December 3rd & 4th - IUAA Indoor Championships

Hugh Fitzpatrick (TCD) was the bronze medalist in the 2km racewalk in Nenagh.

The indoor track season opened yesterday with the Irish universities championships in Nenagh and a number of Shercock athletes were in action representing their diverse colleges. 

Alan McEntee represented Dundalk Institute of Technology on Friday, finishing fourth in his 60m semi-final in 7.46s and sixth in the triple jump with a 12.34m effort. James Ruxton (Sligo IT) produced a surprising burst of speed for this early in the season when he recorded a time of 51.44s when finishing second behind David McCarthy in his 400m heat. James failed to progress to the final after placing third behind McCarthy and Waterford IT's Barry Upton in the semi however he was consoled with his new PB in the heat which was not bettered by anyone but McCarthy in the final. Noel Carroll (Sligo IT) produced two great efforts over 3000m, winning his heat on Friday with a time of 9:39 and hitting a new PB of 9:22.5 when finishing seventh in the final. Michael Muldoon (UCD) also recorded a 3000m PB when he finished third in his heat in  9:34.12 however his best result came in the 2km walk in which he finished fourth. Hugh Fitzpatrick (TCD) went one better in the walk, taking third place just ahead of Michael. Bailieborough's Briain O'Dowd (DIT) was also in action in Nenagh, narrowly missing out on qualification for the final of the 3000m with a 9:58 effort in the heat.

AAI Juvenile Indoor Championships - 2004 Club Rankings

Shercock AC finished in fourth place overall in the national rankings following the two weekends of the AAI juvenile indoor championships. The club won 5 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals for a points total of 24. This matched our best previous position of fourth place in last year's rankings and reflects great credit on all the club's athletes and coaches who put in such a tremendous effort in the lead up to the championships. Ferrybank AC from Waterford were the national leaders, followed by Letterkenny from Donegal and DSD from Dublin. It was remarkable to see a club from a rural village like Shercock with a population of just 900 ranked ahead of clubs from the country's largest cities. Well done to everyone - the ship's on a steady course and future prospects are looking bright!

April 4th - AAI Juvenile Indoor Championships - Relays

Shercock Boys Under 16 Relay Win Unexpected Silver

The relay races at the indoor championships always generate great interest among both the athletes and the spectators and this year was no exception as the narrow confines of the indoor stadium in Nenagh echoed to the roars of supporters of all ages urging on their club teams. The Shercock AC boys under 16 4x200m team had little cause for optimism following a poor qualifying performance at the Ulster trials in February when they were well beaten by a stronger side from Letterkenny. A month’s dedicated training before the nationals, however, turned the team into a competitive unit that had hopes of at least making the final. A strong run in the heats achieved that goal however few could have expected the transformation in the team’s fortunes that the final brought about. Craig Lynch (left), despite being the youngest member of the squad, produced an outstanding effort on the opening 200m leg. Starting from the outside lane, Craig opened up a lead on the rest of the field and handed the baton to his team mate Matthew O’Reilly (right) in first place. Matthew gave his best over the lap of the track, holding off the challenge of the other teams until the final bend when he was overtaken. Nevertheless only a small gap separated Shercock’s third runner Ciaran Ward as he set off in pursuit of the second and third placed teams. Ciaran accelerated down the back straight and in a short distance overtook Letterkenny and Bree athletic clubs and ran on strongly to the change zone where he passed the baton to newly crowned Irish 200m champion Gerard O’Reilly (left) in second place. Blarney athletic club had opened up a 20m lead at the front of the field however Gerard closed down the gap with relentless determination until the pair crossed the finish line tight together in a photo-finish. The camera judged in favour of the Cork club, nonetheless the Shercock quartet were elated with their surprise silver medal, which had seemed a remote possibility only a month previously. When the official times were announced, Blarney had won in 1:42.16 and Shercock were placed second in 1:42.18, just two hundredths of a second behind. Bree were third and Letterkenny finished fourth.

Shercock AC Boys Under 16 4x200m Relay - Ciaran Ward, Kevin Ruxton (sub), Gerard O'Reilly, Craig Lynch and Matthew O'Reilly.

