2006 Indoor Athletics

February 5th - Gerry & Craig win Silver in Britain

On a busy weekend for Shercock sprinters, Gerry O'Reilly (right) traveled to Wales with the Irish team for the home countries indoor international. Gerry was selected for his strongest event, the 200m, and produced a great effort to take second place in his race behind England's Gary Atkinson in the junior (u20) age group. Gerry also teamed up with three of his fellow Irish juniors for the 4x200m relay however there was to be nothing to celebrate on this occasion when a dropped baton saw the team drop out of contention.

Craig Lynch has shown the potential to achieve great things in the sprint events for some time and this promise came to fruition in Scotland today when two blistering runs over 60m and 200m saw him take double silver at the Scottish under 17 indoor championships in Kelvin Hall. Craig found himself up against friend and rival Patrick McCarron from Glaslough Harriers, the current Irish champion in his age group, however on this occasion Craig showed the Monaghan man a clean pair of heels in both events. Craig smashed his PB in the 60m with a 7.34s timing behind fellow Irishman Ciaran O'Cathain from Roscommon (left) and also knocked half a second off his 200m best when running 23.78s. Also impressing for Shercock in Glasgow was Hugh Fitzpatrick, who held third place in the junior men's shot putt until the final round only to be beaten by just 15cm for the bronze medal. Hugh was well compensated with a new best mark of 12.00m. In the distance events James Muldoon was fifth in his heat of the under 20 800m, Fiona Murray was fifth in her heat of the under 20 1500m and Luke O'Brien was 6th in his heat of the under 17 1500m, however none progressed to the finals of their events.

January 22nd Scottish Senior Indoor Championships

A trio of Shercock sprinters made the journey to Glasgow's Kelvin hall to compete in the Scottish senior indoor championships. It was the first time that athletes from the club had taken part in the seniors, however they were on familiar ground following regular trips to the juvenile indoors in recent years. James Ruxton fared best of the three, progressing as far as the semi-finals of the 400m with a best time of 51.77s. Philip Daly improved on his performance at the AAI games last week with a 7.4s clocking in the 60m heat and 24.1s for the 200m, however he did not progress from his heat in either case. Alan McEntee continued to struggle to find his early season form with below par performances in the 60m and 200m however he will undoubtedly shake off the winter cobwebs in time for the Irish seniors in the Odyssey in February.

January 15th - AAI Indoor Games, Nenagh

Shercock athletes enjoyed a positive start to the indoor season in Nenagh today when an uncharacteristically mild January day contributed to an enjoyable day's competition for those who made the journey to the Tipperary venue. Shercock interest centred on the sprint events, and on the 200m in particular, as the sprint squad tried to shake off their winter cobwebs and gain a positive start to the 2006 season. In the 200m A race Gerry O'Reilly (left) got off to a sluggish start and was overtaken on the back straight by David Hynes (Menapians), however he dug deep on the finish straight and closed down the gap, so that the pair crossed the line together for a photo-finish. Both were given the same time of 22.89s however the verdict went to Hynes on this occasion. It turned out to be the fastest time of the day with the tallented Tallaght sprinter Sean Gregan setting the next fastest time of 23.19s when winning his heat from Shercock's Philip Daly and Ciaran Ward. Ciaran was disappointed with his run and was back on track later in the day for a second run over 200m and on this occasion he came off better, finishing in second place in his heat (right). Craig Lynch (left) provided the surprise of the day for the club, producing a great run to win his heat in 24.39s while Alan McEntee found the bends were not to his liking as he struggled to navigate the turns when finishing third. Alan was in better form in the 60m, finishing in fourth place, just ahead of Craig in his heat.

Hugh Fitzpatrick and Matthew O'Reilly showed good form in the shot putt when each set a new personal best for the senior weight. Hugh finished fourth with a 10.97m effort while Matthew was fifth with 10.96m. Paul Fitzpatrick (right) finished at the back of the pack in the 3km walk however his position belied a superb performance as he produced a new PB of 14:11.88, improving his previous best mark by almost half a minute. Kevin Ruxton was the youngest squad member in Nenagh for the day and he took on the unenviable challenge of following in the footsteps of his brother James in the 400m event. Kevin produced a great effort for a novice at the distance, finishing third in his heat in 56.39s behind Tallaght's Sean Gregan. The 1000m races provided no encouragement for the club, unfortunately, as our two representatives, Fiona Murray and James Muldoon were reduced to the role of spectators at the back of the field in each case.

