Evan McGuire took top billing among Galway athletes in the National Juvenile Track and Field Championships in Tullamore last weekend.
McGuire won the u-19 400m hurdles in 54.45 and took second in the 400metre flat in the same category, running PBs and a championship best in the hurdles.
His Galway City Harrier clubmate, Maebh Brannigan, also took two medals, with a bronze in the u-17 800m in 2.21 and silver in the u-17 400m in 59.67.
GCH sprinters also were in the medals with Cillian Greene taking silver in the u-1 100m and James Mitchell third in the u-18 100m
Other GCH athletes to win medals were Laoise Geraghty, who took a silver in the u-13 600m, Sean Kilmartin, who took third place in the u-15 250m hurdles, Samuel Samson, who secured bronze in the u-17 300m hurdles and James Fleming, who also took a bronze in the u-18 110m hurdles.
Craughwell athletes secured a great medal haul, and their star female athlete Sineád Treacy broke the club’s senior long jump record of 5.32m with a fine leap of 5.39m on her sixth and final jump in the u-17 event. It secured her the bronze medal in a high-quality field where the top six jumpers all broke 5m.
Treacy’s record-breaking day continued into the sprints where she broke her own club record of 12.62 which she set at the recent Galway juvenile track & field in Dangan. She recorded an impressive 12.56 to place second in the semi-finals of the u-17 100m and went onto to take bronze medal in the final in a time of 12.71.
Clubmate Damien O’Boyle continued his best year with an eight-second victory in the u-17 2000m steeplechase in a time of 6.31.91. and on the second day took bronze in the 800m in a time of 2.01.79 – his sixth national medal this year.
Craughwell AC athletes had five podium finishes including bronze in the u-19 3000m for Neil Greaney in a time of 9.12.12. Nicholas Sheehan had another big performance in the u-18 800m to take bronze and knock another second off the club record, while Matthew McKiernan secured the bronze medal in the u-16 triple jump with a leap of 11.17m. Michael Hand threw the javelin a huge 29.89m to claim bronze in the u-13 event.
Athenry AC athletes Evan Quirke and Lydia Doyle secured medals with Quirke taking silver in the u-17 long jump, while Lydia Doyle ran the u-14 75m hurdles in a time of 11.92 to take a well-deserved bronze.
Brandon Lee took bronze in the u-13 600m, while Loughrea AC athlete Janic Schulz took silver in the u-19 110m hurdles.
