Tallaght athletes produced some good
performances in the first events of the cross country season. Ronan
Kearns had a brilliant run in Celbridge where he dominated the large
field of runners when taking the Liz Mc Donnell 5k perpetual trophy,
whilst the juvenile members of the club contested the first of the
Dublin County Board cross country league series at Newbridge House Park,
Donabate.
Jade Johnston and Emma Reid were the first to feature for the club in
the U11 600m contest and both fared very well, with Jade finishing a
good 6th with Emma a few places further back. In the boys equivalent,
Conor Murray, in his first ever cross country race attempted to dictate
from the front, only to be hauled in over the last 150m, but secured a
well deserved second placing.
In the U12 boy’s 800m contest, Tallaght had five representatives, with
John Daly first of the five to cross the line, followed by Dylan Murphy,
Killian Morris, Dean Loughlin and Sean. The combined placings of the
first three Tallaght athletes to cross the line was enough to secure the
team silver medals, and considering three of the competitors had never
run cross country before, they will certainly be live contenders for
team Championship hounours later in the Month.
Roisin O’ Hanlon was next to toe the line when she contested the U15
1200m. Sitting at the back of the group for most of the journey, she
gradually moved closer to the leaders over the final 400m to finish a
strong 5th place behind some very accomplished runners. At U16 level,
Aisling Johnston secured maximum point when leading her age group from
start to finish in her 1500m contest, with Rebecca Game finishing
strongly to take third place, whilst Brian Connolly also dominated the
boy’s 2,000m from start to finish in the same age group and Eoghan
Hennessey crossing the line two places behind for the club.
At U17 degree, Aoibheann Tierney had some talented athletes to contend
with in her 1500m contest but did enough to secure 4th place, whilst
Peter Fitzsimons produced a sprint finish to take 2nd place in the boy’s
U17 3k. Anthony Lieghio was the first of the club athletes to cross the
line in the U18 3k, with Luke Coleman following across the line. David
Somerville also secured points in the U19 3k contest.
The Phoenix Park will host the 2nd of the leagues on next Sunday 8th
October where our juveniles will be fighting it out to add to their
league points and where some of our senior ladies and men will contest
the Dublin Novice Cross Country Championships.
Photos associated to the above report in Photo Gallery