There were some fantastic performances from Galway athletes at the Connacht Schools championships in Athlone, most notably in the senior boys’ 5000m where Jamie Fallon (Calasanctius Oranmore ) scorched around the track in an incredible 15.04, a top-class time and a breakthrough performance for the young athlete, who also runs with Craughwell AC.
Craughwell athletes competing for schools provided many other highlights for the club, including a 1-2-3 in the minor girls’ long jump, domination of the girls sprints with victories in the minor 100m (Caoimhe O’Donoghue, Calasanctius ), junior 100m and 200m (Michelle Duggan, Presentation Athenry ) and intermediate 200m (Sineád Treacy, St Raphael's ). It was a particularly successful day for Michelle Duggan who took three golds in 100m, 200m and 4x100m.
Conor Gillen (Athenry VS ) had a comfortable victory in the senior 800m, while Oisin Lyons (Calasanctius ) did likewise in the minor 1500m. Ciara Greene (The Bower ) and Oisin Doyle (Calasanctius ) also took the Connacht titles in the intermediate 1500m races.
In the jumps, Laura Cunningham (Pres Athenry ) made her debut in the triple jump by taking the Connacht junior girls title, while Lorraine Delaney (Calasanctius ) took victory on countback in the junior girls’ high jump with Aoife Walsh (Pres Athenry ) in second place. Siona Lawless (Loughrea VS ) took the title in the minor girls long jump where Ciara Murphy and Finola Kelly (both Calasanctius ) made it a clean sweep of medals for athletes from the club.
Alanna Lally of GCH had a double win in the senior 400 and 800m for Pres Athenry, while Maebh Brannigan won the senior 1500m for the Jes. GCH had other winners in Robert Meagher St Endas in the 400m senior boys and Samuel Samson in the 400m intermediate for St Marys.
National Track and Field League
Galway City Harriers men’s squad scored 95 points placing them seventh in the premier division, after the first round of the National Track and Field League event .
There were wins for Sean Breathnach in the shot and 56lb weight, and for Mike Conerney in the discus . Keith Fallon ran well for fourth spot in a competitive 1500m, and Peter Mannion had a fine third spot in the 3k walk.
Galway County women’s squad also had some excellent results, scoring 97 points for fourth place. There were fine wins on the day from GCH’s Maebh Brannigan in the 800m and Caithriona Farrell in the high jump. Alanna Lally ran Sinead Denny of DSD close in coming second in the 400m .
