The second round of the Northern Ireland Youth League took place at the Mary Peters Track last Saturday, with North Down athletes taking part and putting in some great performances. The day got underway with Holly Blease bravely taking part in a senior 3,000 metre race that was not part of the main competition. She was rewarded by being the first female finisher and with a PB of 11.44.
The actual competition got underway with the under 13 girls’ 75 metre hurdle race, where Caoimhe Fenlon began what was to be a good day for her by winning. Then came the 100 metre races. In the under 13 boys’ event, Ethan Constable displayed a great return to form by finishing 3rd in the A race. Charlie Palmer also ran well to finish 4th in the B race. However, Niamh Fenlon and Anna Cousins had even better runs in the under 17 girls’ event, finishing 1st in the A and B races respectively.
Next on the track were the 1,500 metre races. In the under 15 boys’ event Aodhan Keag ran through the pain to finish 5th in the A race, whilst Alex Downey timed his run perfectly to win the B race. In the under 17 girls’ event, Mac Eager put in a typical strong performance to finish 5th in the A race, whilst Lucy Cheatley (running a flat race for once) finished 2nd in the B race. The under 13 girls ran 1,200 metres with Caitlyn Dickenson working hard to finish 7th in the A race, and Cadey Moore having a good debut by finishing 2nd in the B race.
Next up were the 200m races. Anna Moran finished 4th in the under 15 girls’ event, whilst Ryan Hamilton put in a storming run to win the under 15 boys’ race. The North Down athletes kept up their speed in the under 17 boys’ 200, with Joshua Chacko and Daniel Constable winning the A and B races respectively. The 800 metre races followed. In the under 13 boys’ race Bailey Duncan led most of the way round before being pipped at the post to finish 2nd in the A race. Meanwhile, James Blease finished 4th in the B race.
In the under 15 girls’ 800, Lauren Cheatley just missed out on 2nd place in the A race, whilst Eimear Mulligan was 1st in the B race. The track events finished with the relays, where the under 13 boys (James Blease, Charlie Palmer, Bailey Duncan and Ethan Constable) finished 2nd, the under 15 girls (Lauren Cheatley, Hollie Blease, Eimear Mulligan and Anna Moran) finished 3rd and the under 17 girls (Niamh Fenlon, Tabitha Moran, Lucy Dawe and Anna Cousins) and under 17 boys (Sam Andrews, Joshua Chacko, Daniel Constable and Jamie Moffett) both had great races to finish 1st.
There was equal success in the field events, with Caoimhe Fenlon winning both the under 13 girls’ shot putt and javelin. In the under 13 boys’ long jump, Ethan Constable was the 2nd A competitor, whilst Charlie Palmer was 4th B competitor.
Then in the under 15 girls’ high jump, Alexia Hughes was the 2nd A competitor, whilst Holly Blease was the 4th B competitor. In the under 15 boys’ javelin competition, Daniel Rayner was 4th. There was a lot of activity in the under 17 girls’ field events, with Anna Cousins having a great day. She won the triple jump and came first in the discus B competition with a PB. The A discus competition was won by another of the club’s outstanding athletes, Niamh Fenlon. Niamh also came 3rd in the high jump (A competitor), whilst Tabitha Moran was also 3rd as the B competitor.
Finally, Fraser Fulton showed his strength by coming 2nd in both the under 17 boys’ javelin and shot putt, whilst Daniel Constable was 2nd in the under 17 boys’ long jump. Mention must also go to Charlie Lawden who was taking part in the senior javelin competition, which he won. He threw four times, getting a PB every time and finishing with a throw of 47.96m with a 800g javelin.