Galway Clubs Shine in Juvenile Pairs Competition
Galway’s young athletes delivered an impressive medal haul at the recent National Juvenile Children’s Games and U12 Championships, with clubs from across the county featuring prominently in the nominated pairs events.
Teams from Athenry, Craughwell, Galway City Harriers, Castlegar, Tuam and South Galway all reached the podium, underlining the depth of emerging talent in the region.
Athenry AC claimed one of Galway’s standout successes, securing gold in the Boys U9 Long Jump pairs. Daithí Nilan and Ben Crimmins combined effectively to achieve a winning total of 6.67m, taking the top step of the podium.
Galway City Harriers enjoyed a particularly strong championships via Gold in the Girls U9 300m pairs from Sophie Peoples and Caoimhe Coady, silver in the Boys U11 600m pairs, James Langan and Eoin Devitt and bronze in the Girls U10 500m pairs from Amy Devitt and Sienna Morrissey.
Craughwell AC also featured among the medals in the sprint events. Evan O’Flynn and Sam Kiely secured silver in the Boys U9 60m pairs, with a combined 19.37 seconds.
South Galway AC also secured medals winning silver in the Girls U10 60m pairs via Maeve Linnane and Jessica Brennan and bronze in the Boys U11 600m pairs from Tadgh McCarthy and Benjamin O’Connor.
Castlegar AC enjoyed a productive championship, taking home two silver medals in the sprints, via the Boys U10 60m pair of Mason Calvey and Fionn O’Donnell and the Girls U11 60m pair of Amelia Farragher and Cassi Healy.
Tuam AC added to the county’s success in the field events, winning silver in the Girls U11 Long Jump pairs via Anabelle Heneghan and Caoimhe Murphy.
Athenry AC provided one of Galway’s standout U12 performances as Beth O’Kane claimed gold in the Girls U12 Shot Putt. Her winning throw of 9.41 metres secured top spot and underlined Athenry’s continued strength in the field events.
Galway City Harriers enjoyed major success on the track, winning gold in the Boys U11 4x100m relay, as did South Galway AC who captured gold in the Girls U10 4x100m relay.
Overall, Galway clubs showed impressive depth across both track and field, with multiple clubs contributing to the medal tally and strong performances across age groups.
National Track and Field League
Three Galway teams competed in the First Round of the National Track and Field League on Saturday last.
The Galway women’s team comfortably qualified for the National League Track and Field Finals at Morton Stadium, Santry on Sunday, 9th August, following an excellent round one.
On the day for the ladies, there were 5 wins - Nicole Walsh in the 400m, Lauren Kilduff in the 400m Hurdles, Holly Shaughnessy in the 1500m Walk, gold in the 4x100m relay (Nicole Quirke, Sinead Treacy, Laura Ann Costello and Emma O'Donovan) and in the 4x400m relay (Sinead Treacy, Nicole Walsh, Elisa Jamie Stapleton and Danielle Moynihan).
The Galway Men’s Senior Track and Field team produced a stellar performance at the weekend’s Athletics Ireland National League Preliminary Round securing a brilliant second-place finish overall to comfortably qualify for the upcoming National Finals.
The Galway squad amassed an outstanding total score of 105 points with the track athletes securing a trio of individual victories, claiming the maximum 9 points in each event.
Reakwon Lucciano (West Coast AC) dominated the field in the 200m sprint, crossing the line in first place. In the distance events, Rian Collins (Athenry AC) put in a masterful performance to win the gruelling 5000m, while Abaas Adam Edris (West Coast AC) powered his way to victory in the 3000m Steeplechase.
Galway City Harriers Men’s team competed in the Club section and placed a solid tenth team overall, making the Division One Final in the process.
Impressing on the day were Adill Prochownik in the Pole Vault clearing 2.90m and claiming 4th overall, and 3rd in the 400m Hurdles. Shane McGovern clipped another chunk off his 400m best when running a brilliant 49.56 and Barry Murphy was the ultimate team player contributing points across four events - the 800m, the 5000m, Discus and 4x400m Relay.
Tailteann Games
The Interprovincial Schools competition took place in Carlow last weekend and among the Galway athletes competing for Connacht were impressive performances via Claudia Coyle, second in the 1500m Steeplechase, Rachel Warde 2nd over the 80m Hurdles, Isabella Kearney and Niamh Breathnach medalling in the Hammer and Javelin. Also, the likes of Kevin Sangodele placed 4th place overall in the Triple jump, Sarah Donald took a brilliant bronze along with the 4x300m relay as well, finishing 6th in the 200m and Elly Turner and Keilah Murray finished well up in the 3000m.
Fixtures
This weekend the National Juvenile Track and Field Championships continue in Tullamore with two days of competition for U13-19s.
The Connacht Junior, Senior and Masters Track and Field Championships will take place on Wednesday 15th July in Claremorris. (7pm-9pm).
