Weekend Report
Date: 8/3/09
It was a fantastic weekend for Togher athletes with Marian Andrews reaching the semi final of the 400m at the European Indoor T&F championships in Turin, Douglas CS winning their first ever All-Ireland Schools team title and two Togher athletes gaining selection on the Irish Schools Cross-Country team.
At the European Indoors in Italy Marian Andrews was drawn in a difficult heat but ran an outstanding race coming 3rd in a new PB of 53.94. Marian then took part in the semi final on the same day and ran another superb race coming 4th in another PB of 53.92 and just narrowly missing out on qualification for the final. This was however a superb championship for Marian and she now looks forward to an exciting outdoor season.
Togher athletes travelled in force to the University of Ulster Jordanstown for the All-Ireland Schools & University Cross-Country championships held on Saturday. The course was relatively flat with some mucky patches but got more testing as the day went on. Douglas CS travelled to the championships being the only boy’s school in the country to have three teams qualified for the event.
First into action were the junior boys racing over 3,500m. Ian Hartnett representing Colaiste Daibhead was the star of the show here running his best ever race to date. Ian showed no fear in his first ever All-Ireland Schools championships and went with the fast early pace. He battled well throughout and eventually finished a superb 6th and thus gaining a place on the Irish team for the Schools International Cross-Country being held in Wales on March 28th. This was a remarkable achievement for Ian considering he only joined the club last September. Behind Ian, the Douglas CS team was battling hard and was led home by a superb run from Eoin Bourke in 30th place. He was backed up well with great runs from Billy Murphy, John Durcan and Michael McLaughlin and the team took 7th place in the team contest. No doubt this team will be battling for medal in the inter race in two years time.
Next up were the inter boys team who were seeking the schools first ever team title in any age group. This team is a very special group of guys and the fight and determination portrayed by this team was something special to witness. Racing over 5000m the team was to have a real battle with Knockbeg College Carlow. Patrick Coleman only home from Australia two days ago epitomized the determination of this team. Patrick had spent 20 hours travelling home from Australia on Wednesday and then travelled to Belfast and raced superbly to take 10th place and a place on the Irish team as two of the top 10 finishers were over age. Behind Patrick, Peter Hanrahan had a fine run coming 13th and captain Cullen Lynch a superb 30th. The performance of the day came from Ian Tobin who had been ill for most of January and had little training done coming into this race. Ian showed true guts and determination in picking his way through the field and finishing an outstanding 34th and thus winning the team title for Douglas CS. Congratulations also to Mark Seacy, Emmet Bracken, Andrew O’ Keeffe and Conor Foley on their great performances also. Well-done lads on a superb win.
The senior boys race was held over 6,500m and here the Douglas CS lads battled bravely to a 7th place finish. The team were led home by Adam Kelleher in 41st place and other fine runs came from Brian Murray, Alan O’ Brien and Richard Quirke.
Finally the University championships took place over 8000m. The club had several athletes running for UCC and CIT who finished 6th and 8th respectively in the team contest. Peter Fennell had a fine run coming home in 32nd place and other great runs came from Dan Weaver, Donal Coakley and Mark Dineen.
A fantastic day for the club at these championships and all the athletes really enjoyed the trip home with plenty of craic and the songs were flowing. A special thanks to all the athletes on their exemplary behavior over the weekend and to Aidan Hartnett for his entertainment on the bus on the way home. It is a pleasure to be involved with such a special group of athletes. The future looks bright for the club.
Update
More good news from Turin at the European Indoor T&F championships where Marian Andrews led the Irish team to a 4th place finish in the womens 4*400m relay and Peter Hanrahan received a late call up to the Irish Schools Cross-Country team.
In Turin at the European Indoor T&F championships Marian Andrews put in a superb performance in the 4*400m relay event running the opening leg for the team. The Irish team were in 3rd place for most of the race and were narrowly beaten by Belarus for the bronze medals. Marian had an oustanding championship running two personal bests during the 400m rounds.
Peter Hanrahan also received some great news when he was called up to the Irish Schools Cross-Country team. This was great news for the club as Peter now joins Patrick Coleman and Ian Hartnett on the Irish team for the Schools International Cross-Country event being held on March 28th in Wales. Congratulations to all three on their selections.
