On a dramatic day in Navan last Sunday, at the National Novice and Unvene Ages Cross Country championships, Craughwell athletes stole the show with a fantastic team win in the hugely competitive Men’s race over 6km. William Fitzgerald of Craughwell made it a double celebration as he raced home to a superb silver medal after always being at the front of affairs in an enthralling race won by Michael Murphy of Tullamore.
The Craughwell team was rounded out by Oisin Davis in 16th, and Jack Miskella and Kyle Moorehead, who all placed in the top 30 . The result comes after two second places in the last two editions of the Novice race and is a testament to the group's cohesiveness and talent under expert coach Mark Davis
Abaas Edris of Castlegar AC and Anthony Boyle of Craughwell also placed highly and in conjunction with the Craughwell quartet helped Galway County to silver in the county section of the Novice .
Galway ladies also medalled, winning County bronze in the Ladies 4km race, with Aine O Farrell of GCH having a fine run, coming in 14th place overall, aided by strong runs from Helena O Keeffe of Craughwell, Olive Gleeson GCH and Triona Moran of Castlegar . GCH ladies placed 8th in the club section.
At Juvenile level, among the highlights were 5th and 7th for South Galway’s Ciaran Considine and Luke Walsh at U15 level, a superb 6th place for Eimear Fallon of Tuam in the U15 race, with Aaron Byrne of East Galway securing 9th place in the U13 Boys race . In the U17 boys’ race, Luke O’Sullivan was the star of the show with a superb 10th place finish. Jennifer McCarthy of GCH also ran superbly for 10th in the U15 Girls, leading her GCH team to sixth overall.
At team level, Clare River Harriers were a great 4th in the U13 Boys, as were South Galway in the U15 event , with Castlegar 5th in the U11 Boys.
European Cross Country
All eyes are on Brussels this weekend for the European Cross Country Championships . Ireland will field strong squads across the six-race programme , with the Senior Ladies and U23 Men’s teams most likely to medal.
Galway is represented by University of Galway athlete Fiona Everard, who won the recent National Senior championships, and is coached by Matt Lockett of UG/GCH.
International Combined Events
Sean Doggett of Athenry competed for Ireland at the International Combined Events last weekend in Cardiff, Wales, with the talented Athenry youngster helping the team to bronze medals across the five-event programme.
Other news
Neasa De Burca of GCH ran a personal best 2 hours 56 minutes in the Valencia Marathon on Sunday last.
This month’s fixtures include the Fields of Athenry 10k now open for entry, with the New Years Day Resolution Run also going ahead at 10 am on Jan 1st next.
