Primary School Mini-Meets – Event 3, 18/06/25
The third and final edition of the Primary School Mini-Meets took place on Wednesday 18 th
June at the Sportsplex. Due to the popularity of the series, entries again had to be closed early, highlighting
the demand for athletics in North Down & Ards.
After an energetic warmup led by Event Sponsors ActiveYouth NI, more than 200 children
from both the surrounding area and further afield were raring to go!
First up on the track from our FUNdamentals training group were the P5 Girls, with Isla Little
and new member Priya Ferguson competing. In the first heat of the evening, Priya
(representing Ballyholme PS) finished her heat in 2nd place in a rapid 12.68 seconds. A few
moments later, Isla (St. Comgall’s PS) won both her heat and the overall gold medal, in
11.37.
Isla then added to her medal haul by controlling the pace and putting in a strong sprint finish
to claim first place (and a big PB) in the 600m event, in a time of 2.16:63.
In the sandpit Isla was forced to settle for 4th place – narrowly missing out on a medal with a
jump of 2.46m. Taking home a medal of her own however was Priya – taking the top spot on
the podium with a huge leap of 2.96m. In their final event of the evening Isla picked up
another medal – this time bronze with a throw of 4.32m, with Priya also throwing 3.30m. A
terrific showing by our P5 Girls!
The P5 Boys were up next. Ezra Blanc (13.86 secs – Ballyholme PS), Matthew Belshaw
(14.15 – Kilmaine PS) and Josh Beckett (14.20 – Crawfordsburn) all took part in the 80m
sprint, with all 3 returning times much quicker than in the May event.
Josh then competed in the 600m event, finishing just outside his PB in 2.47:72. In the long
jump, Ezra showed that hard work pays off; some extra practice after training sessions led to
a PB with a jump of 2.91m – just 4cm away from a medal! Josh jumped 1.92m, earning
another PB. All three boys took part in the shot put – Josh finishing high up the rankings with
a throw of 4.84m, with Matthew not far behind him (4.58m), and Ezra making his debut in the
event (4.17m).
Three P6 Girls competed in the event, with little to separate them in the 80m sprint. Holly
Shields (Ballyholme PS) crossed the line in 14.0 seconds, closely followed by Emily Jordan
(14.84 – Towerview PS) with Mya Ferguson (Rathmore PS) separating them in 14.54 secs.
In the 600m race Mya ran a strong race, finishing in a competitive time of 2.33:16; with Emily
coming home in 2.54:52. In the sandpit there was just a hand’s width between the trio –
Holly (2.39m) narrowly finishing ahead of Mya (2.32m) and Emily, who jumped a nearly
50cm PB in 2.30m!
Holly saved her best for last, taking home the bronze medal for shot put, with a throw of
5.16m!
Four P6 Boys were competing. In the 80m sprint, Woodie Cram (12.38 secs – Ballyholme
PS), Mason McPeake (12.62 – Kilmaine PS) and Jackson Ferguson (12.86 – Rathmore PS)
all ran strongly. Jackson (2.17:20) and Mason (2.21:68) both competed well in the 600m
event.
In the long jump Woodie also showed the benefit of a few extra practice sessions, setting a
40cm PB to jump 3.42m and taking the gold medal in the process. Dominic McClean (St.
Comgall’s PS) jumped 3.01m to narrowly miss out on a medal, with Jackson (2.77m) and
Mason (2.69m) also jumping. Dominic then made up for falling just short in the sandpit by
taking gold in the shot put with a mighty 6.40m throw. Mason came in 4th place with a throw
of 5.57m, with Jackson rounding off a terrific series for the FUNdamentals group – getting a
top 10 finish with 4.00m.
Representing the club’s Junior Track & Field section were Phia Johnston (Crawfordsburn
PS), Robert McCrea (Clandeboye PS) and Sam Beattie (Ballyholme PS). Phia ran a 3
second PB in the 600m race, finishing in 2.28:40, threw 6.24m in the shot put to finish in 4th
place, and then went one better to claim the bronze medal in long jump – 3.26m.
