Valley Success At Ulster Juvenile Championships in Antrim

The Ulster and Northern Ireland Juvenile Championships were held in Antrim last Saturday and Sunday. The U14 and U15 age groups were held on Saturday with terrific performances all round.

Race of the Day - Double Gold for Ian Ward

Ian Ward was outstanding in the 800m U14 where he battled neck and neck with the very talented Dan King of Milford, way ahead of the rest of a very large field. Ian's superior speed at the line was enough to secure the gold and a new p.b. of 2mins. 15 secs. As the commentator put it, it was the race of the day. That is until the same two boys lined up for a rematch in the 1500m which proved once again that they were in a class of their own with Ian pulling away from Dan in the final straight to win by 2 seconds with another new p.b. of 4.43. Shane Bonner moved up from 7th place with one lap to go to secure 4th place and thus qualify for the All-Ireland Championships also.

Jackie Gibson was also very impressive in her 800m winning her heat in a new p.b. of 2.36 and then coming out in the final to secure silver with another p.b. of 2 mins. 29 secs. Jackie has really improved this season and should do well in the National Championships in July.

Gavin McCrudden, National Champion in the Javelin last year once again impressed winning the U14 Ulster title easily. Philip Heapes won the Bronze medal in the Hammer and also competed well in the shot and discus. Shauna Guthrie won the 2000m walk title with team mate Natasha Duffy taking the silver. Ciara Gallen qualified in the javelin.

Kevin Gallagher, Paul Doherty and Gavin Foy also competed very well in this age group.

In the U15 section Maeve Culhane looked very impressive winning the 2000m Walk with Fionnuala Bruton winning the bronze and Charlene Kelly qualifying in 4th place. Laura Reid did well to qualify in the javelin. Bronagh O'Doherty just missed out in 5th place in the 200m. Lindsey Stewart and Bronagh Sweeney ran well in the 100m.

On Sunday it was the turn of the U16 to U20 athletes who also gave a good account of themselves. We had three Gold medallists. First up was Nikki Alcorn retaining her Ulster title in the 2000m Walk with ease - 90 seconds ahead of the next athlete. Congratulations also to Nikki on her selection for the prestigious Tailteann Games in Tullamore on Saturday. The very talented Kevin Feely also retained his Ulster title in the Shot with a very good last throw of 13.56m with the 6kg. Shot beating the All-Ireland Schools silver medallist. Kevin was only narrowly beaten in the hammer event, winning silver with a throw of 38 metres. This will give Kevin a great boost for the upcoming National Championships. Kieran McConnell made the journey from England with his dad Packie for the competition and was rewarded with the Ulster title in the Discus with a massive throw of 42 metres and we look forward to seeing Kieran again in July in Tullamore to defend his National Title. Michael Reid won the bronze in this discus competition with a fine throw of 33.90m to add to his javelin bronze. Brendan Culhane finished 4th in the hammer and 5th in the discus.

Geraldine Kelly was delighted with her double silver, placing 2nd in the triple jump U17 with a fine leap of 9.92m and also 2nd in the long jump. It was great to see Geraldine's hard work over the winter paying off. Pauric Feely had a very good triple jump competition at the end of a very long day with a 11.76m jump to win the silver medal in the U17 Championships and also finished 4th in the long jump. Pauric also ran very well in the final of the 100m as did Joe McGinley one place behind. Joe also finished joint 3rd in the 200m with an excellent finish. Mark McGowan ran very well to win the silver medal in the 250m Hurdles. Stefan Connolly finished 4th in the 800m with a good time of 2mins. 9 secs. with Enda Doherty also running well in this race. Maurice Boyle finished 7th in the 1500m with a new p.b. of 4.35.8 with Brian Patton in 12th. Fiona McGinley made a welcome return to competition finishing 3rd in the U18 high jump.

Declan Hennessey finished 5th in the 200m with newcomer Sean McMenamin making an impact qualifying for the final of the 100m. Ross Wherity also qualified for the final of the 200m. Emma O'Neill was unable to compete properly due to an injury and had to pull out of the 200m. Grainne Nangle finished 4th in the javelin U17. Matthew Larkin just back from injury did very well in both the 100m hurdles and the 300m hurdles qualifying for both. Mark McGlinchey was very unlucky in the 400m hurdles taking a very nasty fall in the final straight whilst in 3rd place and was unable to finish the race or indeed compete in his long jump competition later.

These athletes have now qualified for the National Championships in Tullamore on the 19th and 20th of July and we wish them the best of luck. Thanks to all parents and coaches who travelled with the athletes over the weekend. Training continues for those that have qualified for the All-Irelands either individually or on relay teams – Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Race Walk In Denmark

The club wish to congratulate Jeff Cassin who finished 4th in the International Race walk which was held in Denmark last weekend.

Welcome Home

All at Finn Valley welcome the return of Clodagh McCool and Gary from their world trip. Clodagh and Gary both left last year to tour the world and have just returned. The club wish them both the very best.

Club training continues every Tuesday and Thursday night at 7.30pm and Sunday morning 10.30am