Gerry, JR & The Racewalkers Headline in Nenagh

The second weekend of the Irish indoor championships in Nenagh produced plenty of excitement for the athletes and coaches from the club who travelled to the Tipperary venue for the final competition of the indoor season. Gerard O'Reilly entered the under 16 200m with every prospect of a medal following his win in the 60m final two weeks previously. Gerard was the second fastest qualifier from the heats behind Strabane's Irish champion Aaron Crawford. In the final Crawford made a great start in his bid for the title with a strong run down the back straight in lane three with Gerard battling to keep in contact in lane two. As the pair came off the final bend, Crawford held the lead but with the finish line in sight Gerard opened up his stride and overtook the Strabane athlete to secure his second title of the indoor championships (above right). Gerard is pictured left being presented with his gold medal by Georgina Drumm, secretary of the AAI.

Gerard was not the only athlete from Shercock making his mark over 200m in Nenagh as a short time later James Ruxton settled on his blocks in lane four for the final of the under 19 event. James produced a great effort from the unfavourable outside lane and was engaged in a head to head with Ferrybank's Barry Upton and Ian McNamara from Dooneen as the three surged down the finish straight and crossed the line close together in a tight finish. James (right) was given third place and was further rewarded with an excellent time of 23.22s for a new club record.

The Shercock racewalkers were back in Nenagh less than a week after lifting the inter county relay title in the same venue and the positive mood of the team was clear to be seen as they prepared for their individual events at the juvenile championships. James Muldoon was making a return to competition after a two year break from racewalking and the younger Muldoon made an immediate impact in the under 17 final as he led the race from Dooneen's Paul Murphy until the final lap when Murphy accelerated past James to cross the line first. All was not as it seemed, however as Murphy was subsequently disqualified leaving James as the new champion, adding a further gold to the pair of senior medals he had collected a week previously. Paul Fitzpatrick then led a small field in the under 15 competition from start to finish to retain the title he had won for the first time in 2003. Peter Muldoon made the pace for most of the under 18 1500m and was rewarded with the silver medal in a time of 6:26 while in the same age group club mate Hugh Fitzpatrick fought his way from the back of the field to take the bronze medal in a time of 6:59. All in all it was a great day's competition and the squad returned home in great form with a fine collection of medals and new PBs.

Shercock Polevaulters Retain National Title

One of the highlights of the 2003 indoor season for Shercock came at the indoor relays when James Ruxton and Philip Daly won the gold medal in the team pole vault in a close fought competition. This year Philip paired up with James Muldoon to defend the club's title. James was first to enter the competition and the sixteen year old produced a confident series of vaults finishing with a clearance at 2.90m to match his PB and finish in third place in the individual standings. Philip delayed his entry until the bar had risen to 2.8m which he cleared comfortably (right). He followed this up with first attempt clearances at 3.0m and 3.1m. He then attempted a new PB at 3.3m, however the bar denied him on this occasion. He was delighted to finish first in the individual standings and secure the team gold with James, having achieved a combined total of 6.0m. Second place went to a young team from Youghal and third place to Strabane.

Also competing for Shercock in Nenagh were Alan McEntee and Noel Ruxton in the team triple jump event. The pair produced useful efforts of 11.92m and 10.59m however this was not enough to get among the medals and they had to settle for fourth place. Michael Muldoon competed as an individual in the team 3000m race and finished in eighth place.

Irish Title Wins For David Shields & Gerard O'Reilly

The national juvenile championships in Nenagh proved to be a fertile hunting ground for a small group of athletes from Shercock who collected two golds, a silver and a bronze medal between them. Gerard O'Reilly (right) went into the final of the under 16 60m with every prospect of success following a strong performance in the AAA championships two weeks previously. However in Nenagh he faced stiff opposition from Strabane's Aaron Crawford and Beara's national champion Brendan O'Connor. Gerard's start has shown considerable improvement lately and Nenagh was the right place to put it into practice as he launched off the starting blocks into an immediate lead in the final (left). O'Connor tried gamely to keep in contact with the Cavan man however Gerard powered away from the field to record a comprehensive victory in an impressive time of 7.3s. It was his first win at national level following a string of silver and bronze medal performances and he was justifiably delighted with the result.

David Shields  (right) was on familiar ground as he once more faced the high jump bar in Nenagh in an Irish championship. David was competing in the juvenile under 17 age group and he had a long wait before his competition as the programme ran well behind schedule on the first day of the championships. David kept well focused and following a further wait for the bar to reach his opening height he comfortably won the competition with clearances at 1.80m and 1.90m. The silver and bronze medals were won by two athletes from Carrick-on-Shannon. David then went on to attempt a new record at 2.01m, however the bar denied him on this occasion as he narrowly missed the clearance at his third attempt.

