NI & Ulster Indoor Age Groups
Almost 30 of our junior track & field athletes made the trip to Dublin on Sat 23rd & Sun 24th February, for the NI & Ulster Indoor Age Group Championships that took place at the National Indoor Arena, in Abbottstown resulting in a very healthy 8 gold, 6 silver & 5 bronze medals.
Kate Fenlon & Samuel Anderson were our youngest medalists, in the U13 category. Kate was an emphatic winner of the shot (2kg), throwing 11.09m to take gold by over a meter while Samuel took silver in the high jump with a best clearance of 1.10m as well as 9th in the long jump with 3.46m & 7th in his 60m heat in 9.66s.
At U14 level, talented all-rounder, Stephanie Bell had a busy weekend,claiming bronze in the 60m in a time of 8.65s, bronze in the shot (2kg) with a throw of 9.94m and finally 4th in the long jump with a leap of 4.38m. Hannah Lawden also won a bronze in the high jump with a best clearance of 1.20m while the U14 Girls’ team finished the day by taking gold in the 4x200m relay.
Niamh Fenlon is another strong multi-eventer who won gold in the U15 long jump with a best effort of 4.86m, silver in the 60mH in 9.92s & 4th in the 60m in 8.44s. Team mateLucy Kerr, took gold in the 60m in 8.28s followed by 3rd in the 60mH in 10.31s. Beth Hammond also claimed gold by throwing 10.79m to win the U15 shot (2.72kg). The U15 Girls’ team also took silver in the 4x200m relay.
In her first competition after moving down to sprints from middle distance, Megan Briggs took a well deserved bronze in the U17 200m with a time of 27.82s.
At U18 level, Murphy Miller successfully swapped the mud of the cross-country for the bounce of the boards and produced a dominant display in the 800m, taking gold in 2:17.49.
Rachel McCann also produced some dominant running to complete a demanding 200m/400m double as she struck U19 gold in 25.66 & 58.67s respectively while her training partner, Aimee Stitt, took silver in both races with times of 27.44s & 64.56s.
Other results were as follows:
U12s
Anna Moran was 5th in her 60m heat in 10.17s & 14th in the long jump with 3.15m
Sam Doyle was 5th in his 60m heat in 9.93s, 20th in the 600m in 2:07.11 & 19th in the long jump with 2.80m
Isaac Dunne was 10th in his 600m in 1:59.20 & 16th in the long jump with 3.22m
The Boys’ 4x200m relay team finished 4th
U13s
Kate Fenlon was 5th in the high jump with 1.15m
Seb Yates was 6th in the 60m in 9.07s & 11th i the 600m in 1:57.05
The Boys’ 4x200m relay team finished 4th
U14s
Anna Cousins was 5th in the 60m & 60mH in 8.75s (8.66 heat), & 10.98s (10.83 heat) respectively & 6th in the shot (2kg) with 7.95m
Emma Stranaghan was 7th in the 60m in 8.94s (8.85 heat), 6th in the 60mH in 11.03s & 11th in the long jump with 3.80m
Hollie McGuigan was 8th in the 60m in 9.11s (8.97 heat), 8th in the 60mH in 12.26s (10.71 heat) & 8th long jump with 3.94m
Hannah Lawden was 4th in her 60mH heat in 13.01s & 8th in the shot (2kg) with 6.69m
Naomi Dunne was 7th in the 60m 9.70s & 18th 800m 2:49.65
Harry Jackson was 7th in the 60m in 9.37s (9.23 heat), 4th in his 60mH heat in 12.48 & 6th in the long jump with 3.64m§
U15s
Lucy Kerr was 9th in the shot (2.72kg) with 6.67m
Morgan Wilson was 13th in the 800m in 3:05.11
Poppy Dann was 7th in the 60m in 8.72s & 4th in the long jump with 4.31m
Benjamin Graham was 4th in the 60m in 8.03s
Charlie Lawden was 4th in the shot (3kg) with 9.42m
The Boys’ 4x200m relay finished 5th
U16s
Erin Kennedy was 7th in the 60m in 8.76s & 4th in the shot (3kg) with 10.59m
U18s
Bryanna Catney was 4th in the 800m in 2:41.31 & 4th in the 1500m in 5:28.10
Rachel Gillespie was 4th in her 400m heat in 68.06
For some of our fundamentals group it was a first foray into track racing, with our under 12 boys team taking 4th in the 4 x 200m relay. We hope they enjoyed the experience and look forward to seeing them on the big stage again in the near future.
Photo credits – John T Glover & Michael Roberts