The sun comes out as Newcastle AC shine at the NI and Ulster Track and Field U9-U13 Championships.
by PJ McCrickard
It was an early start on Saturday morning for the 27 young athletes and their parents from Newcastle AC, as they headed south to the small Cavan town of Shercock to perform in the clubs first major junior track and field event.
All the young athletes have been working with their coaches tirelessly since the team trials were held back in early May and their efforts were not in vain as all the hard work and extra training sessions in good weather and bad, paid dividends. The team came home with 1 gold, 1 silver and 6 bronze medals in what turned out to be a very competitive NI and Ulster Championship. With athletes travelling from all over Ulster trying to achieve qualification for the All Ireland Championship this really was a quality event and one that is held in the highest regards in the athletics calendar.
The coaches who travelled with the team had been working hard recently trying to hone the techniques needed for relays, sprints, middle distance, ball throw and shot putt. The performances produced by the team on the day most definitely exceeded the coaches expectations.
Was it the midnight express or the U10 girls relay team?
The day started with the 4 x 100m relays. A lot of practice over the weeks was put into the baton change techniques and when you saw this hard work put to the test it was like poetry in motion. There was no better example of this than from the U10 girls who after 4 seamless baton changes and a huge effort from all 4 girls came home in 3rd place and rightly took their place on the podium.
The first leg of this relay was run by Amy McCrickard who done her job brilliantly and held her own over the 100m straight which gave the team a great start handing the baton over to the ever improving Hannah Carson who like Amy has only been running for less than a year. Hannah ran a blistering 2nd leg around the bend to hand over to the “pocket rocket” who is Eve Kenneally. Eve must surely take her talent from her uncle Deon (or is it from her Mum?) No one is quite sure but wherever she gets it from its clear Eve really is a fantastic talent in her own right. They had pulled a gap clear in 3rd place when Eve handed the baton to the flying Kate McCauley who pushed hard on the final bend and came down the home straight in a very tight finish, but Kate was never going to be caught. With a bronze medal now in the bag this result had got the team off the ground in the best possible way.
Kate then went on to collect another 2 medals. She picked up a silver medal in the long jump with 3 fantastic jumps, and also won another bronze medal in the 60m sprint. For a young athlete like Kate to take 3 medals from her first major championships is something to be very proud of and with the help of Hannah both Girls now qualified for the 60m sprint at the All Ireland Championships.
It’s the turn of U12’s and 13’s
The next relay team up was the boys U12 team. Jack McCartan got the boys of to a flying start and ran a fantastic first leg when handing over to Caolan Hawkins who kept the good start going with a great run around the bend and only for a slight mishap between Caolan and Gabriel Corrigan at the baton change put them a little bit behind but after a gallant effort to make up the lost ground from the flying Gabriel, it just left the 4th runner Aidan McCauley too much to do to get on the podium. Full credit to Aidan who never gave in and very nearly got the team back into the medals. With a little more baton changing practice this team is certainly one for the future. Finishing 4th in a quality field like this only makes you wonder how good these boys can be. Along with Caolan and our future Olympic hopeful in the long jump, Dean McCrickard, some incredible jumps in the U12 long jump competition were achieved. If it wasn’t for just breaking the board with his last jump Dean would have been very close to picking up silverware in this event. Jack, Aidan and Gabriel performed really well in the very competitive sprint events and all 3 boys finished credibly in their respective heats. Caolan and Gabriel showed extreme determination in ferociously fast 600m heats. With more experience of track running these boys will be serious medal contenders in future events.
Ross McCrickard got the U13 Boys relay team of to a flying start and with a final leg from the rocket man Dan Campbell they came close to standing on the podium. Given that Dan only started running 4 weeks ago this is quite an achievement. The other too members of this team where Caolan Hawkins and Gabriel Corrigan and after their fantastic efforts in the previous U12 relay they stepped up to the mark and showed no signs of tiring.
It was then the turn of the U13 girls and in the minds of the coaches probably the best chance of a relay medal. However as it can sometimes happen in sport, it just didn’t quite work out on the day. Michaela Quinn stepped up from the U12s to run a great first leg and handed over to Maeve Anderson. Another great leg from the speedy Maeve passed the baton to Lucy Kenneally who like her sister, Eve, put in a great effort and when the baton was passed to the final runner Sarah Doherty, who as always guarantees a 100% effort and after a fantastic run Sarah just couldn’t close the gap to the medal positions. Credit has to go to these girls however for such a brilliant effort and like the boys if the baton changes can just be perfected this team has a wonderful future and lots of medals are destined to come.
