Tipp to the fore at Munster Cross Country
Middlepiece was the venue last Sunday for the Munster Uneven and Senior Cross country Championships.
This was the third fixture at this venue in the past few weeks. Once again, Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC and the Hayes family had put together a brilliant course. Conditions were very good despite rain in recent days with the going firm and ideal for cross country.
Women
In the Senior women’s race, the county was well represented. After the initial surge at the start the field soon settled down on the 1500m lap before then embarking on three laps of the 2k circuit. In the early stages the lead was shared by a large number of athletes. Then as they went out on the first of the 2km laps five athletes began to set the pace, Dymphna Ryan of Dundrum AC, Michelle Kenny of Leevale AC, Una Britton of West Clare, as well as the Clonmel AC duo of Ciara O’Neill and Laura Cooney.
Then midway through the race the lead was down to two Tipperary athletes, Ryan and O’Neill. They matched each other stride for stride over the next 3k. Then with 700m to go Ciara put in her winning surge and kept it going all the way to the line to win the Munster title impressively in 25 mins 43 secs. This was Ciara second time winning this title, she won it in 2023 at the same venue.
Dymphna Ryan ran on well to win the silver medal. At this stage the other County athletes were being urged to keep the momentum going and they all responded with great performances with Laura Cooney Clonmel AC finishing 5th to win the Munster U23 title impressively. Laura was the defending U23 champion as she won this title last year in Tramore racecourse.
The other Tipp competitors were: Aisling Ryan, Dundrum AC 7th, Emma Murray, Clonmel AC 11th, Suzanne Shine, Clonmel AC 20th, Catherine Fogarty, Dundrum AC 21st, Mary Louise Ryan, Mooreabbey Milers AC 24th, Emily Leahy, Dundrum AC 27th, Sareen Walsh, Clonmel AC 28th and Liz Lalor, Clonmel AC 29th.
The County team of Ciara, Dymphna, Laura, Aisling, Emma and Suzanne combined very well to win the gold medals. Clonmel AC won the silver medals with their team of Ciara, Laura, Emma and Suzanne. The bronze medals were won by the Dundrum AC quartet of Dymphna, Aisling, Catherine and Emily.
MEN
The men’s race was also competitive. Paul Hartnett of East Cork AC made his intentions known from the start as he set a strong pace that soon saw him draw clear of the chasing pack to win impressively in 21.50. Cian Hodgins of Nenagh Olympic moved into second place midway through the second lap and despite a few challenges throughout the race, he kept the tempo going to win the silver medal in 22.04 and in the process was also crowned Munster U23 champion.
There were also good performances from Jamie Moloney, Nenagh Olympic 9th overall and winning silver in the U23 event, Kevin Moore, Mullingar Harriers AC 10th; Aidan Flannery, Clonmel AC 27th; Peter Madden, Templemore AC 41st; Eugene O’Keeffe Carrick-on-Suir AC 42nd; Patrick Roche Carrick-on-Suir AC 43rd; Patrick Harris Carrick-on-Suir AC 44th; Jim Halley Dundrum AC 45th, and Michael Moore Dundrum AC 47th. The County team of Cian, Jamie, Kevin, Aidan, Peter and Eugene won the silver medals.
Juvenile
In the Girls U9, Emma Hickey, Nenagh Olympic AC, was the first Tipperary athlete home in 16th place. This brilliant run saw her lead the county team to bronze medals in the inter-county competition behind Clare and Cork. The team was made up of Emma Hickey, Evelyn Russell Moycarkey Coolcroo AC 22nd, Aoife Costigan Moyne AC 23rd, Julie Cantwell Moyne AC 26th, Mary Kate Devane Dundrum AC, and Sarah Egan Nenagh Olympic AC 32nd.
Nenagh Olympic AC also finished fourth in the team competition only five points off a medal.
Tipperary's first individual medal came in the Boy’s U9 race through Conor Fahey Fethard AC as he finished in 11th place overall. The county team finished outside the medals in fourth place.