January 14th AAI Masters Indoor Championships

Two of the club's masters athletes traveled to Nenagh today for the masters indoor championships. For Colin Watterson it was his first time to compete in a track race at national level, however he produced a great effort to take the silver medal over 3000m in the V2 category. Seasoned master Albert Eakins took on an ambitious programme, attempting a double over 800m and 3000m. Unfortunately the medal rostrum remained out of reach on this occasion and he had to settle for fourth place in both events.

January 14th - Cavan Juvenile Indoor Championships

The Cavan juvenile indoor championships were held for the second time today at the Cavan Equestrian Centre. Despite the cool conditions, a large crowd from the county's athletic clubs turned up to support the event. There were some very promising performances by Shercock juveniles including Celine Clerkin, Barbara Ward, Edel Kiernan, Kieran Corrigan, Niall Shannon, Niall Clerkin, Sinead O'Neill, Michael Gargan and Brian Sankey.

January 6th - Annual Club Awards Night

At the club's annual awards night which was held in St. Patrick's Hall today, a very large crowd gathered to celebrate the achievements of the club's members during 2005. Following a video presentation of the performance of the Junior Men's team at the European Champion Clubs Cup in Bosnia, coach John McGeever welcomed everyone and introduced special guests Michael Heery, President of the Athletic Association of Ireland, Councillor Francis McDermott, Carol Kiernan, Chairperson of the Cavan Athletic Board, and World Powerlifting Champion Tom Coyle. Also present were two of the athletes who competed with the Shercock junior squad in Bosnia, James King and Brian Flatley. June Donnery gave an address on behalf of the chairperson, thanking all the club's supporters during the year, including principal sponsors Shercock Credit Union and Sillan Tours. Carol Kiernan addressed the meeting on behalf of the county board, congratulating the club on its success during the year and presenting the Sillan Tours Cup for the Cavan Winter League to ladies winner Karen Ruxton on behalf of the club (right). Tom Coyle and Francis McDermott presented certificates of achievement to the juvenile athletes. Michael Heery then addressed the meeting, adding his congratulations on the clubs performance in 2005 and commending the coaches for achieving success across the full range of athletic disciplines. The president then presented the athletes who had achieved national and international distinction during the year with their medals which had been framed by the club for the occasion. The Shercock athlete of the year award was then announced and the 2005 winner was Peter Muldoon, who had won three national junior titles at racewalking during the year and set a new championships record for the under 19 5km walk at the national juvenile championships in July. Peter was presented with the Cup by Michael Heery (left). Fionnuala Marron then presented the president with a commemorative piece of Cavan Crystal to mark his visit to the club and the evening ended with a presentation of a Cavan crystal plate to coach John McGeever by junior club captain James Ruxton on behalf of the team who traveled to the European Junior Champion Clubs Cup in Bosnia.

Club Awards Night - Athletes who won national and international medals during 2005 were presented with their medals by AAI President Michael Heery.

