North Down athletes turned in impressive performances at the Irish National Indoor meet at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, 7-8th Feb. Ben Reynolds hogged the limelight with pbs and club records at 60m hurdles and long jump ending as Irish Champion at hurdles and with a bronze at long jump as third best Irish athlete. His hurdles time of 8.04 secs was massive especially as he was in lane 1 with an empty lane next to him. His final two jumps were pbs, the last one of 6.85m. Kathy Hetherington and Jeremy Harper both had bronze medals in their respective Senior shots. Mark Patterson won his 800m heat and was 5th in the final. On the downside Laura Loughlinhad what looked a serious injury in the triple jump and we can only hope she gets through it. Laura tore a cruciate ligament a year and a half ago, undergoing an operation and a huge amount of rehab. She has trained rigorously this winter and has been in the form of her life. Stay positive Laura.Part 1 of the Northern Ireland and Ulster Juvenile Championships also took place at the Odyssey. With a clearance of 1.50m, Kerrie Craig was joint Ulster U17 high jump champion along with Louise Harvey of Donegal. Also at U17, Another medal went to Beth Wilson who was 3rd at U15 shot. Matthew Hamilton won his heat and was 4th in the final. Glen Willis made the U15 800m final and was 5th.
New club indoor records over the weekend went to Ben Reynolds (60mH and LJ, Senior & U20), Kim Shaw (400m Sn & U20), Mark Patterson 800m U20) and Glen Willis (800m U15). Kathy”s shot was a pb.
In the Primary School Challenge the North Down team which has been dominant was split into North Down and Bangor, North Down finishing first and Bangor third.