Primary School Mini Meet 3
The third and final event of the 2024 Primary School Mini Meets took place on Wednesday evening at the Bangor Sportsplex. Under the watchful eye of Alistair Cathcart, Mayor of Ards and North Down Borough Council, around 130 young athletes from local schools took part in a range of events, with some great performances from North Down athletes.
Enjoying the near-perfect weather conditions, P5 athlete Aria Wright (Model) ran strongly to finish 2nd in her heat of the 80 metres (13.7). Aria improved considerably on her last outing over 600m, finishing in 2:43.4 for 6th place in her heat, and broke the 2m barrier for the first time in the long jump (2.04m).
A large contingent of North Down AC athletes competed in the P5 Boys section, with Dominic McClean (St. Comgalls) earning a gold medal in the shot put, with a throw of 6.17m. Dom also contested the long jump, finishing in 4th position with a leap of 2.96m; and ran in the 600m event (2:24.3). Daly Seaton (Glencraig) again found himself on the podium having finished joint-3rd in the 80m (12.1), and 2nd in the 600m (1:58.5). Harrison Mair (St. Comgalls) won his heat in the 80m in a swift 12.5 seconds, finished 3rd in his heat (4th overall) in the 600m in a time of 2:09.6, and jumped an impressive 2.45m in the long jump.
Representing Ballyholme PS, Woodie Cram ran a swift 12.7 seconds in the 80m, before having to withdraw from his remaining events due to injury. There was little to separate Rory & Finn McCullough, with Finn pipping his twin by the narrowest of margins in the 80m event (13.4 to 13.5 seconds). Over 600m Finn finished 4th in his heat in 2:22.0, with Rory finished 8th in his heat, in a time of 2:20.1. Both competed in the long jump, with Rory jumping 2.7m to Finn’s 2.54m. Alex Brennan (Crawfordsburn) made his debut in the series, running strongly in the 80m to finish 3rd in his heat (13.4). Alex also contested the longer 600m distance in a time of 3:15.2, and jumped 2.37m in the long jump.
Our P6 athletes again excelled, with Charlotte Walker (Ballymagee) winning the 600m event in 2:03.1, ahead of Rose Reavy (Towerview) in 2:08.5. Charlotte also ran 12.5 in the 80m to finish 3rd in her heat, while Rose won her heat in the 80m in 12.3, and finished off a good night’s work with a leap of 3.17m to finish 5th in long jump.
Megan Walker (Londonderry) topped the podium in the P6 Girls long jump, with a winning jump of 3.35m. Megan also finished 2nd in her 80m heat (12.1), and was 7th overall in the 600m (2:27.7). Phia Johnston (Crawfordsburn) again showed her prowess in the throwing events, taking home a bronze medal for 3rd place in the shot put (5.93m). Phia also finished 9th overall in the 600m (2:34.6) and jumped 2.65m in the long jump.
Alani Santos (Towerview) ran strongly, posting a time of 12.8 seconds over 80m. A powerful jump of 3.2m saw her narrowly miss out on a medal in long jump, and she finished 7th in shot put with a distance of 4.93m.
Several more athletes from our FUNdamentals training group put in determined performances, with Elena Kelly (Penrhyn Prep) completing the 80m in 13.4, jumping 2.29m in the long jump and sending the shot 5.15m through the air to finish in 5th place.
Isla McQuillan (Sullivan Prep) ran the 80m in 14.0, and earned PBs in the long jump (2.61m) and shot put (4.35m) – both ½ metre improvements. Daisy Ward-Seagrim (Ballyholme) made her first appearance in the series, covering the 80m in 14.3 seconds, jumping 2.05m in the long jump and throwing 3.54m in shot put.
Ben Dumigan (Towerview) enjoyed a successful evening, winning the P6 Boys 80m race in 11.8 seconds, and soaring 4.00m through the air to win the long jump. 2:03.1 seconds was good enough for a silver medal for Ben in the 600m race.
Lucas Mair (Killard House) competed in the 80m (13.2), 600m (2:48.5) and long jump (1.86m); while Rathmore’s Jack Curry ran the 80m in 12.8 seconds, the 600m in 2:22.4 and cleared 2.34m in the long jump. Noah Morrow (Clandeboye PS) covered the 80m dash in 15.4 seconds, the longer 600m in 2:47.8 seconds, and jumped a very commendable 2.22m in the sand pit.
In the P7 Girls events Eve Sloan (Towerview) had a busy evening, earning a bronze medal for her efforts in the shot put (5.99m). Eve also covered the 100m sprint in 15.4 seconds (3rd place in her heat). In both the 600m (2:16.9) and long jump (2.93m) Eve finished in 5th place.
In the P7 Boys, Adam Downey (Towerview) competed in the ‘field’ events – clearing 1.71m in the long jump and earning a silver medal in the shot put (5.19m). Abbey Primary School’s Henry McCallen was next in the shot put, with a throw of 4.22m to claim 3rd place and a well-deserved medal.
Isaac Hall (Glencraig) capped a podium-filled evening for North Down, taking 3rd place in a fast 600m race (2:03.3). Isaac also ran in the 100m event (17.5) and cleared 3m in the long jump to take 4th place (3.01m).
These Mini Meets are only possible thanks to a lot of hard work that often goes unseen. Special thanks go to the organisers of this event, Steven Donegan and Hannah Dunne, and to the scores of volunteers.
Link to David McMeechan’s event photos: https://www.facebook.com/share/c9qZTP6sj7QAcG9d/
