Some 700 athletes completed the third leg of the 2019 Galway 5km Series held in Loughrea AC where Rob Lennon of Castlegar AC was first man home.
The Castlegar AC athlete broke the tap in a fast 16.43, just pipping local athlete Cathal O'Reilly of Loughrea AC. The pair provided an exciting finish, crossing the tap in the same time, with just millimetres separating them.
The consistent Kevin Moore was placed third in 16.56, with Jane Ann Meehan of GCH taking the win for the women in time of 18.45. Aine O'Farrell of Athenry, was second in 19.48, with clubmate Edel Kelly clocking 20.22 for third.
Tuam AC holds the fifth leg on May 28.
National Track and Field League
Galway City Harriers men’s team and Galway County women's and men’s track and field teams all competed with distinction in the opening round of the National Track and Field League on Sunday in Templemore, Tipperary.
GCH men’s squad placed second overall behind Kildare County in their premier league section. The city squad featured wins from Jack Dempsey over 100m, Keith Fallon over 800m in 1.55, Michael Breathnach in the discus, and Brendan Staunton in the shot putt, with other strong performers, including Eoghan and Cliff Jennings, Sebastian Ducrois, Dylan Corr, Jonah Erugo, David Carter, Henrique Nkolovata and James Frizzell.
The Galway women's team also impressed in the premier division with a top placing and more than 100 points. Victories came via the 4x400m relay squad of Nicole Walsh, Sinead Gaffney, Arlene Earls and Laura Nally, with Rachel Finnegan in the 400m hurdles, Laura Nally in the 200m, and Maeve Curley in the walk. And there were second place finishes from Aisling Joyce (1500m ), Sarah Finnegan (100m hurdles ), Nicole Walsh (400m ), Leanagh Gilligan in the long and triple jumps, Ellie Cronin in the high jump, Lydia Doyle (100m ), and the 4x100m relay team of Lydia Doyle, Nicole, Aisling Keady and Freya Bohan.
Galway men’s county team under manager Sean McDermott had a solid start, with Brendan Lynch of Loughrea winning 400 Hurdles, and strong points scores from Justin Lane, Tommy Farragher, Sam Ukaga, Daniel Callanan, Jerry Keary and Jack Miskella among others.
Round two of the League will be held Sunday June 30.
Track and Field C Connacht Schools
The Connacht Schools Track and Field Juvenile Championships was held Thursday last in Athlone IT where many Galway athletes qualified for the All Ireland School Championships to be held on June 1 in Tullamore.
Robert McDonnell of Colaiste Na Coiribe, Emma Moore of Presentation Athenry, and Ailbhe Ni Mhaille of SCC Carraroe all claimed double gold in their respective events. The hugely talented McDonnell won the senior boys' 200m and 400m, Moore won the 300m and 800m races at intermediate level, and Ni Mhaille won both the discus and shot outt, also at intermediate level.
At minor level Mathieu Madden of Merlin College won the high jump, while his schoolmate Christian Ogbemitu stormed home to win the 100m. Matthew Mears of Seamount Kinvara won the 1500m title, Evan Moran of Presentation College Athenry won the 75m hurdles, and Liam Shaw, also of Pres Athenry, won the shot putt. Evan Quinn of Loughrea AC claimed the long jump title.
Caoimhe Farrell of Mercy Woodford was another standout on the day with the double in the hurdles and long jump. Diana Kamara of Merlin College won the shot putt, Leonore Church of Presentation Athenry won the high jump, and Rachel Fahy of Colaiste Baile Chlair won gold in the 200m.
At junior level there were wins for Ava McKeon of AM Ballinasloe in the 75m hurdles and Sophie Farrell of Seamount College in the 100m, while Shannon Daly of HRC Mountbellew took gold in the 200m.
Leah Toher of PC Headford impressed, claiming 1500m gold and the U16 mile for good measure, while Fauve Aylmer was the clear winner in the 800m for St Raphael’s Loughrea. Aoife Waldron of Colaiste Iognaid won the triple jump also in the field, Ella Rafferty of Mercy Tuam won the discus, and Jade Moorhead of Presentation Athenry won the high jump
In the junior boys’ events, Calum Healy of Presentation Athenry was the 80m hurdles winner, with John Usifo of St Mary’s College take the 100m sprint. In the middle-distance events, David Mannion of Seamount Kinvara was the winner, while William McDonnell of St Joseph’s Galway won the 1500m.
In the field, Daragh Jennings of SC Carraroe won the discus with school mate Ethan De Paor winning the hammer throw. Evan Hallinan of Presentation Athenry had a great day, winning high jump and triple jump double.
At intermediate level Aoibheann Farrell was the top performer, claiming double gold for Mercy Woodford in the high jump and triple jump, while Aoibhe Deeley won the 80m hurdles for St Killian's New Inn and Lauren McNally won the javelin for St Brigid's Loughrea.
Presentation Athnery had a good day at intermediate level with wins for Conor Hoade in the 100m hurdles, Conor Trehy in the triple jump, and a great performance from Kyle Moorhead who won a tough double, taking both the 800m title and the 1500m steeplechase.
Barry Murphy won the 1500m title for St Enda’s Galway, while Sean Cotter of Calasanctius Oranmore won an exciting 3000m, just pipping Ross McGuiness of PC Athenry in a sprint for the line. David Hillary of HRC Mountbellw won the U16 mile, Hamsley Omokah of Merlin College took the honours in the 200m, continuing their sprint dominance, while in the field, Ricardis Lingaitis of St Mary’s won hammer gold.
At senior level Jack Maher of Clifden CS won the 1500m just ahead of Aaron Brennan of GCH/Claregalway. Richard Kamsen won the triple jump for Merlin College, while Sam Ukaga of St Brigid's Loughrea jumped 5.98 metres to just pip Ryan Gallagher to victory in the long jump.
Ryan McNellis of Presentation Athenry clocked a fast 58.4 to win the 400 hurdles for Presentation Athnery, and James Kabana of St Mary’s Galway won the hammer throw.
In the senior girls, GCH athletes Seren O’Toole finished second in the 200m and third in the 100m, while Aoife Sheehy took silver in the 400m hurdles.
Merlin College won the minor and senior boys' sprint relays, events, while Seamount Kinvara took the junior boys. Colaiste Einde were winners in the senior
Mayfly 10km Oughterard
Greg Lundon of South Galway AC took the honours last Sunday at the seventh edition of the Mayfly 10k Challenge. Lundon powered home to victory in 36.40, clear of second place Aidan Kelly who clocked 37.33, and third was Donal Kelly in 37.53. The first women home was the in-form Edel Reilly of Hollymount in a fast time of 39.49, with second Emer O Connell of Corrib AC in second, followed by Carmel Coyne of Galway Tri Club.
Sprint standards
Sarah Quinn of NUI Galway set a European qualifying 100m standard at last week’s Ton Na Gaoithe meeting in Waterford. Quinn clocked a B standard of 11.83 seconds and will seek another this week at the Galway track and field competition to target championship qualification.