Matthew O'Reilly (left) has regularly been in the shake up for the medals in the shot putt and once more he put in a strong performance in Nenagh, producing a best effort of 12.55m in the under 16 age group. This was enough to lead each of the athletes who had defeated him in past nationals, however the title remained elusively outside his grasp as newcomer Robert Howe from Naas putted a 14m+ effort to win the gold leaving Matthew in the silver medal position.

James Ruxton (right) drew lane two in the final of the under 19 400m and made good use of the inside position to take the lead at the break off the second bend. On the third bend, however he lost ground to Ferrybank's Barry Upton who was going for a sprint double following his win in the 60m on Saturday. James was then overtaken on the back straight by Conal McNamara from Westport who then produced a great surge down the home straight to take the title from the tiring Upton. James battled all the way to the line and was rewarded with the bronze medal in a useful time of 52.04s. 

Also representing Shercock in Nenagh was James Muldoon who finished in seventh place at the end of a hard-fought under 17 1500m final, and Noel Carroll who finished eighth in the under 19 1500m final.

Also performing well in Nenagh from Cavan was Annalee's Cian O'Reilly who made great progress on the final lap of the under 13 600m to challenge for a medal at the line. After a tight finish Cian was rewarded with the silver medal. Carrick Aces, who prepared for the nationals on the club track in Shercock, were also in action in Nenagh where top performances came from Kate O'Hanlon, sixth in the 60m and April Thornton, 8th in the under 12 high jump. Glaslough Harriers also enjoyed considerable success in Nenagh led by title winning performances by Patrick & Killian McCarron in the under 15 & 13 60m finals.

Sean and Gerard Share the Silver

On the second day of the AAA indoor championships in Birmingham, Shercock's Gerard O'Reilly and Sean Smith went into action in the under 15 200m and under 20 3000m. For Gerard (left) it was a chance for a second shot at a medal as the photo finish camera had denied him the previous day in the 60m final. In his 200m semi-final, Gerard came up against the impressive Precious Ojighoro from Herne Hill Harriers who provided a target for Gerard all the way to the finish line and left him with a new PB and Shercock club record of 23.45s as he finished in second place.  The final turned out top be a repeat of the semi as Ojighoro once more led the race from start to finish and Gerard finished well clear in second place to secure his first major international medal. Another local athlete who impressed in the final was Glaslough Harriers' Patrick McCarron who finished in sixth place in a time of 24.56s. 

Sean Smith followed Gerard into action and the club's leading distance runner proved to be well up to the task in the under 20 3000m as he hammered out a steady pace from the gun which was fast enough to wear down all the opposition with the notable exception of Swindon's David Bishop. Bishop proved stronger in the closing stages and was first to cross the line leaving Sean clear in second place in a time of 8:44, matching his performance at the Irish junior championships in Nenagh in January. At the medal presentation, Sean appeared to be more interested in Bishop's gold medal than his own silver (right). It turned out to be a very successful outing for the two cousins as they raised the club's medal tally for the weekend to a gold and two silvers. There was plenty of Irish success to celebrate in other events also including the under 20 1500m in which the impressive Colin Costelloe once more dipped under 3:50 to retain the title. 

There was plenty to celebrate for the Shercock contingent, and the Shields family in particular, at the AAA indoor championships in Birmingham on Saturday. David Shields had finished in the runner up position in the under 17 age group last year, however this time he went into the competition with the benefit of a new PB and Irish senior medal from the Odyssey behind him. If David's performance at the Odyssey was characterised by the wariness of a fifteen year old clearing 2.00m for the first time, the Birmingham competition could not have been more different as he celebrated his recent sixteenth birthday with a champagne display of confident jumping that saw him clear every height at the first attempt, finishing off with a massive clearance at 2.02m for the title and a new PB. The 2.02m mark has a particular significance for the young man from Newry as it puts him in the frame for selection for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Australia in November when he hopes to represent Northern Ireland. Looking further ahead it also puts him in the frame for the Irish team for the World Youth Championships and European Youth Olympics in 2005. 

