The second and third days of this year’s Connacht Juvenile Track and Field Championships were held Saturday last in Sligo and Monday in Dangan. Galway City Harriers’ rising stars delivered a superb performance at Day 2 of the Connacht Outdoor Championships, with the club’s Under-14 to Under-19 athletes claiming an impressive 26 medals in total. Competing in sunny conditions in Sligo, the GCH squad secured 11 gold, 8 silver, and 7 bronze medals. Among the highlights were double gold medal performances from Adill Prochownik (pictured above) and Hugo Lynagh. Prochownik completed an impressive hurdles double, winning both the 110m hurdles (16.02) and 400m hurdles (1:01.78), while Lynagh dominated the sprints, taking gold in the 100m (11.35) and 200m (23.39). At Under-19 level, Lucy Hounkponou produced a standout performance, setting a new club and championship record in the 100m hurdles. Fellow senior athletes Elisa Jaime Stapleton and Shane McGovern also secured 400m titles. In the field events, Temitope Kevin Sangodele delivered one of the performances of the day, extending his personal best in the triple jump to 12.73m, to win. Alison Walsh also struck gold in the U16 triple jump, while Majus Ogulevicius claimed victory in the U18 long jump with a PB of 5.42m.
Several club records fell during the competition. Keilah Murray broke a long-standing GCH 3000m record with a time of 11:18.17, cutting 29 seconds off the previous mark. Sean Danker added another record in the U19 1500m, clocking 4:29.80.Further records came in technical events, with Caoimhe Cavelleri (javelin), Louis Jean Hounkponou (80m hurdles), and Lucy Hounkponou all setting new benchmarks for the club. West Coast AC enjoyed a successful showing at the Connacht Championships and among the standout performers was U18 athlete Francis McCarty, who delivered an excellent all-round display, securing silver in the long jump and adding a bronze medal in the 110m hurdles, alongside a personal best performance. At U19 level, John McDermott claimed bronze in the 100m sprint, while Caoimhe Phelan produced one of the performances of the championships, winning the 3,000m walk and setting a new championship record.
Craughwell AC excelled on Day 2 with multiple club medals . Killian Burke and Grace Drysdale led the way with each taking double Connacht titles. Burke excelled in the U17 throws, heaving the shot putt out to 9.38m for the gold and doing likewise in the Discus with a huge throw of 22.25m. Drysdale was equally impressive in the U16 sprints racing to blistering times of 27.13 in the 200m and 13.12 in the 100m to take the Connacht title in both and added silver in the Long Jump with 4.32m. Matthew Drysdale secured gold in the Long jump with a brilliant 5.07m leap to take the U14 Boys Connacht title. Halle Feerick was also in superb form racing to the Connacht U15 100m title in a time of 12.06 and adding silver in both the 200m in 24.96 and the High Jump with a 1.60m leap. Aaron Burke also had an exceptional day in the throws, taking the Connacht title in the U14 Boys Discus with 24.24m and adding silver in the Javelin with 28.71m and bronze in the Shot Putt with 10.58m. Faye Whelan took the Connacht title in the U15 Girls High Jump with a PB leap of 1.50m and added double silver in the 250m and 80m Hurdles in times of 13.06 and 40.09. Harvey White also added a trio of podium finishes taking the Connacht title in the U17 Boys 100m Hurdles in 17.33 and adding double bronze in the 300m Hurdles in 47.54 and in the High Jump with 1.45m.
