimmins secured silver in the U10 500m. Further podium finishes were recorded by Cillian Hurley (U12 600m), Nathan Daniels (U12 long jump), Holly Hession (U13 hurdles), and Shane Higgins (U13 walk), all taking bronze medals. Athenry athletes also enjoyed notable success in the pair’s competitions. Eliza Mae Dunne and Isabelle Noone combined to win gold in the U9 girls’ 300m pairs and silver in the 60m. In the U10 girls’ 500m, Saoirse McGann and Riley Kearney claimed bronze. Among the boys, Daithi Nilan and Ben Crimmins secured silver in the U9 300m pairs and bronze in the long jump, while Dara Crimmins and Dara Melia added a further bronze in the U10 500m pairs.
Castlegar AC secured multiple podium finishes, led by two gold medal performances. Fionn O’Donnell claimed gold in the U10 boys’ pairs event, while Alex Lomboto produced an excellent run to take victory in the U13 boys’ 60m hurdles. A particularly strong showing saw Castlegar athletes collect a number of silver medals. Mason Calvey (U10 60m) and Amelia Farragher (U11 60m) both impressed on the track, with Farragher also teaming up with Cassi Healy to secure silver in the U11 girls’ pairs. In the field and middle-distance events, Nicola Grealish (U13 shot put), Ciarán Casey (U13 600m), and Colm Garvey, who claimed silver in both the U13 long jump and 80m. Bronze medals came via Mason Calvey who added a second medal with bronze in the U10 long jump, while Hana Faraj Gheziel secured bronze in the U11 600m and partnered with Niamh Corbett for bronze in the U11 pairs competition. The U11 girls’ relay team—Cassi Healy, Niamh Corbett, Hana Faraj Gheziel and Amelia Farragher—rounded off the medal tally with a strong performance to take bronze in the 4x100m.
Galway City Harriers saw over 100 competitors take part from their club and 37 medals, along with a haul of six Connacht Championship records. The U13 girls’ relay team of Katie McGlynn, Elliana Magnetti, Thea Lynch and Maneli Fazaeli produced one of the performances of the meet, smashing the previous record in a time of 53.54 seconds. Magnetti also set a new benchmark in the U13 girls’ 60m hurdles, while Dylan Devitt (U12 boys’ hurdles), Noah Farrell (U12 boys walk), James Langan (U11 boys 60m), and the U11 boys relay added championship bests. Among the individual gold medallists, several athletes claimed multiple titles. James Langan was outstanding in the U11 boy’s category, winning both the 60m and 600m, and playing a key role in relay gold. Dylan Devitt doubled up with victories in the U12 boys 600m and hurdles, while Maneli Fazaeli secured gold in both the U13 girls 600m and 80m. Other gold medallists included Amy Devitt (U10 500m), Rachel Fennessy (U12 hurdles), Noah Farrell (U12 walk), and the U9 girls, U11 boys and U13 girls relay teams. Silver medal performances were also strong across the programme, with Noah Farrell (U12 60m), Elliana Magnetti (U13 80m), Matilda McGlynn (U13 high jump), and the U13 boys relay team among those reaching the podium. Additional silvers came from Ava Neville (U13 walk) and Sophie Peoples (U9 300m). Bronze medals were secured across a wide range of events, including Amy Devitt (U10 60m), Eoin Devitt (U11 600m), Jack Frehill (U13 high jump), Sophie White (U13 long jump), and Ailbhe Graham (U13 javelin), along with multiple relay and team successes.
GCH also excelled in the pairs and team competitions, particularly at younger age levels. Highlights included gold for the U9 girls in 300m, 60m and relay events, double gold success for the U11 boys in 60m, 600m and relay categories, and further medals for U10 girls’ and boys’ teams across sprint, middle-distance and relay events. Craughwell AC’s youngest athletes delivered in style, leading the way was Katie Considine, who produced a record-breaking performance to claim gold in the U11 Girls 60m (9.00), setting a new Connacht record. She went on to secure a second gold in the 600m, while also teaming up with Aoibhin Gallagher-McKeon to win gold in the pairs and bronze in the team 600m. The pair later added silver in the 4x100m relay alongside Danielle Ryan and Kaitlin Broderick. In the U9 Boys events, Evan O’Flynn sprinted to gold in the 60m, while the squad combined to take gold and silver in the pairs, and silver in the 4x100m relay. In the long jump, Evan Burke and Oisin Buckley secured team gold, with Burke also taking individual silver.
There was further success in the field as Olivia Rooney cleared 1.30m to win gold in the U13 Girls High Jump, while Tom Clarke claimed gold in the U13 Boys High Jump, with Rhylan Cannon earning silver in the same event. In the throws, Cormac Finnerty was crowned Connacht champion with gold in the U11 Boys Turbo Javelin, while Ross Hoade secured bronze in the U13 Boys Shot Put. In the younger age groups, Nell Callanan claimed bronze in the U9 Girls Turbo Javelin, combining with Phoebe Kinsella for team bronze, while Sam Kiely and Thady Spelman also took team bronze in the U9 Boys event.
On the track, Cathal Niland ran to bronze in the U13 Boys 80m, while Oran Gillespie added another bronze in the U13 Boys 60m Hurdles. The U13 Boys relay team of Tom Clarke, Rhylan Cannon, Danny Kieran and Cathal Niland also secured bronze. In the distance events, Daithi Colleran earned individual bronze in the U10 Boys 500m and combined with Cian Monahan for team silver. South Galway AC athletes enjoyed an excellent outing ,leading the medal haul were the club’s race walkers, with Anna Mannion claiming gold in the U13 Girls 1000m, while Iarla Keane secured silver in the U13 Boys event. James Mannion added to the success with bronze in the U12 Boys 1000m, in a high-quality race. Sprint success followed in the U10 Girls 60m, where Maeve Linnane stormed to gold, with Jessica Brennan taking silver, and the pair combining to win gold in the pairs event. The momentum continued in the relays, where the U10 Girls 4x100m team (Maeve Linnane, Amber Cummins, Maya McHugh and Jessica Brennan) powered to gold, while the U10 Boys team (Daithí Lucey, Dillon Fahy, Theo Byrne and Ryan O’Reilly) secured silver. Over the hurdles, Ryan McHugh delivered a standout performance, winning silver in the U12 Boys 60m hurdles, before adding a second silver medal in the long jump later in the day. In the middle-distance events, Tadgh McCarthy and Ben O’Connor combined strongly to claim silver in the U11 Boys 600m team event, both earning qualification for the All-Ireland finals. Field events also produced podium finishes, with Grace Taylor throwing her way to bronze in the U13 Girls shot put, while Laoise Rigney secured bronze in the U12 Girls long jump.
East Galway Athletic Club secured six medals , including double bronze for Ellie Panka, who claimed bronze in the U9 long jump, and teamed up with Libby Geraghty to secure bronze in the paired long jump. In the U12 category, East Galway AC added further podium success. Alyssa Giblin delivered an excellent performance to take silver in the high jump, while Barry McManus also claimed silver in the shot put. There were additional bronze medal performances from Meabh Lally in the race walk and Laura Goulding in the 60m hurdles. West Coast AC secured two bronze medals, via Michael Miller and Joshua Molly over the hurdles , while Loughrea AC won Turbo Javelin Under 11 gold via Belle Finnegan and Matilda Keary who won the under 11 girls turbo javelin. Day Two is this weekend in Sligo IT with the U14-19 events