Also representing Shercock in Birmingham on Saturday was Gerard O'Reilly who was starting off a busy weekend with the under 15 60m, having also been selected to represent Ireland at 200m on Sunday. Gerard's target was to reach the final and he did so convincingly with a win in his heat followed by third place in a fast semi-final. Gerard went up a gear for the final and after a close fought race was one of four runners contesting the silver and bronze medals in a photo-finish. When the results came in Gerard was placed fourth, just one hundreth of a second off the silver medal, and was rewarded with a new personal best of 7.46s. Less fortunate was Philip Daly who was competing in the under 17 60m. Philip showed great form when winning the Irish trials in January however he suffered a hamstring strain in his heat and had to pull up. On Sunday Gerard O'Reilly will be joined on the boards in Birmingham by his cousin Sean Smith who will enter the under 20 3000m as the Irish champion. Sean will be hoping for a new PB over the distance when he takes on the best in Britain.

David Soars to New Heights

On an exciting weekend of non-stop athletic action at Belfast's Odyssey Arena, David Shields produced the performance of his life in the men's high jump to claim a new personal best of 2.00m. David was involved in a three-way battle for the silver and bronze medals as he went clear comfortably at 1.95m on his first attempt. When the bar was raised to 2.00m the fifteen-year old at first appeared to have reached his limit, however a superb third attempt saw him clear the height with plenty to spare. He then went on to try 2.05m and almost achieved it as he clipped the bar with his heel on his final attempt. This left David as the third placed Irish competitor in the competition making him the first athlete from Shercock AC to win an individual national senior medal. With a new record under his belt, David is now looking forward to the AAA championships in Birmingham on February 29th when he will have another opportunity to reach new heights.

Also reaching new heights from Shercock was Philip Daly who reached a new PB of 3.20m in the pole vault and narrowly missed the clearance at 3.40m. James Ruxton set a new club record of 51.73s when finishing third in his heat in the 400m while Sean Smith made a rare excursion over 800m and was rewarded with a PB of 2:01 when finishing fourth in his heat. Anne Marie Burns finished in eighth place in the triple jump while Alan McEntee covered the 60m distance in 7.46 seconds to finish fourth in his heat.

Peter Muldoon and Hugh Fitzpatrick led the men's 5km walk for the first 20m (left) before the impressive Robert Korzionisky from Poland took over and produced an electrifying race to win from Ireland's Robert Heffernan. Peter finished in eighth place after a tough race which saw several athletes fall foul of the judges and be disqualified including his Shercock team mate Hugh Fitzpatrick. 

There were some really outstanding performances in the Odyssey including Colin Costelloe's when he won the men's 1500m in a new Irish junior record of 3:49.3. (Well done Colin!)

Also competing in the Odyssey were a number of juveniles from the club who took part in the Ulster age group competitions which preceded the senior events. All the juveniles seemed to have the time of their lives competing in the impressive arena. Among the leading performers from Shercock were Gerard O'Reilly who won his heats in the under 16 60m and 200m and was placed second overall based on times as no finals were held. Matthew O'Reilly finished second in the under 16 shot putt having been beaten by just 5cm. A number of younger runners from Shercock were in action on Saturday including Kieran McDermott (left) shown leaving his blocks at the start of the 200m.

Shercock Juniors Strike Gold In Nenagh

The Irish junior championships proved a rich hunting ground for Shercock's track and field athletes as they returned from the trip to Nenagh with four titles under their belts. The men's 5km walk proved to be an absorbing race as Peter Muldoon moved gradually up the field to challenge for the lead. Peter and Michael Doyle from Cushinstown closed down a large gap to overtake early race leader Brendan Boyce from Milford and then battled for the lead until Doyle fell foul of the judges and was disqualified. Peter was left out in front on his own and kept his form all the way to the line to secure the title. Hugh Fitzpatrick was visibly in discomfort for much of the race due to blistered feet however he showed characteristic determination and eventually worked his way into third place to take the bronze medal. With Boyce in second place it was an Ulster clean sweep of the medals. Philip Daly next went into action in the pole vault and finished in fourth place while his Shercock team mates James Ruxton and James Muldoon were joint sixth. 

Sean Smith was defending the title he won in 2003 when he toed the line at the start of the 3000m. Sean made his intentions clear from the gun as he went straight to the front and settled into his target pace which was aimed at an 8:50 finishing time. By half way he was inside his mark and well clear of the rest of the field. A strong finish saw Sean cross the line in an impressive time of  8:44 to retain the title and also claim a useful PB. Sean was followed home by Colm Turner from Dooneen and Eoin Callaghan from Star of the Sea AC (pictured left). 

