ATHLETICS | Ardee & District AC athletes show up well on schools duty

The 2017 Schools Track and Field Championships began last week and Ardee and District AC had four athletes who travelled to the Morton Stadium in Santry to compete in the North Leinster events in a bid to try and qualify for the Leinster finals in May.

Jonathan Commins, Conor McMahon and Abbie Sheridan were there to compete for Ardee Community school while Aoibheann Carolan represented Dundalk St Vincent’s.

Jonathan got off to a flying start in the intermediate 100m hurdles. Making each flight look easy, he took his place on the podium and received a well deserved gold medal for first place.

Later in the day, Jonathan competed in the U16 shot. Throwing a heavier 5kg implement, his throw of 9.94m was enough to claim a second gold medal of the championships and entry into both events in the Leinster finals.

Next up was Conor McMahon in the senior boys high jump. Having a good sequence of jumps with the bar raised to 1.75m there remained only four in the competition and it was all to jump for. Clearing the 1.75m height secured Conor a silver medal and a pass into the Leinster finals in May.

Abbie Sheridan ran superbly in the intermediate 1500m, giving a final kick on the home straight to finish fourth. While not staking a claim on the medals, a place in the top four was enough for her to progress to the Leinster finals.

Last to compete on the day was Aoibheann Carolan who had a good successions of throws in the minor girls javelin to finish in fifth place. Both Abbie and Aoibheann will continue their quest for medals in day two of the competition next Wednesday.

Ardee and District AC are proud of these young athletes as they compete for their schools with great pride and talent and progress in the sport of athletics.

Pre-Louth Championships

Thirty-six athletes from Ardee and District AC began the track and field season by travelling to Drogheda for the Pre-Louth Championships at the weekend.

First up on the track was newcomer Courtney Commins. She claimed her first medal of the day, a silver in the U8 60m race, then took bronze in the long jump with a jump of 2.63m before topping it off with gold in the turbo javelin.

The club’s second newcomer was Tom Joe McCormack who competed well in the 60m and long jump events before claiming silver in turbo javelin.

In the U9 girls section, Jessica McCarron got to the 80m final and just missed out on a medal, taking silver with a leap of 2.69m in the long jump. Lily Breen and Fintan Kelly also competing well in their U9 events.

Caoimhe Carolan claimed top spot in the U10 turbo javelin while Tom Maguire and Dylan McCarron both got through their heats in the U10 80m but missed out on a medal.

Tom claimed third position in the turbo javelin with a throw of 12.35m, while teammate Senan Lundon took silver with a throw of 13.27m. Calum Caffrey, Arthur Sands and Lennon Murphy also competed in the U10 events.

In the U11 girls, Amy Murray got through to her 80m final and Paulina Kelly came third in the U12 turbo javelin while Charlie Sands made it to the U11 80m final while Cormac Lundon also acquitted himself very well.

In the U12 boys, Joe Murphy got through to the 80m final while Jack McCarron and Rob Kelly also competed well in their events.

Hallie Sands took silver in the U13 80m and went one better by taking top spot on the podium with gold in the 600m. Hot on her heels were teammates Samantha McCarron, Ava McNally and Ruth Gillespie. James Maguire took gold in the boys U13 80m.

Eireann Hoey threw a PB of 8.54m to take gold in the U14 shot put while Rebecca McCarron also performed well in that age group.

At U15, Emma Gillespie had a fantastic race in the 800m, earning her a well deserved silver medal while Aoibheann Carolan moved up an age to compete in the shot put and was rewarded with a bronze medal.

Abbie Sheridan took gold in both the U17 800m and long jump with clubmate Niamh Whyte finishing fifth in both events.

At U19 level, sisters Tara and Niamh McGuinness took second and third place respectively in the long jump and there was double gold for Conor McMahon as he claimed top spot in the 100m and long jump.

Last up was the relays where the club’s U10 boys team of Arthur Sands, Fintan Kelly, Calum Caffrey and Dylan McCarron ran home with second place. The U13 girls were also rewarded with a third place finish. The team was made up of Ava McNally, Ruth Gillespie, Orlaith Carolan and Hallie Sands.