Tipperary Athletics Scene

Munster Senior Cross Country Championships: took place last Sunday in summer like conditions in Conna, Co. Cork.

The hosting Club, St Catherines AC, had everything in place for a wonderful promotion of the Sport. The underfoot conditions were firm and each lap consisted of inclines.

WOMEN

The women’s race over 7.5k consisted of five laps and Tipperary athletes were to the fore right from the start. Ciara O’Neill & Laura Cooney (Clonmel AC) were up with the leaders from the off. Ciara moved into second place, behind the eventual winner Naimh O’Mahoney (An Riocht AC) to win the silver medal. Laura Cooney also ran a great race when finishing fourth and first under 23.

Mary Louise Ryan (Mooreabbey Milers AC) also ran very well when finishing 18th, Sarah Whelan (Clonmel AC) 22nd, Lisa Byrne (Clonmel AC) 23rd and Sareen Walsh (Clonmel AC) 24th. This group of athletes combined very well to win the inter-county bronze medals whole the Clonmel AC quartet won the inter-club silver medals.

MEN

The men’s race over the same distance was also very competitive. Here we had the Nenagh Olympic AC trio of Cian Hodgins, Luke Purcell & Diarmuid Moloney in the leading pack for the first lap. Then midway through the second lap the pace increased and soon athletes were running in Indian file. It was around here the Paul Hartnett of East Cork AC went to the front and soon established a commanding lead on the chasing pace. He maintained that pace to come home a very worthy winner.

Cian Hodgins came home in fourth place to win the Under 23 title impressively in 25 mins 9 secs. Luke Purcell also ran very well when winning the under 23 silver medal. Jamie Moloney rounded off a clean sweep of the under 23 medals when winning the bronze medal.

There were also good performances from Dermot Gorman (Carrick-on-Suir AC) 9th, Kevin Moore (Mullingar Harriers AC) 17th, Stuart Moloney (Mooreabbey Milers AC) 22nd, Louis Rice (Fethard AC) 24th, Eugene O’Keeffe (Carrick-on-Suir AC) 38th, Patrick Harris (Carrick-on-Suir AC) 39th, Kevin Tobin (Fethard AC) 43rd, Keith Fraher (Carrick-on-Suir AC) 45th, Willie O’Donoghue (Mooreabbey Milers) 46th, and Jim Hally (Dundrum AC) 48th.

To crown off a memorable day, the County team of Cian Hodgins, Luke Purcell, Jamie Moloney, Dermot Gorman, Kevin Moore & Stuart Moloney won the inter-county gold medals. In the inter-club competition, Carrick-on-Suir AC finished fourth.

JUVENILE

Tipperary were on the podium in the opening race as Clodagh Comerford, Dundrum AC, claimed third place in the Girls U9. She was closely followed home by Nell Corbett Moyne AC in fourth place as she also claimed an individual medal. These two girls led home the Tipperary team to a bronze medal in the inter-county competition. Team members were Clodagh Comerford, Nell Corbett, Keeva Delahunty (Newport AC) 24th, Lauren Casey (Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC) 25th, Tara O’Flaherty (Nenagh Olympic AC) 28th, and Alice Farrell 57th.

Ailbe Spillane (Thurles Crokes AC) was the first Tipperary athlete across the line in the Boys U9 race in 33rd place while the county team finished in fifth place.

The first Tipperary athlete across the line in the Girls U11 race was Moya Kilcline (Nenagh Olympic AC) in 18th while the county team finished in fifth place.

Robert Kelly (Dundrum AC) narrowly missed out in a top 12 finish and nationals qualification in the Boys U11 race as he finished in 13th place and was the first Tipperary athlete home. Tipperary finished in fifth position again in this age group.

There was a similar situation in the Girls U13 race as Poppy Shanahan (Moyne AC) finished in 14th position and led the county team to a fourth position.

Tipperary had two athletes inside the top 12 in the Boys U13 race with Philip Croke (Dundrum AC) in fifth place and Cian Long (Thurles Crokes AC) in seventh place. Thurles Crokes AC finished fourth in the team competition and secured qualification for the National Championships. The team was made up of Cian Long, Darragh Long 27th, Conor Judge 37th and Michael Kennedy 69th. There will also be a Tipperary team at the National Championships as they finished in third place. The team was made up of Philip Croke, Cian Long, Darragh Long, Conor Judge, Cormac Hanrahan (Nenagh Olympic AC) 51st and Tadhg Barry (Templemore) 53rd.

