June
20th
2004
-
Ulster
&
NI
Age
Group
Championships
Many
of
the
club's
juvenile
athletes
were
in
action
at
the
provincial
track
&
field
championships
in
Antrim
on
the
weekend
of
June
19th.
There
were
some
impressive
performances
in
the
sprints
and
jumps
as
the
weather
cleared
from
a
showery
start
in
the
morning
to
a
drier
but
breezy
spell
in
the
afternoon
which
suited
the
distance
runners.
With
the
top
four
in
each
event
progressing
to
the
Irish
championships
there
was
strong
competition
across
all
the
age
groups.
Gerard
O'Reilly
went
head-to-head
with
Irish
200m
champion
Aaron
Crawford
in
their
first
contest
outdoors
this
year.
The
pair
came
off
the
bend
together
(right)
but
Gerard
lengthened
his
stride
down
the
home
straight
and
pulled
away
from
the
Strabane
athlete
to
record
a
win
in
a
new
PB
of
23.2s.
Later
on
the
pair
returned
to
the
track
for
the
100m
final
and
once
again
Gerard
was
first
to
cross
the
line
in
a
time
of
11.4s,
having
previously
set
a
new
PB
of
11.3s
in
the
heats.
Craig
Lynch
also
impressed
in
the
sprints,
becoming
the
youngest
Shercock
athlete
to
break
12
seconds
for
100m
when
he
finished
second
in
the
under
15
final
in
11.9s,
one
place
ahead
of
Irish
champion
Patrick
McCarron
from
Glaslough
Harriers.
Craig
went
on
to
win
a
second
silver
in
the
high
jump
with
a
clearance
of
1.55m.
Also
qualifying
in
the
sprints
from
Shercock
was
Paul
Smith
who
finished
fourth
in
the
u14
80m
and
also
won
a
bronze
medal
in
the
long
jump.
Philip
Daly
made
a
successful
return
to
the
track
with
a
time
of
11.6s
in
the
under
18
100m
for
third
place
behind
winner
Leslie
Leung
from
B&A.
Shercock
athletes
featured
prominently
in
the
jumps
throughout
the
day
and
there
was
a
double
win
for
Anne
Marie
Burns
in
the
Junior
Womens
long
jump
and
triple
jump
with
distances
of
4.77m
and
10.36m.
David
Shields
was
a
comfortable
winner
of
the
under
17
high
jump
with
a
1.88m
clearance
and
Aaron
Heery
won
his
first
provincial
title
in
the
under
19
long
jump
and
added
a
second
gold
in
the
triple
jump
later
in
the
day.
There
was
plenty
of
Shercock
interest
in
the
pole
vault
as
a
number
of
the
club's
athletes
competed
for
the
first
time.
National
coach
Jim
Alexander
was
on
hand
to
conduct
a
coaching
session
for
the
beginners
and
the
benefits
were
plain
to
be
seen
as
many
of
the
young
competitors
cleared
useful
heights.
James
Muldoon
tied
for
first
place
in
the
under
17
event
with
a
3.00m
clearance
to
match
his
PB.
Philip
Daly
(left)
also
matched
Peter
Abernathy's
best
clearance
of
3.30m
in
the
under
18
age
group
and
was
placed
second
on
countback.
Paul
Fitzpatrick
achieved
a
new
PB
of
2.20m
when
finishing
second
under
16
while
Ciaran
Ward
was
fourth
in
the
same
competition
with
1.60m.
Kevin
Ruxton
was
delighted
to
take
the
silver
medal
in
the
under
15
age
group
with
a
new
PB
of
2.00m.
One
of
the
star
performers
for
Shercock
was
Fiona
Smith
who
cleared
1.90m
for
a
new
club
record
when
finishing
third
in
the
girls
under
16
pole
vault.
It
was
Fiona's
first
competition
and
she
looks
like
a
great
prospect
for
the
future
in
this
technically
demanding
event.
The
Shercock
racewalk
squad
were
also
in
impressive
form
in
Antrim.
Irish
international
Peter
Muldoon
showed
no
ill
effects
from
a
heavy
training
session
the
previous
day
as
he
hammered
out
a
fast
pace
in
the
under
18
5000m.
Peter
swapped
the
lead
with
his
younger
brother
James
on
the
opening
laps
(right)
as
James
was
also
pushing
hard
for
a
good
time
in
the
under
17
3000m
event
which
was
combined
with
the
longer
distance.
The
pair
quickly
broke
away
from
the
rest
of
the
field
and
James
finished
his
shorter
race
first
to
win
in
a
new
PB
of
14:32,
breaking
his
previous
best
by
18
seconds.
Peter
maintained
the
strong
pace
and
as
he
entered
the
closing
laps
it
was
clear
that
he
was
heading
for
a
landmark
result.
When
he
crossed
the
finish
line
the
clock
stopped
at
23:07
minutes,
a
staggering
1:15
minute
improvement
on
his
previous
best
for
the
distance,
which
served
as
a
great
encouragement
ahead
of
the
upcoming
Dublin
Grand
Prix
where
he
will
contest
the
junior
10km
against
an
international
field.
Hugh
Fitzpatrick
took
a
break
from
his
Leaving
Cert
exams
to
compete
in
Antrim
and
was
rewarded
with
second
place
behind
Peter.
Bernadette
Muldoon
was
also
in
action
in
the
under
16
racewalk
in
which
she
finished
fourth
to
also
qualify
for
the
Irish
championships.
Sean
Smith
found
himself
in
a
dilemma
before
the
1500m
final
as
his
prized
pair
of
gold
spikes
mysteriously
went
missing.
Never
one
to
shirk
a
challenge,
Sean
wore
a
pair
of
road
runners
for
the
race
and
pushed
the
pace
out
in
the
middle
laps
as
the
race
started
too
slowly.
Four
runners
were
left
in
contention
on
the
final
lap
of
the
combined
age
groups
event
and
with
200m
to
go
Eoghan
Gill
from
NBH
overtook
Sean
who
then
responded
with
a
sprint
of
his
own
to
hold
off
the
challenge
of
the
chasing
pack
and
cross
the
line
second
behind
Gill.
Sean
was
the
first
of
his
age
group
to
finish
and
was
pleased
enough
to
secure
the
title
given
the
unsuitable
footwear
he
was
forced
to
use.
If
anyone
knows
what
really
happened
to
Sean's
spikes,
he
would
be
like
to
have
them
returned
as
they
are
of
sentimental
value!
Noel
Carroll
finished
fifth
behind
Sean
in
a
time
of
4:39.
Matthew
O'Reilly
put
in
a
great
performance
in
the
throwing
events
despite
having
a
heavily
bandaged
right
wrist
due
to
a
biking
accident.
Matthew
finished
second
in
the
under
16
shot
putt
using
the
5kg
weight
and
also
placed
third
in
the
hammer.