Kerry Athletics Novice and Juvenile Cross Country Championships in Cahersiveen, 2024

 A beautiful day for cross country in Cahersiveen as the novice athletes faced the starter at 11am. Novice is open to all over 19 who have not recently won medals at senior or intermediate level.

St Brendan's AC had a women's and men's team involved for the first time in years. The women's 4K started with a rush and Áine McKenna led the St Brendan's AC charge in the hilly giving terrain and positioned herself close to the front of the action. Then Marian McElligott drew alongside and subsequently pulled away to lead the St Brendan's AC women home, well up in the competitive field. Áine settled in well to follow Marian home and then our newest athlete Valentina Tyhonenko finished the course in a good position to ensure historic bronze team medals for the club..

The novice men headed off on their 6K course at the same time and Tom McCarthy led the St Brendan's AC charge in a good position in the leading group of ten. David Kissane was second St Brendan's AC athlete for a few kilometres but then our other new county athlete, Jim O'Meara moved up into a good position in the flying field. Tom McCarthy had a tremendous battle with an athlete some years his junior over the last 100m but while the St Brendan's AC man had to give way, the points accumulated were enough to lead the club home to magnificent team silver medals. Jim followed for his first county cross country medal while Darren Kenny improved as the race came to its conclusion. David Kissane struggled on to finish the team account and get his first novice medal in 50 years!

And now David Butler gives his report on another good day for the St Brendan's AC juveniles.

It was a sunny day in South Kerry as St Brendan’s athletes competed on Day 2 of the county championships in Cahersiveen. On the 1000m lap course, overlooked by Cnoc an Tobar and nestled on the outskirts of the town beside the mouth of the River Fearta, there was plenty of action to see and success for our athletes.

In the first juvenile race, a large field of 40 athletes lined up and then raced off at a great pace. For many in this age group, it was their first time running a cross country race. Finishing strongly over the last 50m, Éabha Cowan was the first St. Brendan’s athlete home, coming in 6th place and winning a bronze medal. Lilly Mai Scanlon, with her trademark strong run, followed just outside the top 10, and Holly O’Driscoll finished a few places behind, marking a good outing for our trio of U10s.

In the boys' race, we had five U10 athletes take to the course in another fast race. Not long after the athletes disappeared from view on the 1K loop, they were soon back on the charge to the finish line. James Sheehy, running out of age, was the first club man home, finishing in 5th place and earning a bronze medal. His teammates Dara O’Connell, Brandon Scanlon, Harrison Cahill, and Liam O’Driscoll finished well up in the positions, earning the boys a silver medal in the team category.

Next up were the U12 girls, who would take on two laps of the course. Plenty of nerves for all at the start but that settled quickly for all. Aisling O’Driscoll, Einin Lawlor, and Millie Flavin lined up and took off at a fast pace up the pull at the start. Running well after the first lap Aisling was in the medal positions and held her place throughout that second lap to finish in 4th place. Next home for the club were Millie and Einin, both with good runs finished in the midfield positions as they also ran out of age.

The U12 boys' race was quickly ready to go in this efficiently run event. After the first lap, the field had spread out somewhat, but there was a grouping of Iveragh and St Brendan’s athletes together at the front. In the final sprint, seven runners were vying for six medal positions, and Jack Sheehy secured 3rd place, with Cody McKenna finishing 5th. Conor Slattery was the next club athlete home, finishing in the top half of the field, with Daniel Collins also finishing strongly to secure a silver team medal for the boys. Great effort from a team that saw Jack and Daniel running out of age.

Our U14 boys were keen to get their race underway, completing some last-minute warm-ups and strides. After witnessing the earlier success of their clubmates, they had a job to do. For them, it was three laps of the course—a mental battle as much as a physical one. Sean Collins set a strong pace, followed closely by John McCarthy. Oisin Fletcher and Matthew Cahill both pushed each other over the three laps, and their reward at the end was a bronze team medal.

The final race of the day saw the U18s line up for their 4500m race, with Zach Walshe representing the club. A tactical battle over the two laps saw the leading group of four reduce to three. Sticking with the leading group until the last lap, a small gap opened up on the hill, dropping Zach back to 3rd. He held that position to the finish, earning a bronze medal and adding to his bronze from the U20 race last weekend.