The Girls U11 race was a very successful one for Tipperary individuals, club teams and county team. Poppy Shanahan, Moyne AC, ran a superb race to finish in 11th and secure herself an individual medal and a place at the National Championships. Emily Quinn, Nenagh Olympic AC, finished in an agonising 13th place just missing out an individual medal but thanks to her efforts along with her county teammates, they secured a bronze medal with the county team and will progress to the National Championships.
The scoring members were Poppy Shanahan, Emily Quinn, Quinn Corbett Moyne AC 18th, Freya Schwanke Newport AC 20th, Aoibheann Doyle Moyne AC 24th, and Laoise Prior Dualla Ballytarsna Boherlahan AC 27th. Moyne had three scoring members on this county team and their fourth athlete home was Kate O’Dwyer in 29th place. This excellent team performance saw them finish second in the Inter-club competition and qualify for the National Championships.
Daniel Maher, Templemore AC, was the first Tipperary athlete across the line in the Boys U11 race in 21st place. This was a brilliant performance to back up his fifth place finish in the U10 race a few weeks ago. He also led the county team to a fifth place finish.
Grace Butler, Dundrum AC, secured her spot in the U13 Girls race at the National Championships as she finished ninth to also claim an individual medal. The county team finished in fifth place overall.
U13 Boys County champion Michael Hynes, Nenagh Olympic AC, showed his class once again to finish in fifth place to claim an individual medal and a spot at Nationals. The county team packed well to finish in third place and also qualify for Nationals. The scoring members were Michael Hynes, Liam Egan Fethard AC 16th, Matthew Edmond Moyne AC 25th, Luke Kavanagh Templemore AC 29th, Eoghan Slevin Templemore AC 30th, and Philip Croke Dundrum AC 34th.
The Girls U15 race practically saw a repeat of the performances of two Tipperary athletes from the Munster Even Age Championships. Neasa Moloney, Mooreabbey Milers AC, ran a strong race to finish in tenth place, just as she did a few weeks ago while Caoimhe Slevin, Moyne AC, improved her position by one place to finish eleventh. Both girls will go forward to compete at the National Championships. The county team finished in fourth place only eight points behind Waterford in third.
Having agonisingly missed out on a medal at the Even Age Championships, Albert Maher, Dundrum AC, showed that he had put that disappointment behind him as he finish a brilliant third in the U15 Boys race. He was closely followed home by Luke Duggan, Templemore AC, in tenth place. Both boys secured places at the National Championships while the county team finished fifth.
Eadaoin Duffy was the best of the Tipperary athletes in the Girls U17 race in 16th place and she led the county team to a fourth place finish. Clonmel AC finished in fourth place and will advance to the National Championships. The team consisted of Eadaoin Duffy, Alice Megan 23rd, Hannah Murray 26th, and Lily Casey 46th.
Aaron Byrne, Dualla Ballytarsna Boherlahan AC, was the first Tipp athlete home in the Boys U17 race in 40th position. Alana Spillane put in a great performance to finish in fifth place in the Girls U19 race against quality opposition.
Diarmuid Moloney upgraded his silver in the under 20 to a gold in the under 19 race. He was backed up by his club mate and under 18 champion Kevin Finn who finished in third place in the U19 race.
County Novice ‘B’ Cross Country: take place next Sunday, 9th November, in Ardmayle and hosted by Dualla Ballytarsna Boherlahan AC. The women’s 3k race gets proceedings underway at 10am followed immediately by the Men’s 6k event while the Juvenile programme gets underway at 11.30am.
To run in these races athletes must have competed in the Novice CC races in Galbally on October 5th. Also, previous winners of this event can’t participate. In both races it is three to score on the Club teams.
County Post Primary Schools Cross Country: takes place at Thurles Crokes AC on Thursday, November 13th, starting at 11am. A reminder for all clubs that entries close on Friday, 7th November.
Race Permits: The next County Board meeting on Thursday, 27th November will finalise the Road Races for 2026, Championship and Open. So, clubs are reminded to send in their applications for the championship races as well as the dates for their Open Road races as soon as possible. All clubs will have received the relevant information from the County Chairperson in recent days.