Robert continued his PB streak over 100m, taking more than half a second of his previous
best to finish in 16.42 secs. Sam ran bravely to claim 3rd place overall in a time of 14.33 –
again this was another big PB. Sam also ran in the 600m race (2.31:30).
There was little between Robert (6th place, 3.33m) and Sam (4th , 3.57m) in the long jump;
before Sam capped off his evening’s work with silver medal in the shot put (6.59m).
Junior Middle Distance & Others
In the P5 boys 80m, Casey Seaton (Glencraig PS) finished in 12.61 seconds and Thomas
Close (St Comgall’s PS) finished in 13.5 seconds. In the 600m Casey made it three out of
three by finishing first once again in 1.56.72, whilst Thomas was 7th in 2.17.73. In the long
jump Casey was 10th (2.72m) and Thomas was 12th (2.61m).
In the P6 boys 80m, Harrison Mair (St Comgall’s PS) finished second overall in 11.11
seconds, whilst Daly Seaton (Glencraig PS) ran 11.88 seconds. In the 600m Daly was 1st
once again in 1.53.12, whilst Harrison was 3rd in 1.56.38. In the long jump Daly was 5th
(3.01m) and Harrison was 8th (2.85m) and finally in the shot put, Harrison was 11th with a
throw of 3.79m and Daly was 12th with the same distance.
In the P7 girls, Megan Walker (Londonderry PS) finished the 100m in 14.84 seconds, whilst
Isla McQuillan (Sullivan Upper Prep) finished in 15.24 seconds and Molly Rankin (Towerview
PS) in 15.91 seconds. Molly was 4th in the 600m in 2.09.74, whilst Megan was 7th (2.16.30)
and Isla 8th (2.27.19). In the long jump Megan was 5th (3.15m), Isla 10th (3m) and Molly 12th
(2.91m). Finally in the shot put Isla was 8th (5.41m) and Megan was 14 th (4.74m).
In the P7 boys, Ben Dumigan of Towerview picked up two silver medals by finishing the
100m in 13.84 seconds and coming second in the long jump with a jump of 3.64m. Casper
Pike (Ballyholme PS) picked up a gold medal by winning the shot put for the second time in
a row with a throw of 7.32m. Casper also took part in the 600m, finishing 6th in 2.01.45, the
long jump where he was 7th with a jump of 3.19m and the 100m, finishing in 16.51 seconds.
The final medal winner of the evening was Robin Anderson (Grange PS) who was 2nd in the
600m in 1.49.72 narrowly missing out on first place. Also competing were: Eric Pinkett
(Bangor Central PS), who ran the 100m in 15.9 seconds and was 5th in the 600m (2.00.97);
Reuben Dunne (Towerview PS), who ran the 100m in 15.08 seconds was 5th in the long jump
(3.43m),10th in the shot put (4.71m) and 12th in the 600m (2.37.66) and; Lucas Mair (Killard
House) who ran the 100m in 19.22 seconds, was 12th in shot put (3.24m), 13th in the 600m
(2.54.50) and 14th in the long jump (1.82m).
The loudest cheers of the night were reserved for two athletes who took part in a new event
for the Mini Meets, which offers para athletes the opportunity to get involved in the series.
Chloe Rankin and Bethany Watson participated, accompanied by a mum and a big sister.
Following some on-field coaching in throws, where Bethany and Chloe got to play with and
throw balls, shots and javelins, they took to the track along with family and a few coaches
from ActiveYouth NI and North Down AC’s FUNdamentals group, to take part in an 80m fun
run.
