ATHLETICS | St Peter’s AC well represented at Glenmore AC juvenile races

Glenmore AC held their juvenile cross country meeting along with the Kearney Cup 5K Road Race on Sunday.

St Peter’s AC had a great turnout on the day with a total of 20 athletes competing across the various age groups.

The first race was the girls U9 race which once again finished with both Hannah and Emily O’Reilly in the medals. Both of these girls ran neck and neck across the 500m course and both women medals with a fourth and seventh place finish respectively.

The boys U9 race was next up and again St Peter’s had two representatives who performed really well. Liam McKeown and Cain Murtagh, who are both U8s, showed great enthusiasm for the sport and their bravery will stand them in good stead for next year.

The girls U11 race, which was ran over 800m, had three St Peter’s athletes in action. Dearbhla Allen, who is enjoying a great cross country season, was once again amongst the medals with a sixth place finish. Orla McLoughlin and Catherine Carey, who are both U10s, ran very well and finished high up in a large field of competitors.

In the boys U11 race, which was also ran over an 800m course, Harry O’Reilly put in another great performance and showed great resilience to hold off a late challenge to claim second place.

Harry was joined on the medal podium by the ever improving Ben McKeown who put in another strong run to finish seventh. Ruairi Carpenter, in only his second competitive race, also produced a good performance and was unlucky not to medal.

The club had four representatives in the girls U13 race which was run over a 1500m course. Niamh Brady led the St Peter’s challenge with a solid performance to finish amongst the medals.

Ellie Smyth and Lucy Smyth ran the race almost stride for stride together, looking very comfortable, and were unfortunate to finish outside the medals while the ever reliable Judith Bell followed closely with another strong run.

In the boys U13 race, five St Peter’s members were in action with Mark Litchfield running a powerful race where he looked to back to himself. Cian Gorham enjoyed another good performance, coming home in fourth place, closely followed by Sean Allen in fifth.

Dean Murtagh, who never lets the club down, had another strong run and was unlucky not to medal while Conor Litchfield returned to competition after his recent injury lay-off.

The final race involving the club was the boys U15 race were Callum Grant, who is still eligible for U14 level, ran his third race in three weeks — also his third race ever — and finished in a very strong seventh place to collect his first individual medal!

As the curtain comes down on the local cross country events, concentration now turns to the upcoming Leinster Championships, the first fixture of which takes place on Saturday, October 28th in Navan.

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