Day two of the Galway Cross Country championships was held in Tuam at the Palace Grounds last Sunday, with the Uneven Ages Juvenile races, and the Intermediate Men’s and Women’s Championships taking place.
First home in the Galway championships at Intermediate men’s level was Evan O'Rourke of Maree AC, with Holly Shaughnessy of Tuam AC winning the ladies race.
The combined U17/19 race was a competitive one, with Ciaran Considine of South Galway AC pulling away from clubmate Luke Walsh in the U17s after a great battle. Shane Ryan of Tuam AC won the U19 Boys. In the Girls races, Niamh McWalter of Tuam AC won the U19 Title, with Claudia Coyle of South Galway AC claiming U17 gold.
At U15 level, there were wins for Donal Coyle of South Galway AC and Siun Ni Chonaill of Castlegar AC. In the U13s, Jack Heneghan raced to gold for Tuam AC in the Boys event, while South Galway’s Kate Whiriskey won out in the U13 Girls event.
The U11s events saw the biggest fields of the day, and wins for Katie Considine of Craughwell AC and Dylan Devitt of Galway City Harriers, while the U9 races went the way of Amy Devitt of GCH and Dara Crimmins of Athenry AC.
The Connacht Primary Schools Cross Country Finals take place on Saturday, October 18 in Bushfield, Loughrea at 11am. All qualifiers are listed on www.popupraces.ie and schools will be notified also. Entrants are asked to arrive by 10 am as parking is limited.
Universities Cross Country
It was a big day for the University of Galway Cross Country team as Oisin Murray won gold in the Men’s race held in Tymon Park, Dublin last Saturday, and his teammate Oisin Davis came home for silver, in a Galway one–two. UG Men’s team won silver overall aided by other scorers Stan Zielinski, Padraig Faherty, Feidhlim McGowan and Gerard Dunne.
In the Ladies race, Neasa Ni hAinifein ran a stormer for fourth overall, with Caitlin Hughes sixth, and the team secured bronze medals with Grace Byrne and Roisin O'Brien the other scorers.
Road Racing
The Galway Bay series of races were held in Salthill last weekend, Saturday October 11, having been postponed from last week due to Storm Amy.
The Marathon started off first at 8.30am, with race winner Cedric Portmann in 2 hours 45 minutes, and Ann Marie Connell first lady in 3 hours 1 minute. Jake O'Regan of St Johns AC won the Half Marathon in a fast 66 minutes, with Ciara Foy of Mullingar Harriers first lady home in 1 hour 24 minutes.
The 10k race saw John Travers claim victory for Donore Harriers in 30.20, with Dee Grady of Ennis Track winning the Ladies event in 34.54.