Photos from the All Irelands.
It was a fantastic weekend for Togher athletes with Marian Andrews reaching the semi final of the 400m at the European Indoor T&F championships in Turin, Douglas CS winning their first ever All-Ireland Schools team title and two Togher athletes gaining selection on the Irish Schools Cross-Country team.
At the European Indoors in Italy Marian Andrews was drawn in a difficult heat but ran an outstanding race coming 3rd in a new PB of 53.94. Marian then took part in the semi final on the same day and ran another superb race coming 4th in another PB of 53.92 and just narrowly missing out on qualification for the final. This was however a superb championship for Marian and she now looks forward to an exciting outdoor season.
Togher athletes travelled in force to the University of Ulster Jordanstown for the All-Ireland Schools & University Cross-Country championships held on Saturday. The course was relatively flat with some mucky patches but got more testing as the day went on. Douglas CS travelled to the championships being the only boy’s school in the country to have three teams qualified for the event.
First into action were the junior boys racing over 3,500m. Ian Hartnett representing Colaiste Daibhead was the star of the show here running his best ever race to date. Ian showed no fear in his first ever All-Ireland Schools championships and went with the fast early pace. He battled well throughout and eventually finished a superb 6th and thus gaining a place on the Irish team for the Schools International Cross-Country being held in Wales on March 28th. This was a remarkable achievement for Ian considering he only joined the club last September. Behind Ian, the Douglas CS team was battling hard and was led home by a superb run from Eoin Bourke in 30th place. He was backed up well with great runs from Billy Murphy, John Durcan and Michael McLaughlin and the team took 7th place in the team contest. No doubt this team will be battling for medal in the inter race in two years time.
Next up were the inter boys team who were seeking the schools first ever team title in any age group. This team is a very special group of guys and the fight and determination portrayed by this team was something special to witness. Racing over 5000m the team was to have a real battle with Knockbeg College Carlow. Patrick Coleman only home from Australia two days ago epitomized the determination of this team. Patrick had spent 20 hours travelling home from Australia on Wednesday and then travelled to Belfast and raced superbly to take 10th place and a place on the Irish team as two of the top 10 finishers were over age. Behind Patrick, Peter Hanrahan had a fine run coming 13th and captain Cullen Lynch a superb 30th. The performance of the day came from Ian Tobin who had been ill for most of January and had little training done coming into this race. Ian showed true guts and determination in picking his way through the field and finishing an outstanding 34th and thus winning the team title for Douglas CS. Congratulations also to Mark Seacy, Emmet Bracken, Andrew O’ Keeffe and Conor Foley on their great performances also. Well-done lads on a superb win.
The senior boys race was held over 6,500m and here the Douglas CS lads battled bravely to a 7th place finish. The team were led home by Adam Kelleher in 41st place and other fine runs came from Brian Murray, Alan O’ Brien and Richard Quirke.
Finally the University championships took place over 8000m. The club had several athletes running for UCC and CIT who finished 6th and 8th respectively in the team contest. Peter Fennell had a fine run coming home in 32nd place and other great runs came from Dan Weaver, Donal Coakley and Mark Dineen.
A fantastic day for the club at these championships and all the athletes really enjoyed the trip home with plenty of craic and the songs were flowing. A special thanks to all the athletes on their exemplary behavior over the weekend and to Aidan Hartnett for his entertainment on the bus on the way home. It is a pleasure to be involved with such a special group of athletes. The future looks bright for the club.
Update
More good news from Turin at the European Indoor T&F championships where Marian Andrews led the Irish team to a 4th place finish in the womens 4*400m relay and Peter Hanrahan received a late call up to the Irish Schools Cross-Country team.
In Turin at the European Indoor T&F championships Marian Andrews put in a superb performance in the 4*400m relay event running the opening leg for the team. The Irish team were in 3rd place for most of the race and were narrowly beaten by Belarus for the bronze medals. Marian had an oustanding championship running two personal bests during the 400m rounds.
Peter Hanrahan also received some great news when he was called up to the Irish Schools Cross-Country team. This was great news for the club as Peter now joins Patrick Coleman and Ian Hartnett on the Irish team for the Schools International Cross-Country event being held on March 28th in Wales. Congratulations to all three on their selections.
Photos from the All Irelands.