Castlegar Athletic Club enjoyed a highly successful outing at the Connacht Outdoor Championships in ATU Sligo. At U14 level, Ciara Murphy emerged as one of the stars of the championships. She opened her campaign with silver in the 200m (28.60) before storming to gold in the 80m, clocking an impressive 10.81 seconds. There was further success in endurance events. Grofu Newell continued his excellent form, claiming gold in the U15 2000m race walk (10:08.31) .Siún Ní Chonaill produced a commanding performance in the U16 1500m to take gold, before adding a silver medal in the 3000m. In the U18 category, Orla Casey delivered one of the performances of the meet, winning 1500m gold in 5:04.08, while Isobelle Conroy added another title for the club with victory in the U19 800m (2:40.86). The standout achievement of the championships came from the club’s star race walker Matthew Newell, who produced a sensational display in the U19 5000m event. His winning time of 20:21.25 shattered the existing Connacht Championship record by almost three minutes and surpassed the previous Irish U20 record. The performance also achieved the qualifying standard for the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
South Galway Athletic Club delivered an outstanding all-round performance at the Connacht Outdoor Championships, with their middle-distance runners were to the fore, led by Luke Walsh, who claimed gold in the U18 boys 800m and added silver in the 1500m after two impressive runs. Anthony Kenny proved one of the stars of the championships, producing a superb performance in the U15 long jump to claim gold and set a new championship record of 5.55m, while Cathal Walsh also struck gold in the U16 boys long jump. South Galway’s throwers made a huge impact, collecting one gold and five silver medals across events. Leading the way was Crioadh Carney, who secured gold in the U14 girls discus. South Galway’s race walkers once again delivered exceptional results, securing one gold and three silver medals. Ciarán Kelleher led the way with gold in the U18 boys 5,000m walk,
Athenry’s stand-out performers were led by Noah Brady (U14), who delivered a superb championship showing. He claimed gold in the 75m hurdles (12.25) and added a second gold in the shot put (12.79m), In the same age group, Owen Gannon secured another gold in the U14 2000m walk (10:47.03), while Eva Carroll impressed in the girls’ events, winning gold in the 75m hurdles (12.24). At U15 level, Harry Melia was in exceptional form, completing a hurdles double with victories in both the 80m hurdles (12.38) and 250m hurdles (35.52). Teammate Dominic Sury also struck gold, winning the 200m sprint and adding a silver medal in the 100m. Tuam AC delivered another outstanding performance at the Connacht Outdoor Championships, finishing with an impressive haul of 6 gold, 6 silver, and 4 bronze medals on a hugely successful day for the club. Leading the way was Aoibheann O’Malley, who produced a superb all-round performance to secure double gold in the U15 100m and high jump, along with a bronze in the long jump. Tuam’s race walkers were once again to the fore, accounting for a significant portion of the club’s gold medals. Emma Howson claimed gold in the U15 2000m walk,Cuisle O’Callaghan won the U16 2000m walk, and Taillte O’Callaghan secured gold in the U18 3000m walk. In the field events, Julia Kostrubiec added to the gold tally with victory in the U15 discus, as well as taking bronze in the shot put.
Clare River Harriers enjoyed a highly successful outing at the Connacht Outdoor Championships, with the club’s race walkers led the way, Ava Dinkin delivered a standout performance to claim gold in the U14 girls’ event, while Keelan O’Grady added to the medal tally with a silver in the U14 boys race.In the field events, Stephen Toner secured gold in the U16 triple jump. Clare River’s middle-distance athletes were in top form, with Rhona Connolly winning a superb double gold, winning both the U19 girls 1500m and 3000m races. Loch Lurgan AC saw Ollie Morris claim a bronze medal in the U14 boys 80m sprint (10.76) , while East Galway AC had a podium finish through Tina Croxford, who secured bronze in the U15 girls high jump,
The Connacht Track and Field Relays were held Monday night last in Dangan rounding off this year’s Juvenile season ahead of the Nationals. Galway City Harriers secured wins in the U18 Boys 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m events, the Mixed U19 and U17 events as well as U14 Girls 4 x 100m relay. South Galway AC won gold in the U18 Girls 4 x 100m Relay, whilst Athenry AC claimed Boys gold in the U16 event. Craughwell AC took gold in the U17 Girls 4 x 100m, and the U16 and U15 equivalents.
International News - Emma Moore competed at the prestigious Golden Spike event in Ostrava Tuesday night last, going in the 800m against the likes of Femke Bol and Audrey Werro. Moore claimed a new personal best of 2.00.71 marking an excellent start to her outdoor season.
Fixtures - The Bullaun 8km takes place this Friday June 19th at 7.30pm , with some entries on Eventmaster still available.
Cover photo credit: Donal Egan