That wrapped up the club action for the day. Thanks, as ever, to the parents and coaches for bringing the athletes to the event and supporting them and thanks to Kerry Athletics and Iveragh AC for hosting a very enjoyable event. Well done to all the runners today.

Kerry Juvenile Relays, U20 Cross Country Championships 2024 Report

 By

David Butler, Juvenile Head Coach

Super performances all around today on Day 1 of the county cross country championships!

Wind and rain were the order of the day, but that didn’t deter them. First up was the U20 race, where the men and women ran together on two and a half laps of the challenging course. Zach Walshe was the first club athlete home, winning the bronze medal for 3rd place. Zach will be running in the U18 race next weekend and is primed for another strong performance. Rian Kenny O’Sullivan was the next club athlete across the line, finishing in 6th place. In the women’s race, Caoilinn Kenny O’Sullivan also came home in 6th place. It was great to have three of our older athletes compete, providing inspiration to our juvenile relay teams who would follow them.

As the senior action took place, our relay teams warmed up with the club’s cross country coach, Tom McCarthy. First up was our GU10 team, with Éabha Cowan leading off and putting the team into contention for the medal positions. Lily Mai Scanlon helped maintain that position, and Emma O’Flaherty finished her leg strongly, keeping the girls in a medal position. Holly O'Driscoll, on the anchor leg, brought it home, securing a joint 3rd place and a bronze medal. This was their first time together as a team, and it was fantastic to bring home a medal for their efforts.

Next up was the U10 boys, who were determined not to let the girls have the limelight for too long. U9 athlete James Sheehy led off for the team, putting them into 2nd place before passing the baton to Liam O'Driscoll, who maintained that position. Dara O’Connell took over for the 3rd leg, again keeping the team in 2nd place with a strong performance. Brandon Scanlon finished the race with his trademark kick, securing a silver medal as he opened a nice gap on the team behind them.

The U12 girls raced next, with our quartet of U11 runners stepping up to the challenge. Aisling O'Driscoll was the first runner for the team, working her way through to the midfield. Einin Lawlor took the baton next, showing a good turn of pace. Lelia McCarthy ran a composed 3rd leg, giving her best for her teammates before passing over to Amelia Dineen for the final leg. Amelia faced a tough battle throughout that leg, but she rose to the occasion, sprinting in the last 100m to secure an 11th place overall for the girls.

Our final club action came in the boys' U12 race. Corey O’Carroll, the regular starter for the team, had a strong opening leg, finishing in 2nd place just at the changeover. Conor Slattery followed, extending the gap to 3rd place and working hard to close the gap to 1st before passing to Cody McKenna. Cody showed his speed, keeping the team in 2nd place before Jack Sheehy took over for the last leg. Jack kept his eyes on 1st place while being aware of the competition behind him, and with a strong finish in the last 200m, he secured a silver medal for the team.

Well done to all our athletes on the day! Thank you for representing your club so well. Thanks to the parents for bringing them to the event, especially considering the weather conditions, which likely didn’t hold much appeal that morning. However, experiences like these are very important for the athletes as they prepare for the season ahead. Thank you to the club coaches for preparing the athletes and supporting them on the day

Silver Award at the Kerry Community Awards

 

St Brendan's AC has just won a Silver Award at the Kerry Community Awards ceremony in The Rose Hotel in Tralee. 

The club won the award for its wide programme of activities for both young and adult athletes in the North Kerry area, for its diversity, inclusivity and integration policy. The award was accepted by adult head coach, Ursula with Tricia, Moira, Irene, David B,  David K, Sinéad and Marie Louise.

Kerry Sportshall Games 2024 Report

 

St Brendan’s AC Wins Best Overall Club Award

By David Butler, St Brendan's AC Juvenile Head Coach

St Brendan’s AC was represented by 28 of our younger juvenile members at the 2024 edition of the Kerry Sportshall Games. This year’s event was originally scheduled for April but it was postponed then on safety grounds due to a red weather warning relating to a long since forgotten storm taking place.

For the first ever it was going to be held in one of Kerry’s premier sports facilities, the Kerry Sports Academy at MTU Tralee so all were eager to see the young athletes take to the boards.

