We’re back……….. After our XC exertions in the second half of 2013, we turned our attention to the track with a record 69 athletes taking part on Saturday and Sunday in Santry. Whilst we had many top 3 finishes it was a terrific turn out by the athletes with our coaches and parents offering great support in difficult weather conditions. Participation in all competitions is one of our key objectives for 2014 and this weekend was a tremendous show of commitment by the Juvenile squad.
We’ll start by congratulating Emma O’Brien (U12), Robyn O’Brien (U15) and Annalie McMahon (U9) on their fine victories in the 60m sprints and crowned Dublin Indoor Champions for 2014. Well done girls.
As this is our first official competition we’ll try and give you a blow by blow account of all our athletes in each age group…..
Under 9 Girls and Boys:
Annalie McMahon secured the first Gold medal for BAC in the 60m sprint and a big congratulations to her. Alex Connaughton ran his first race over 500m and did very well while Luke Moraghan got his BAC career off to a flying start (he’s been waiting for a few years) with a well deserved bronze medal in the boys 60m. Well done to them all on their first official races for the club.
Under 10 Girls and Boys:
Shane van Zuydam showed up very well in the 500m and there were also fine runs by Steven Flaherty, Conn Lucey and Tim O’Sullivan. Ella Cowman also had a great weekend in her first set of races for the club. Well done to them all and after running some XC races in 2013, these athletes are now beginning to enjoy the “competition”.
Under 11 Girls and Boys:
This is a very strong age group for the club with a host of fine performances. Isabel O’Brien (2nd) and Daniel Mullane (3rd) showed up very well in the 60m and we also had strong performances over the two days from Sarah O’Brien (4th in 60m) and Doug Walshe who also made the sprints final. Natasha Rolland continues to improve with Abbey Connaughton, Rachel Kenny, Amy McColdrick, Lucy Schwer, Tom Cosgrove, Ciaran Patchell, Harry Casey, Oliver Coffey, Yuriy Cox, Hugh Crotty, Thomas Doran and Barry Winters all participating and going well in their races. The future of BAC is safe with our U11’s contingent.
Under 12 Girls and Boys:
Emma O’Brien took centre stage with a pulsating set of 60m runs and in doing so took the title which was held on the six lane indoor track. Laura Gallagher also had a very good set of races finishing 4th in the sprint final and also qualifying for next weekend’s 600m final. Emily McAleese and Alice Walshe also qualified for the 600m final. We had other fine runs from Sarah Al Mukhaizeen, Maria Coffey, Emily Cosgrove, Kate Cowman, Chloe Johnston, Tom McCarthy and Sean Purcell. Sarah O’Brien now goes on to the All Ireland Indoors at Athlone’s superb Indoor arena in March.
Under 13 Girls and Boys:
Kristina O’Connor took a fine 3rd place in the 60m sprint and now moves on to Athlone for the All Ireland’s in March. Ellen Cheung put in a solid run over 600m finishing in front and qualifying for next weekend’s final. Aoife Jackson and Sarah Flaherty also enjoyed fine runs in the 600m.
Pappy Tucker also took bronze in a very competitive 60m and qualifies for Athlone. He also qualified for the 600m next weekend alongside Evan Walshe, Darragh Purcell and Cianan Martin. This was a great showing by the four boys. Patrick Crotty also had a fine run in the 60m sprint.
Under 14 Girls and Boys:
With most of our girls middle distance squad focusing on the Schools XC, it was left to the lads to compete over the longer distances with Will Hickey qualifying for next week’s 800m final and we also strong showings from Jeff Kenny, John Francis Campbell, Jack Moraghan and newcomer Oisin Kelly over the two days.
Our girls competed well in the sprints and hurdles with Jennifer O’Brien taking a great silver medal over the hurdles and booking her spot in Athlone. Alanah Scanlon ran very well well in the 60m and was unlucky not to progress through the heats in what looked liked a scoring error. Alex Duffy and Niamh Carlin also showed up well in their first races of 2014.
Under 15 Girls and Boys:
Robyn O’Brien had a long wait in the U15 60m but that still didn’t distract her from securing a first Indoor title. She will now move on to Athlone for the All Ireland’s and hopes are high that she will improve on her PB. Nicole Gallagher also started her first set of races for 2014 and Ruairi Moore was in a very competitive boys heat and ran extremely well.
Under 17 & 18:
Cliodhna Kelly had a good set of races over the weekend and Tommy O’Brien secured a very strong bronze medal in the 200m and followed this up with a third place over the shorter 60m distance. Great work by Tommy over the two days and along with his two sisters he will have a busy March in Athlone.
