Results of GloHealth All Ireland
Schools Cross Country Championships
Sligo Racecourse, Saturday March
5th
Athletics Ireland Press
Release
Mulcaire a class apart
Kevin Mulcaire underlined his class defending his senior boys’
title at the GloHealth All Ireland Schools Cross Country Championships
in Sligo Racecourse today.
Mulcaire (St Flannan’s Ennis), wearing a white baseball cap
back-to-front, pulled away at the halfway stage over 6,500m leaving his
rivals firmly in his wake.
The Clare schoolboy bided his time in the opening stages as he sounded
out the field and got to grips with the biting cold and the terrain of
a truly testing cross country course. Jack O’Leary (Clongowes)
attempted to keep close order but paid for his efforts as Peter Lynch
(St Kieran’s) came through for a strong second with James Edgar
(Friends’ School) rounding out the top three. St Aidan’s CBS, led home
by Cathal Doyle in sixth, were jubilant victors of the team title.
Individual Results (PDF file)
Team Results (PDF file)
There was nothing the competition could do but admire the strength of
Mulcaire in the spectacular backdrop of Benbulbin – his victory, much
like the view, was breath taking.
Eimear Fitzpatrick (Our Ladies, Terenure) proved tactically astute in
the senior girls’ 2,500m having enough strength to hold off Niamh Ni
Chiardha (Colaiste Iosagain) and Niamh Corry (Malahide CS). Corry made
much of the early running in a tightly bunched pack but it was
Fitzpatrick who had the legs in the end with Loreto Mullingar packing
well to take team gold.
The day celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the Irish Schools’
Athletics Association and former stars Sonia O’Sullivan and Catherina
McKiernan were out cheering on the current generation.
Aimee McKenna (St Mac Dara’s) judged her race perfectly to win the
minor girls' 2,000m race ahead of Meghan
Carr (Loreto Fermoy), daughter of Robert Heffernan) in second
and Lucy O’Keeffe (St Mary’s
Midleton) third. Loreto Kilkenny scored the team prize.
The opening races saw the early leaders caught out as they were reeled
in by the chasing pack – the testing crosswind and climbs taking their
toll. Sean Donoghue (St Declan’s, Cabra) replicated McKenna to win the
Minor Boys’ 2,500m. Ted Collins (Glenstal Abbey) got up for second with
Ard Scoil Ris’s Colin Sweeney bagging the bronze. Rice College Westport
won the team battle.
Saoirse O’Brien (SH Westport) bucked the trend of the hare being caught
by the hounds as she sped to victory in the Junior Girls’ 2,500m ahead
of Rebecca Wallace (Wallace High School) in second and Roisin Treacy
(St Gerard’s) in third. Skerries CC made it a win for Leinster in the
team race.
Louis O’Loughlin (Moyle Park College) was another outstanding winner in
the junior boys’ 3,500m. Wearing his now customary black beanie
decorated with skulls, O’Loughlin powered around the course as Chris O’Reilly (Douglas CC) tried to
hang gamely with the Dubliner. His brave effort catching up with him in
the closing stages as he was outsprinted to the line for silver by
Michael Troy (St Augustine’s Dungarvan). St Colman’s Newry edged the
overall title.
The intermediate 3,500m girls’ race was highly anticipated and it
didn’t fail to disappoint as training partners Sarah Healy (Holy Child
Killiney) and Amy Rose Farrell (Mount Anville) duked it out once more.
Healy, as in the Leinsters, just had that extra bit of power up the
hill at the finish to strike gold. Claire Rafter (Ursuline Thurles)
picked up the scraps to pick up the bronze. Dominican College Wicklow
had plenty to spare in the team race.
Darragh McElhinney (Colaiste Phobail
Bheanntrai) attempted to blow away his rivals in the
Intermediate Boys’ 5,000m charging away at the gun. The daring
front-runner built up a big lead but he ran out gas finishing 9 with
Adam Fitzpatrick (St Kieran’s) adding the national title to his
Leinster crown. Colaiste Mhuire’s Jamie Battle and Ciaran Nolan came
through strongly for second and third but amazingly didn’t win the team
prize. Rice College Westport packed better to deny the Mullingar school
the gold.
Michelle Finn led UL to the
team title as she won the Universities 5,000m race as part of the
programme. David McCarthy (DCU) made a welcome return from injury to
win the men's 8,000m where he also led the Dublin university to the top
of the pile, with Ben Thistlewood (UCC) taking Silver.
Placings
Minor Girls 2,000m
1. A McKenna (St Mac Dara’s), 2. M Carr (Loreto Fermoy), 3. L O’Keeffe
(St Mary’s, Midleton)
Minor Girls Team
1. Loreto Kilkenny, 2.
Victoria College, Belfast, 3. Loreto St Stephen’s Green
Minor Boys 2,500m
1. S Donoghue (St Declan’s
Cabra), 2. T Collins (Glenstal Abbey School), 3. C Sweeney (Ard Scoil
Ris)
Minor Boys Team
1. Rice College Westport, 2.
Colaiste Eoin, 3. St Michael’s Enniskillen
Junior Girls 2,500m
1. S O’Brien (SH Westport), 2.
R Wallace (Wallace HS Lisburn), 3. R Treacy (St Gerard’s)
Junior Girls Team
1. Skerries CC, 2. Ard Scoil
na nDeise, 3. Loreto Mullingar
Junior Boys
1. Louis O'Loughlin (Moyle
Park College), 2. M Troy (St Augustine’s Dungarvan), 3. C O’Reilly (Douglas CC)
Junior Boys Team
1. St Colman’s Newry, 2. Naas
CBS, 3. Belvedere College
Intermediate Girls 3,500m
1. S Healy (Holy Child
Killiney), 2. AR Farrell (Mount Anville), 3. C Rafter (Ursuline Thurles)
Intermediate Girls Team
1. Dominican College Wicklow,
2. Loreto Kilkenny, 3. Loreto College Omagh
Intermediate Boys 5,000m
1. A Fitzpatrick (St Kieran’s
College), 2. J Battle (Colaiste Mhuire Mullingar), 3. C Nolan (Colaiste
Mhuire Mullingar)
Intermediate Boys Team
1. Rice College Westport, 2.
Colaiste Mhuire Mullingar, 3. St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny
Senior Girls 2,500m
1. E Fitzpatrick (OLS
Terenure) 2. N Carey (Colaiste Iosagain) 3. N Corry (Malahide CS)
Senior Girls Team
1. Loreto Mullingar, 2. Loreto
Kilkenny, 3. St Mary’s Naas
Senior Boys 6,500m
1. K Mulcaire (St Flannan’s,
Ennis), 2. P Lynch (St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny), 3. J Edgar
(Friends’ School Lisburn)
Senior Boys Team
1. St Aidan’s CBS, 2. St
Flannan’s, Ennis, 3. St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny
Universities
Women 5,000m
1.
M Finn (University of Limerick) 2. S Heaslip (IT Tralee) 3. L
Shaughnessy (UCD)
Women's Team
1. UL, 2. UCC, 3. DCU
Men 8,000m
1. D McCarthy (DCU) 2. B Thistlewood (UCC), 3. L Brady
(Athlone IT)
Men's Team
1. DCU, 2. Athlone IT, 3. UCD