Lucy and Sarah also ran really well in the 600m. Sarah finished a very creditable 4th. With a bit more experience of track running, Sarah certainly will have a great future. Meave and Sarah also competed well in the long jump and it was clear to see both girls have the talent do excel in this event, as both have the speed in their run ups to equal that of any of their peers.
The U12 girls also just missed out on a podium position with 4 fantastic relay legs. Molly McAlinden got a great start on the first leg passing to Aine Rice who after a great run around the bend passed to Kiara Cairns who sped down the back straight handing on to the final runner Lidia Ballocchi who gave it her all and finished 4th in a close finish.
These girls also had really creditable efforts in the sprints, distance races and long jumps. These girls had Parents and coaches cheering proudly from the side lines. Molly McAlinden accepted the challenge to try the relatively new event to both athletes and coaches alike in the ball throw. Molly done a great job to again finish just outside the medal places which given the little time she had to prepare was fantastic. Aine had given her best in the long jump and was very impressive in all her events. Could Aine’s efforts be credited to more yoga sessions we wonder? It was however the long jumping from Micheala Quinn that so very nearly produced another medal winning performance.
Up came the incredible under 9’s
When the time came for the U9’s to show their abilities they did not disappoint. Conrad Rice jumped exceptionally well and picked up a bronze medal in the long jump. With the help of Giacamo Ballocchi both boys have now qualified to run as a team in the U9 All Ireland Championship 60m event, after both performed exceptionally well in the sprint event later in the day. We are all wondering if Conrad’s performances might be coming from some yoga sessions his Mum may be giving him? Whatever it is, it’s working as he had a fantastic day competing and would have given his all, in any event he would be asked to compete in given his incredible enthusiasm.
Louis Sheridan also had a great run in the sprint race and the 300m and like his big brother Patrick is another athlete we should all keep an eye on. Joseph McDaid and Conan Lennon made great efforts in the 500m races. It was however in the 60m sprint that Conan excelled and after leading for most of the 60 metres he just couldn’t quite hold on in the dying metres and unfortunately missed out on a medal by centimetres but after one of the most exciting races of the day Conan should be very proud of himself. Luka Hallisey joined Joseph in the U10 boys long jump and again both made a fantastic effort’s to narrowly miss out of the medal places.
Kate the great.
As the only U11 girl Kate Lenny had to carry the flag on her own in this category and as usual Kate done the team very proud and with 3 brilliant jumps in the long jump and a super effort in the 60m sprint was really unlucky to not go home with a medal but like many of the other young athletes Kate is a star in the making and another one to watch in the future.
The best was saved for last in the form of Sarah McGlynn.
Sarah is the current minor girls Down Schools and Ulster Schools Shot Putt Champion and after a great first throw in the heats put herself in a wonderful position to pick up another championship title by qualifying for the final. Although Sarah had a slight scare in the heats after 2 foul throws her quality and ability was never really in doubt when it came to the business end of the competition and she blew the other competitors away in the final and took the gold medal and another NI and Ulster medal to add to her ever increasing collection. She also achieved a new personal best of 9.83m. Sarah is a phenomenal talent and given she is still only 13 has a wonderful future in the shot putt ahead of her. Sarah has now also qualified for the All Ireland Championships and we wish her the very best of luck in Tullamore in July.
All the young athletes have done the club proud and we wish everyone the very best of luck in the All Ireland Championships in 2 weeks time in Cork. Just to have such wonderful juniors and such fantastic talent in our community should be something we are all proud of.
Newcastle AC would like to wish our other members Jack Quinn, Dearbhla Magee, Dara Herron and Patrick Sheridan who will be competing over the weekend at the N. Ireland & Ulster under 14 – 17 Track & Field Championship at the Antrim Forum.
A big word of thanks must go to all the parents who are always so cooperative in getting the kids to training and competitions and I am sure after seeing the results from the kids on Saturday it must make it all worthwhile. Also a word of thanks must go to Shimna College who kindly provide us with the use of all their facilities, and TS Foods for their generous kit sponsorship which set the team apart from the rest on the day.
In the end what is it all about?
Newcastle AC continually try to promote fun and enjoyment for all its members through athletics and it was clear to see on Saturday that it is working. We know all the competitions were tough and the kids had given their all but at the end of the day they all went home with a real sense of achievement and a big smile on their faces. They all were fantastic and a real privilege to be associated with. The club look forward to many more such successful events in the future and who knows maybe in the future it will be Olympic medals they will be challenging for?