Louth Cross Country Championships 2020 – Even ages and Intermediate
Drogheda & District played host to Day 1 of the Louth County Cross Country Championships on Sunday last. Some of the cross country stalwarts may have described the conditions as perfect, but to the juveniles competing it was nothing short of torrential rain and howling winds. Nevertheless it didn’t dampen the spirits of the 34 Glenmore juvenile athletes who made their way from the Cooley peninsula to compete.
[Photos from the event on Louth Athletics FB page. Full results here ]
The juvenile races kicked off with the older age groups.
Ava Brady, Nora Mc Bride and Sarah Mallon competed in the U16 girls 4000m race in really wet and windy conditions. All athletes ran extremely well in these challenging conditions with Nora leading the Glenmore team to the finish line, followed by Ava and Sarah. James Dunne raced in the U16 boys 4000m. Again conditions were very tough but he had a strong finish in 7th position.
Next up were the brave u10 girls who ran through torrential rain. Maeve Walsh put in a stormer of a run, leading the field for most of the 800m. She was overtaken with about 200m to go but finished strongly in 2nd place. Sarah Devane had a terrific run in her 1st cross country event to also claim a top 10 position. They were followed home by Lexi McDermott & Daisy Mae Caldwell to claim a 3rd place team prize with Layla Byrne, Niamh Cranny & Aisling Keenan also running well in their 1st cross county race.
Next up was the turn of the 16 strong Glenmore u10 boys. Noah Lindholm put in a great performance in his 1st ever race for the club to lead the team home and finish in 5th place. Oisin Gallagher ran the race of his life to finish in the top 10. He was closely followed home by Ethan Nichols and Jonah Moore who together claimed 1st team prize. Well done to Conall Breen, Toby Fleming, Darragh Ryan, Conor McMoreland, Finn Gleave, Jack Gleave, Gerard Feeley, James Connolly, Ryan McCann, Darragh Clarke, Jay Carolan & Phoenix Ryder all of whom ran up an age group to compete, in what c was the first race for many.
The girls u12 race proved to be hugely competitive around the 2000m course. Positions changed throughout the race amongst the Glenmore girls but in the end it was Molly Anne Moore who finished strongly to take 8th place and together with Holly McCann, Sarah Duffy and Lucy Fleming they claimed a well earned 3rd place team medal. Sophie Cumiskey and Clīodhna Hannify also put in a great race in what was very difficult conditions.
Tiarnàn Hannify lined out in the U14 boys 3000m race in a very fast field of athletes. He ran a fantastic race and had a really strong finish.
Earlier in the day it was the turn of the senior members of the club in the novice race. Wearing the green singlet for the ladies team were Grainne Harnett, Dara Fagan, Katie Mallon, Marie Louise McGovern, Rose White, Anita Roddy and Ursula Noone.
The men’s team consisted of Kevin Harnett, Kenneth Mc Bride, Paul Savage, Mattias Lindholm, Peter Noone, Thomas McBride and PJ Hynes.
Glenmore AC would like to extend a huge congratulations to both Drogheda & District AC and Louth Athletics for hosting such a well run, successful day in these difficult times. It was a joy to all – both athletes and parents – to be back competing. The club is looking forward to hosting Day 2 of the County Cross Country Championships in Bellurgan Park on Sunday 11th October.