Our thanks as ever goes to Joni and Lisa from ActiveYouth NI – both for their vision and help
in creating the event for our para athletes, and for their involvement and sponsorship of the
series! Thanks also to the many volunteers – ably led by Steven Donegan – without whom
these Mini Meets could not happen. Steven’s daughter, Sara (Ballyholme PS), was once
again in action, finishing the P5 80m in 14.79 seconds, jumping 1.55m in the long jump and
throwing the shot put 3.78m.
Daly Seaton 1st and Harrison Mair 3rd in the P6 600m
Bethany Watson
pc Steven Donegan photography
Lots more of Steven’s photographs and full results on the public North Down AC Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=northdownathleticclub&set=a.1210116714242770
Lisburn Half Marathon & 10k, 18/06/25
Several North Down AC athletes headed to Lisburn on a warm, muggy June evening for the annual half marathon, 10k and junior events. The cloud cover parted as the half marathon runners set off on their route out of the city, past Royal Down Racecourse and through the former Maze Prison site before an uphill climb to the the finish line at the Leisure Centre.
Melissa Eccles was the first of the club’s half marathoners, finishing in 50th place overall out of over 1000 finishers, and 4th female in 1:27:44. Donald Smith made a rare appearance at a “shorter distance” race and set a new PB of 1:36:27. Matt Ormesher was close behind in 1:37:31 followed by Christopher Ballentine 1:40:58, John Ferguson 1:57:39, Richard Garrad 2:02:50 and Michael Stevenson 2:05:36. Paula Simpson enjoyed the photo opportunities on her birthday settling for a more leisurely 2:13:56.
More than 1350 runners tackled the shorter 10k route with Jamie Toole finishing 25th in 37:26,. Sarah Connolly continued her return to racing fitness in 46:26 followed by James Gage 55:34. Nicole Bell took 1000th place in 1:05:08 and Rachel Anderson rounded off the NDAC 10k finishers in 1:12:45.
Caitlyn Dickenson won the fun run.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
LVAC Fab 5, 19/06/25
The fourth and penultimate Fab Five meeting took place on a sunny Thursday evening at the
Mary Peters track in Belfast. A good number of club members took part with some
impressive results.
In the u12 boys’ 100m, Harrison Mair was 3rd in race 1 in a time of 15.19. Harrison then went
on to win a silver medal in the 600m, finishing in 1.54.40. It was a bronze medal for Isaac
Hall in the u14 boys’ 800m in 2.21.56
In the u16 girls’ events Caoimhe Fenlon had a busy evening, finishing 4th in race 2 of the
100m in 14.12, 4th in the shot put with a throw of 8.05m and finally picking up a bronze medal
in the high jump, with a jump of 1.40m. Emma Reid’s highly successful season continued as
she won the shot put with a PB throw of 10.86m. Eva Patton picked up a silver medal in the
100m with a run of 13.23 and a bronze medal in the shot put with a throw of 8.94m. In the
800m, Caitlyn Dickenson was 7th in 2.33.32, whilst Jessica Liddle was 4th in the high jump,
also jumping 1.40m, and Maisie Christie was 1st in race 2 of the 100m in 13.70.
In the u16 boys, Edan Polley was 2nd in race 1 of the 100m in 12.45. Ethan
Constable’s return to competition after some lengthy injuries continued to go well with a
silver medal in the 800m, which he ran in 2:06.51.
In the u18 and senior women’s events, Niamh Isles was 4th in race 1 of the 100m in 14.4,
whilst in the triple jump, Nyla Hughes was 5th (3rd u18 girl), with a jump of 8.98m. In the u18
and senior men’s events, Conor Adair was 5th in race 4 of the 100m in 11.61. Jamie Coulter-Smyth,
recently back from New Zealand, was 2nd in the 800m in 2.02.00. Also running were Luke McDowell
(9th in 2.03.35) and Dean Varley (12th in 2.04.09).
Hill & Dale Race 10, Drinahilly 20/06/25
Tailteann Games, Carlow 21/06/25
**AWAITING RESULTS **