Competing for the club on the day were

Aisling O’Driscoll

Amanda Connell

Anna Winter

Aoife Rice

Cassie O’Connor

Corey O’Carroll (Gold in BU12 Sprints, Silver in BU12 Shot Put, Silver in BU12 Standing Long Jump)

Dara O’Connell

Éabha Cowan (Gold in GU10 Sprints)

Einin Lawlor

Emma Joy (Bronze in GU11 Sprints)

Holly O’Driscoll

Jack Feehan (Silver in BU9 Speedbounce, (Joint) Bronze in BU9 Standing Long Jump)

Jack O’Flaherty

James Sheehy (Gold in BU9 Sprints, (Joint) Bronze in BU9 Standing Long Jump)

Karl Wallace (Gold in BU10 Speedbounce)

Keely Flaherty

Kira Harbuzova

Laoise Neary

Lelia McCarthy

Liam O’Driscoll

Lottie Boyle

Millie Flavin

Niamh McGuckin

Olivia Leen (Silver in GU12 Shot Put)

Roisin Flaherty

Sarah Duggan

Tadhg Quille

Tomas O’Flaherty (Gold in BU12 Shot Put, Gold in BU12 Standing Long Jump, Bronze in BU12 Sprints)

Following the successes of the individual events it was then into the relays where the club fielded 6 teams across the age groups. 4 of our teams secured medals by finishing in the top 3 in exciting races.

U9 Girls Relay, Bronze Medal (Roisin Flaherty, Niamh McGuckin, Amanda Connell, Anna Winter)

U10 Boys Relay, Gold Medal (James Sheehy, Dara O’Connell, Liam O’Driscoll, Karl Wallace)

U11 Girls Relay, Silver Medal (Lottie Boyle, Millie Flavin, Aisling O’Driscoll, Emma Joy)

U12 Girls Relay, Silver Medal (Keely Flaherty, Aoife Rice, Olivia Leen, Emma Joy, Lottie Boyle)

Well done to all the athletes on their performances and congratulations to our medallists. With the competition completed the club won the overall best club award on the day, the last time the club won the competition was in March 2020 (just before lockdown!)

Thanks to Kerry Athletics for hosting the event especially as it was away from its normal calendared date, to all volunteers on the day including the Irish Red Cross and club volunteers who looked after the athletes and helped run off an efficient event. Thanks to the parents for bringing their children to represent the club. Thanks to club coaching team who helped to prepare the athletes for the original date and the rescheduled date and for supporting the athletes on the day.

National Outdoor Juvenile B Championships & National Outdoor Juvenile Championships 2024

 

By David Butler, St Brendan's AC Juvenile Head Coach

A successful weekend for our club athletes, first up on Saturday was Cody McKenna running the U12 boys 60m sprint heats. With 4 heats and just the 1st in each to qualify to the final with 4th fastest times to also qualify, Cody placed 4th in his heat but just missed out on the final by one place with his time as he had the 5th fastest time. Cody would be back in action in the afternoon.

Next up then was Katie Butler competing the U13 girl’s shot put where she would line up against 10 other competitors. Katie opened her competition with a throw of 7.36m which was the best throw of all in the first round. In the 2nd row with all the play for she kept for form and focus and improved her mark to 7.69m. A final round throw of 7.60m followed. All throws completed and the results in and it was a silver medal for Katie, her 2nd National medal having also won silver in 2022 in the turbo javelin pairs.

After a long wait Conor Slattery was up for the U12 boy’s high jump, Conor had first time clearances from 1m all the way to 1.20m. On his 2nd attempt at 1.25m he equalled his PB before the bar was raised to 1.30m. Conor had 3 attempts at this height and he was very unlucky to have the slightest clip of the bar on his 3rd go which saw his competition end. 2 athletes jumped the 1.30m bar but no higher and with the results in Conor placed 4th on countback. Not too long of a wait and Conor was back for his 2nd event, the U12 boy’s shot put. Conor opened his account with 6.33m with a safe throw. His 2nd round throw looked to be a big one but unfortunately didn’t meet the favour of the judge’s eye. Under pressure then going into the final round, Conor needed to improve to get into a medal position and he landed the shot out to 6.89m, breaking his old PB of 6.75m and to the silver medal, a first National medal for him.