David Shields found himself competing in Nenagh for the third time this year when he contested the high jump at the juniors. David was showing the benefits of his conditioning programme at the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland as he progressed through the opening rounds until only Belgooly's Christopher Crowley was left to challenge him at the final height of 1.93m. Both athletes struggled to make the clearance at first, however, David's final attempt saw him soar over the bar with a determined leap while Christopher was unable to make the clearance leaving David to claim Shercock's third gold medal of the day. The pair are shown right following their medal presentation.

The women's triple jump saw Anne Marie Burns  (left) produce a useful opening effort in the first round of 10.43m. When the competition had run its course, no-one had matched Anne Marie's opener and she was delighted to accept the gold medal and maintain her unbroken winning streak in 2004. Anne Marie, like many of her Shercock team mates, is looking forward to competing in the senior championships in Belfast's Odyssey Arena in two weeks time.

AAI Indoor Pentathlon - January 18th

 Silver For Gerard O'Reilly in Nenagh

Gerard O’Reilly was back on the track in Nenagh on January 18th after his successful outing in the AAA trials the day before and on this occasion he was contesting the under 16 pentathlon. Following a good start with high points scores in the hurdles, long jump and shot putt, Gerard was lying in second place behind Tullamore’s Eoin Hannon. A poor high jump left him with too large a gap to close on Hannon and his second place came under threat from Brendan Culleton of Bree AC. Everything came down to the final event, the 800m, in which Gerard needed a strong performance to hold off the challenge from Culleton. Lying in fourth place with 200m to go, he let loose a devastating final lap to surge past the rest of the field and win the race in a personal record of 2:14 minutes. It was the fasted 800m run of the day in any age group and secured the silver medal for the fourteen year old. Also competing in the under 16 pentathlon was  Matthew O’Reilly, whose best result came in the shot putt which he won with a 12.31m throw and left him in sixth place overall. Also representing Shercock were Kevin Ruxton who ran 2:36 for the 800m to finish eighth overall and Paul Fitzpatrick finished with a 2:32 800m to finish 10^th.  Denise Smith finished in twelfth place in the girls under 16 event having run particularly well in the 60m hurdles. In the under 14 pentathlon there were encouraging performances by a number young athletes from Shercock. Paul Smith achieved his best mark in the long jump with a distance of 4.36m and finished in eighth place overall. Stephen Donnery ran well in the 800m and finished in twelfth place overall as did Alwynne McGeever in the girls competition whose best event was also the 800m in which she was timed at 3:01 minutes.

Young athletes from Cavan and Monaghan, as well as a talented group from Strabane, gathered in Shercock for the Cavan Open Track & Field on Feb 1st. The mild and wet conditions that prevailed on the day failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the competitors, who put in some impressive performances as they prepared for the Ulster Juvenile Indoors at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on February 14th. One of the highlights of the day came in the under 16 200m, in which Shercock's Gerard O'Reilly, runner up in the 2003 national championships, went head to head with national champion Aaron Crawford from Strabane. The pair put on a great display of competitive sprinting despite the less than ideal conditions with Gerard getting the advantage on this occasion. 

Wins for Philip Daly, Gerard O'Reilly and David Shields at AAI Indoor Trials

There were some outstanding early season performances by four of the club's younger athletes at the AAI trials for the AAA juvenile indoor championships which were held in Nenagh. Philip Daly smashed Brendan Corrigan's long standing club record for 60m when he stormed down the straight to win the under 17 trial in a blistering 7.30s. Philip was clearly showing the benefits of his winter conditioning programme as he knocked two tenths of a second off his previous best. Arguably even more impressive were the performances of Gerard O'Reilly (left) in the under 15 60m and 200m. Gerard left nothing to chance as he demolished his personal best by almost half a second when winning the 60m in 7.48s. He was no less impressive in the 200m in which he broke his outdoor best mark with a 24.36s timing to win his race and, hopefully, gained selection for the AAAs. David Shields continued his unbroken winning streak in 2004 with a comfortable victory in the under 17 high jump with a 1.83m clearance. David went on to attempt 2.02m for a new PB but was unable to achieve it on this occasion. Matthew O'Reilly found himself at the younger end of the age group when he contested the under 17 shot putt. Using the 5kg weight, Matthew putted a respectable 11.40m to finish fourth in the trial.