Orlaith Frisby secured her spot at the National Championships with a brilliant seventh place finish in the Girls U15 race. Dundrum AC claimed a bronze medal and Nationals qualification with the team being made up of Ellen Maher 19th, Isobel Hartnett 29th, Grace Butler 35th and Katelyn Shanahan 46th. The county team also secured a bronze medal behind Clare and Cork. The team consisted of Orlaith Frisby, Ellen Maher, Isobel Hartnett, Robyn O’Reilly (Thurles Crokes AC) 31st, Grace Butler and Aisling Carr (Thurles Crokes AC) 41st.

Brendan Judge (Thurles Crokes AC) came home in fourth place in the Boys U15 race to claim an individual medal. He led his club team home to fourth place which sees them qualify for the National Championships. The team consisted of Brendan Judge, Evan Bourke 27th, Odhran Dorney 34th and Charlie Cahill 42nd. The county team were just outside the medals in fourth place.

Maggie Anthony was the first Tipperary athlete home in the Girls U17 race in 16th position. Albert Maher (Dundrum AC) and Donnacha Browne (Nenagh Olympic AC) finished ninth and tenth respectively to secure individual medals and National Championship spots. They led the county team to a podium finish in third place alongside a place on that line at the nationals. Team members were Albert Maher, Donnacha Browne, Ignacio Rodriguez Sanchez (Nenagh Olympic AC) 19th, Aaron Byrne (Dualla Ballytarsna) 26th, JD Treacy (Thurles Crokes AC) 33rd and Eoin Kiely (Newport AC) 37th.

Alan’s Spillane (Moyne AC) and Alice Meegan (Clonmel AC) secured top 12 finishes in the Girls U19 race in sixth and ninth position and secured their Nationals qualification. In the final race of the day, Kevin Finn (Nenagh Olympic AC) crossed the line in seventh place in the Boys U19.

County Senior Cross Country Championships: Next Sunday, 8th November, sees the County Senior Women and Men’s titles down for decision on Michael Ryan’s land near Cashel.

In the women’s race, the defending champion is Dymphna Ryan (Dundrum AC) and she is going for her sixth in a row and her ninth in total. Dymphna is running well at the moment but she will face tough competition as athletes like Ciara O’Neill & Laura Conney of Clonmel AC, Eileen McCullough & Orla Healy of Moyne AC, Mary Louise Ryan Mooreabbey Milers AC and the Fethard AC duo of Carol Molloy & Tanya O’Brien are all well capable of a podium placing. The defending club champions are Moyne AC and they can expect good competition from clubs like Dundrum AC, Fethard AC, Clonmel AC as they strive to defend their title won on home ground last year.

In the men’s race the defending champion is Emmet McNamara of Fethard AC who is currently injured. Last year Dermot Gorman (Carrick-on-Suir) was runner-up and ran very well last Sunday in Cork and he will be prominent again this year. He can expect good competition from athletes like Cian Hodgins, Luke Purcell, Jamie Moloney of Nenagh Olympic, Stuart Moloney Mooreabbey Milers AC and Louis Rice Fethard AC. If the Clonmel AC trio of Sean Tobin, William Maunsell and David Mansfield compete, they will have a major say in the destination of the podium placings as well as the team awards.

Home Countries International Cross Country: The County Board would like to wish Noel Howley of Fethard AC the very best of luck in Dublin on Saturday, 15th November, as he represents his country at these championships.

Dublin Marathon & National Marathon Championships: The Dublin City Marathon took place on Sunday, 25th October with a record number of finishers.

This event also incorporates the National Marathon Championships and it was great to see athletes from nine clubs competing. William Maunsell of Clonmel AC was 1st O40 in a very good time of 2 hrs 18 mins 15 secs.