Cody was back in action then, the u12 boy’s long jump. A large field of 17 athletes here and Cody was 2nd last in the jumping order before he could take to the runway. His PB of 4.06m would need to be surpassed to get him a chance at the podium. With that first jump Cody’s leaped to a new lifetime best of 4.14m and into the 1st place in the event, just getting ahead of the next best jumper on 4.13cm. Two rounds of jumps would follow but no one closed that gap on Cody and he won the gold, his first National medal.

On Sunday and day 2 of the National Juvenile Championships. Aoibhinn O’Driscoll was up first in the u14 girl’s long jump in a large field of 18 athletes. Aoibhinn opened her account with 4.66m before improving to 4.78m in the 2nd round and it was 4.62m in the 3rd round. This had Aoibhinn as 6th overall as she made the top 8 final then and all to play for. Aoibhinn had a target, 3 jumps to try win that medal. Her 4th and 5th jumps of 4.43m and 4.61m didn’t improve her position but taking to the runway for the final time she had a brilliant final jump of 4.92m (just 3cm off her pb of 4.95) to move into the bronze medal position. 5 more athletes would jump with two of them the potential to move Aoibhinn out of the hot seat and unfortunately that was to be the case as she finished 4th overall.

Next up then was Oisin Fletcher, making his first trip to Tullamore for his debut at Nationals. Oisin was competing in the u14 boys 2K walk. Oisin worked hard to prepare for the competition fitting training in during his holidays abroad with plenty of warm weather and hill training. Oisin warmed up for the event today with walks coach David Kissane present to support. Lining up in a field of 8 boys it was 5 laps of the track for all. A fast start before the boys settled into their pace, Oisin had a consistent race and avoiding the scrutiny of the referees he crossed in 7th place just two seconds off his PB of 13:56 for a fine debut at National level.

The final athlete to compete at these championships for the club then was Maddison O’Connor who would be taking part in the u15 girl’s triple jump. Maddison’s 2nd time to Tullamore having competed last year in National B’s she was excited to get going at her event. A field of 14 athletes for this new event in this age group Maddison opened her competition with 8.78m (a new pb for her moving on from 8.31m). On her 2nd round jump her right foot rolled slightly on landing on the step which didn’t help her jump and she landed at 8.28m. In the 3rd round she pushed to try improving on that first round but 8.48m the mark. Just missing out on the top 8, Maddison placed 9th overall.

That closed off the juvenile season for our athletes, thank you again to the athlete’s families and friends for making the trips to bring them to competitions and to the athletes for representing their club so well. Thanks also to our coaches and club volunteers who help prepare the athletes for their events and for supporting the athletes on the days across the country. It has been a very successful season for our club, 10 Nationals medals just one of the indicators of the success of our group and the many more positive experiences for all earned through the participation at training and competition. We look forward to next season when it all kicks off again.

Munster Athletics U14-U19 Track & Field Championships 2024 Review

 By David Butler, St Brendan's AC juvenile head coach.

There and back again….Waterford Regional Sports Centre was the venue for this weekend’s competition, it’s about as far away as you can get in Munster and still be in the province but it proved to be a successful weekend for our club with precious reward which came in many forms. Our athletes tested themselves against the best in Munster and came away with 9 medals, National qualification and personal bests as they went through the experience of it all.

First in action on Saturday was Eoin Malik, who was entered to compete in 3 U17 boys events over the two days. Triple Jump in terrible conditions meant that playing it safe was going to be the order of the day. Eoin opened and closed his event with a best jump of 12.31m to win the gold medal.

At the same time Aoibhinn O’Driscoll opened her weekend with the first of her trio, U14 girl’s high jump and after opening at 1.25m the bar rose to 1.40m which Aoibhinn cleared. The wind and rain was not helping Aoibhinn and her competitors as they fosbury flopped onto a wet mat but her best jump of 1.40m won the silver medal.

Action on the track then got going for the club with our duo of racewalkers for this Munster competition of Hannah Sheehy going in the U13 girls 2K race and Oisin Fletcher in the U14 boys 2K race. This was Hannah’s 2nd ever racewalking race (the last one at Munster Indoors this year season) but her first race at the 2K distance and it was Oisin’s 2nd ever racewalk having taken up the event this season too. Both athletes were put through a vigorous warmup by David Kissane which was certainly needed with the conditions and the standard of the event. Both the boys and girls in this age group went off together and working very hard across all 5 laps both athletes recorded clean sheets with Hannah crossing the line in 13:22.42 and Oisin in 13:56.85 (new pb). Both athletes won the silver medal in their age groups. A first Munster medal for Oisin, a day to remember!

