The Galway City Harriers’ victory in the boys’ u-13 relay was one of the highlights at the National Indoor Championships in Nenagh at the weekend.
The team of Liam Costello (Milltown ), Luke O'Shaughnessy (Caherlistrane ), Sean Kilmartin (Claregalway ), Jack Dempsey (Moylough ) and Colin Murray (Mountbellew ) took the gold in the 4x100 relay and set a new championship record. In a titanic fight with a valiant Menapians AC, Wexford, the GCH team ran 53.16 seconds to Menapians’ 53.43 seconds - both breaking the old record, which was held jointly by Craughwell AC and Letterkenny AC.
The GCH u-18 boys, Ben Cooney, Darragh Whyte, Ronan Dobey, Evan McGuire and Sean Kyne, also put in a superb performance to win the 4x200m title in 1 minute 33.92 seconds, missing the record by a tenth of a second, while the u-16 boys produced a silver medal winning performance in the 4x200m relay, despite dropping the baton when leading by 10 metres on the last change over. However the team of James Fleming, Simon O'Shaughnessy, Owen McDonnell, James Mitchell and Geoff Dempsey picked up the baton and held on to second place.
Galway also bagged silver medal in the u-14 2x200. John Maher, Fiachra O'Cochlain, Colm Trill, Cillin Greene and Jack Dempsey ran 1 minute 55.04 seconds in a brilliant race behind winners Leevale AC Cork. The u-16 girls won bronze in the 4x200m relay. Elisabeth Maher, Laura Ann Costello, Maebh Brannigan, Roisin Dobey and Alanna Lally ran a superb race behind Tir ConnAill AC, Donegal and Emerald AC, Limerick in a time of 1 minute 29.02 seconds.
There were also many successes for Galway in the individual events. Sinead Touhy of Athenry AC jumped to gold with a fantastic 1.63. Alanna Lally continued her great form, winning the u-16 800m in a time of 2 minutes 18.43 seconds to add to her 1500m gold which she won two weeks ago. Michelle Maher ran a personal best of two minutes 25.62 seconds in the u-18 800m to win silver, while Maria McNamara could consider herself unlucky taking silver in the high jump, having jumped the same 1.55 height as the gold winner. Conor Gillen of Craughwell AC ran to a superb bronze in a strong u-15 800m in 2:10:23, running a PB in both the heat and the final along the way. Kevin Dooley added a bronze medal in the u-18 long jump to his bronze in the triple event, jumping 5.93 metres for a new personal best.