The 1st three men for the county to finish were William Maunsell (Clonmel AC), Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC), and William Hughes (Thurles Crokes AC). The first three women from the county were Nikki Kenneally (Moycarkey/Coolcroo), Linda Grogan (Dundrum AC) and Louise Fogarty (Moyne AC). Congrats to all the athletes on such great performances and many raised money for some very good causes:

William Maunsell (Clonmel AC) 2:18:15, Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC) 2:21:34; William Hughes (Thurles Crokes AC) 2:36:52; Caolán Curran (Thurles Crokes AC) 2:36:53; Mossy Bracken (Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC) 2:39:33; Donie Bergin (Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC) 2:46:25; Pawel Hoc (Clonmel AC) 2:49:15; Michael Carey (Clonmel AC) 2:48:01; Nigel O'Flaherty (Clonmel AC) 2:52:47; Kevin Shortall (Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC) 2:53:07; Aidan Flannery (Clonmel AC) 2:53:24; Eelco Beckers (Clonmel AC) 2:53:46; Peter Madden (Templemore AC) 2:58:29; David O'Kelly (Clonmel AC) 2:59:07; Jamie Byrne (Clonmel AC) 2:59:25; Padraig Brennan (Clonmel AC) 3:00:12; Mark Kehir (Clonmel AC) 3:02:35; Nikki Kenneally (Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC) 3:03:01; Linda Grogan (Dundrum AC) 3:04:21; Martin Keane (Dundrum AC) 3:06:38; Louise Fogarty (Moyne AC) 3:09:26; Eilís Ryan (Newport AC) 3:09:14; Shane Conran (Clonmel AC) 3:13:27; Paul Dolan (Thurles Crokes AC) 3:13:01; Conor Fleming (Clonmel AC) 3:15:52; Michael Ryan (Dundrum AC) 3:17:30; Paul Ryan (Fethard AC) 3:17:49; Edel Roche (Fethard AC) 3:18:07; Mick Pender (Clonmel AC) 3:19:30; Mikey Bergin (Dundrum AC) 3:18:28; David Lorigan (Clonmel AC) 3:18:47; Padraig Meehan (Templemore AC) 3:19:17; Robbie Parsons (Clonmel AC) 3:21:21; Anne Reinhardt (Clonmel AC) 3:24:00; Cathal Hurley (Fethard AC) 3:25:15; Vincent McHugh (Clonmel AC) 3:28:30; David O'Gorman (Clonmel AC) 3:29:37; Niall O'Sullivan (Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC) 3:30:06; Emir Costello (Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC) 3:30:13; Rebecca Doocey (Clonmel AC) 3:30:26; Michael Doocey (Clonmel AC) 3:30:26; Ruth Hally (Clonmel AC) 3:34:36; Paddy Clarke (Templemore AC) 3:39:52; Liam Connolly (Clonmel AC) 3:44:30; Michael Ryan (Clonmel AC) 3:43:22; MJ Croke (Fethard AC) 3:44:27; Philip Noonan (Clonmel AC) 3:43:47; Deirdre Bailey (Mooreabbey Milers AC) 3:53:32; Elaine Horgan (Clonmel AC) 3:50:47; Mandy Fennessy (Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC) 3:51:28; Francis Morrisson (Mooreabbey Milers AC) 3:53:37; Pat Hayes (Dundrum AC) 3:55:06; Helen O Ceallaigh (Clonmel AC) 3:57:48; Gerry O'Neill (Dundrum AC) 3:57:27; Grzegorz Kecik (Clonmel AC) 4:00:08; Julie Dwyer (Dundrum AC) 4:03:24;, Mairead Julian (Dundrum AC) 4:06:38; Marian Breen (Dundrum AC) 4:08:42; Siobhan Maher (Fethard AC) 4:12:03; Declan O'Neill (Dundrum AC) 4:10:52; Clare O'Reilly (Clonmel AC) 4:14:13; Andrew Shaw (Clonmel AC) 4:13:28; Marie O'Shea (Mooreabbey Milers AC) 4:13:31; John Laste (Fethard AC) 4:17:44; Michael O'Donnell (Clonmel AC) 4:13:34; John Griffin (Clonmel AC) 4:17:46; Niamh O'Regan (Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC) 4:17:29; Deirdre Royce (Fethard AC) 4:21:33; Isobel Minogue (Fethard AC) 4:21:33; Philip Norris (Clonmel AC) 4:26:41; Conor Moore (Moycarkey/Coolcroo AC) 4:27:39; Garry Hallinan (Clonmel AC) 4:25:55; Billy Kerton (Clonmel AC) 4:29:30; John O'Brien (Dundrum AC) 4:32:10; Edel Hayes (Dundrum AC) 4:30:22; Alan Kennedy (Clonmel AC) 4:50:09; John Corbett (Templemore AC) 4:56:54; Laura Noonan (Clonmel AC) 5:04:56; Eileen Martin (Templemore AC) 5:39:20; PJ Collins (Dundrum AC) 5:57:27.