GCH teams prove class apart at Irish relay finals in Tullamore

GALWAY City Harriers relay teams enjoyed great success at the National Track and Field  championships held in Tullamore last weekend. The talented squad secured four golds, a silver and bronze medal across the events.

GCH secured the National U19 4 x 400m gold with the team consisting of Eoghan Dobey, Luke O’Shaughnessy, Dylan Neary and Cillin Greene, coached by Frank McGuire. The boys U19 4 x100m squad also took gold, with a National record of 42.80 thanks to the storming efforts of Eoghan Dobey, Jack Dempsey, Sean Kilmartin and Cillin Greene.

The U15 girls 4 x 100m squad of Fezi Angelo Johnny, Seren O’Toole, Zoe Moore, Mairead Flynn and Colma Keady also made the winners’ enclosure, while the GCH girls U18 4 x 400m also came up trumps in setting a new Irish record of 4.08, with the team consisting of Aoife Sheehy, Laura Nally, Naomi Whyte and Roisin Flynn

Craughwell’s U18 girls 4 x 100m team also won the National title in style as the team of Michelle Duggan, Caoilin Milton, Aisling Keady and Laura Cunningham put in a powerful display of sprinting to take gold on the line from a spirited GCH team of Laura Nally, Sallyann O’Malley, Roisin Flynn and Aoife Sheehy and Donore Harriers in third.

There was silver for the GCH U14 girls squad of Sarah Agboola, Joanna Healy, Sinead Duggan, Hannah King and Eimear Rowe and bronze for the GCH 4 x 100m sprint squad of Zino Johnny, Tyrone Ezeogu, Calvin Taye and Jonathan McGrath at U16 level.

Ballinasloe’s U13 boys were just pipped for a medal in the 4 x 100 m relay, placing fourth, while South Galway’s U12 boys team were sixth in their final.

At individual level, Emma Moore of GCH won the U13 600m at the National Championships in a fast time of 1.37, while Lydia Doyle took the U17 100m hurdles title and now travels to the UK this weekend representing Ireland at the Schools International event in Kent. Seren O’Toole, also of GCH, took bronze in the U15 girls 80m hurdles.

There was success across many of the clubs in the county, including for Dearbhaile Walsh of Craughwell and Shannen Lee of Athenry AC who secured silver and bronze respectively in the U18 girls steeplechase.

Conor Hoade of Craughwell took silver in the 60m hurdles at U13 level, while Patrick Woleniuk of Athenry AC captured bronze in the U18 high hurdles. In the field events, Matthew McKiernan of Craughwell took silver in the U19 long jump, as did his club mate Daniel Callanan Forde at U17 level in the same event. Jade Moorhead, also of Craughwell, won a silver in the high jump final, also held on Saturday.

Round two of the National Track and Field League takes place on Sunday next with Galway ladies and GCH mens’ teams competing at Cork IT  where they will look to reach the final in August, with both teams in strong positions after round one.

Team managers Sarah Finnegan and Brendan Glynn will look to field some of Galway’s top athletics talent at the Cork venue, including Maebh Brannigan over 1500m, Emma O’Hara in the hammer, and sprinters Laura Ann Costello and Nicole King in the Galway ladies squad.

Glynn will have the likes of National champion Sean Breathnach in the field, and internationals Gary Thornton and Keith Fallon among others at his disposal for GCH.