Over to the hurdles then,

Aoibhinn was back in action then for her 2nd event of the day, this time in the 75mH. Running into a strong headwind she placed 2nd in the semi-final to qualify through to the final. With a quick turnaround the girls lined up for the final where Aoibhinn improved on her semi time of 13.56 to 12:95 to win her 2nd medal of the day, this time the bronze for 3rd place.

Alex Blackett was next up to face the short hurdles as he lined up in the U14 boys 75mH event. The wind was doing none of our hurdlers any favours but Alex crossed the line in 4th place in his semi-final and qualified for the final. The final ran off a short time, Alex improved on his time from the semi as he finished in 8th place overall with a time of 17.06m.

Maddison O’Connor stepped up to the blocks next in the U15 girls 80mH, with unfortunate scheduling Maddison’s favoured events of long jump, triple jump and short hurdles where going to be run in quick succession so she had a choice to make and decided to stick with one jump event and the hurdles. Maddison qualified from the semi-finals it was short notice before she had to quickstep it to the start line. With a better start Maddison improved on her time from the semi she crossed the line in 7th place in 15.8 seconds.

Maddison then switched over to the triple jump; thankfully conditions had slightly improved but still very changeable with wind, drizzle and sun alternating every 15mins. Maddison hop, skipped and jumped to 8.29m this best jump (just 2cm off her personal best) coming in the 3rd round. That jump secured her 4th place which secured her a spot at Nationals in the event.

Eoin Malik was competing in his 2nd event of the weekend, the U17 boy’s javelin. The head wind which can sometimes work in your favour with the javelin showed no consistency for the throwers as the javelins were sometimes stalling instead of rising through the air. Eoin’s best throw of 36.25m coming in the third round won him his 2nd medal of the day, a silver medal for 2nd place.

Alex Blackett was back in action where his 2nd event of the day was the U14 boys 200m heats. This was Alex’s debut in the 200s, he had a good start and attacked the bend before finishing strong down the home straight to place 5th in his heat with a time of 33.16.

The final athlete competing on Saturday was Zach Walshe who lined up in the U18 boys 3000m race. In this event, the U17s, U18s and U19s boys all raced together. A fast start over the first two laps before the field opened up and then it was solo running for the majority of the athletes including Zach. Crossing the line in 10:25.27 it wasn’t the time Zach had hoped for but still secured the bronze medal in his age group for him.

Back for the Sunday events, the rain clouds abated and it was sun cream weather this time out! Aoibhinn O’Driscoll competed in the U14 girl’s long jump and Eoin Malik in the U17 boy’s long jump. Eoin was first to the pits, with a narrow break on his first round jump on what was a certain pb his best jump of the day to that point came in the 3rd round where he leapt to 5.91m. Eoin had his eyes on the 6.10m mark and to also pb, the 4th and 5th jumps were back a little from his earlier best but there was more to come. In the final round with the pressure on he jumped to a new lifetime best of 6.18m (previously 6m) and to a silver medal for Eoin. This medal to go with his gold and silver from day 1 and close off an excellent Munster season for Eoin and he reverts back to National competition next weekend.

Aoibhinn then who had watched on in quiet interest to Eoin’s competition then took to the runway in the U14 girl’s event. A large field of 29 long jumpers competed in what was the largest field of the weekend in the long jump events. Her first round jump of 4.43m put her in 2nd place and she then stepped that up to 4.64m in the 3rd round. All to play for going into the delayed final, Aoibhinn’s kept focusing on improving her jump and in the final round jumped to 4.73m to put more distance between her and 3rd place and secure the silver medal. Aoibhinn’s 3rd medal of the weekend, with 2 silver medals and a bronze medal going home to Kilmoyley.

That drew to a close the Munster U14-U19 competitions, well done to our all athletes on their successes and thanks to their families and friends for bringing them to the competition. Thanks to the club coaches for preparing our athletes for the event and the support given to the athletes over the weekend.