April 2nd - AAI Juvenile Indoor Relay Championships Shercock 4x200m Relay Team Win National Under 18 Title in Close- Fought Race The Shercock under 18 team of Craig Lynch, Ciaran Ward, Kevin Ruxton and Gerry O'Reilly set off today on the six-hour round trip to Nenagh for the national indoor relay finals with high hopes of returning with a medal following several weeks of hard training. They put in a good effort to win their heat which they led from start to finish, and progressed to the final as second fastest qualifiers behind pre-race favourites Tallaght AC. Starting from lane four, Craig Lynch produced a great opening leg to leave Shercock in the lead at the first changeover as he passed to team mate Ciaran Ward. Breaking from the lanes on the back straight, Ciaran held his position with a strong run and sent Kevin Ruxton off on the third leg still in first place. Despite coming under pressure as the field converged, Kevin battled his way down the home straight to hold the lead, passing to Gerry O'Reilly for the final leg. Tallaght were anchored by Irish 400m champion Brian Gregan and he quickly closed the gap on Gerry as he tracked him around the final lap. As the pair entered the final straight Gregan made a move to overtake Gerry however a final surge saw the Shercock baton cross the line first for a hard-earned and unexpected win. Tallaght were second while Bree AC took the bronze medals ahead of Tullamore AC. The race was the final event of the Irish indoor programme and brought the curtain down on an outstanding season by the club's athletes in both individual and team competition. Well done to all! April 1st - AAI Juvenile Indoor Championships O'Reilly v. Gregan in Dramatic 200m Final The national juvenile championships in Nenagh threw up a great contest today when in the under 18 200m event Gerry O’Reilly went head to head with Tallaght’s Brian Gregan and Strabane’s Aaron Crawford. Just a week earlier Gerry had won the 60m title and finished second to Gregan in the 400m final. The first 200m heat provided a taste of what was to come as all three were drawn together in a very tight race which Gerry won by a narrow margin. It was Gregan who impressed most, however, overcoming the disadvantage of the tight bends on the inside lane, the tall Tallaght man came close to winning the heat with a strong finish. In the final he was awarded the more favourable outside lane with Gerry in lane three and Aaron Crawford in lane two. The stage was thus set for a race that would produce the two fastest times from the Nenagh track this year. Gerry got off to a flying start from the gun, closing down Gregan with a strong surge down the back straight and leaving the pair level going into the final bend. It was Gerry who ran the better bend and he held a two metre lead as they entered the home straight. The race was far from finished, however, and Gregan came back with a powerful run down the slope off the bend in lane four and into the straight, closing the gap as the pair thundered towards the finish line, but Gerry held his lead, winning in an indoor PB of 22.6s with Gregan second in 22.7 and Aaron Crawford third. Craig Lynch also ran a great heat in the under 17 200m, winning despite drawing the very tight inside lane. His time was only third fastest of the qualifiers going into the final however and he was drawn in lane two. After a very strong opening 100m in the final, Craig struggled on the second bend and lost ground. He held on for third place, and was rewarded with a PB of 23.7s and the bronze medal. Paul Fitzpatrick broke new ground in the under 18 1500m walk, shrugging off an early challenge from Martin Manning, he powered his way to the gold medal in a new personal best time of 6:35. Celine Clerkin showed some excellent form in the under 14 800m. Qualifying for the final with a comfortable second place finish in her heat, Celine was positioned well just off the lead in a tactical race that saw her enter the last lap in fourth place. As the pace increased in the closing stages, Celine produced a great run to close the gap to third but the finish line came too soon and she crossed in fourth place, smashing her PB with a time of 2:33 in the process. James Muldoon failed to find his best form in the under 19 800m final, finishing some way off the pace in seventh place in a race won impressively by Brian Markham.
March 25th & 26th - AAI Juvenile Indoor Championships Gerry O'Reilly wins 60m Gold to lead Shercock Performances in Nenagh The first weekend of the AAI Juvenile Indoors in Nenagh saw some very positive performances by the club's athletes who traveled to the Tipperary venue for the event. The under 18 60m final saw Gerry O'Reilly go head to head with Tullamore's Eoin Hannon. At the junior indoors a week previously, Hannon had won the 60m while Gerry won the 200m, setting up a showdown between the two junior champions over 60m at the juveniles. In the final Gerry had one of his better starts this season, coming off the blocks just a fraction behind the Tullamore man. Pulling ahead at the half-way stage, Gerry powered through the closing stages for a decisive win in a personal best time of 7.17s with Hannon a clear second in 7.22s. Back on track for the 400m heats later in the afternoon, Gerry was none the worse for wear and won his heat which sent him into Sunday's final as second fastest qualifier behind Tallaght's Brian Gregan. In the final, Gregan made a break at the 200m mark and pulled clear of Gerry. The gap increased on the back straight and in the end Gregan was a comfortable winner, however Gerry was left well clear in second place and was rewarded with a new personal best for 400m of 52.04s. At the other end of the age spectrum Niall Clerkin (left) showed great character in the under 12 long jump when, having been placed seventh at the halfway point, he produced a great jump of 3.98m in the final round, which saw move up to third place and take the bronze medal. Also featuring on the medal rostrum for Shercock was Fiona Murray (right) who produced a flying sprint finish on the last lap to move from fifth place to third and win the bronze medal in the under 18 1500m. It was Fiona's second bronze in the space of a week, following her third place performance over 1500m at the junior championships. Matthew O'Reilly (below) was on familiar ground in the under 18 shot putt competition in Nenagh, having won his first national title in the same event last year. Just last week Matthew had teamed up with club mate Hugh Fitzpatrick to win the team bronze in the 2 x shot putt competition at the national senior indoor relays. At the juvenile championships, Matthew continued to demonstrate his strong form of recent weeks when he putted the 5kg shot out to 13.24m to win his second successive indoor title. Well done Matthew! There were further encouraging performances in Nenagh by Edel Gargan, who finished seventh in her under 18 60m heat in 9.26s in her first national championships, and by Luke O'Brien and Paul Fitzpatrick, who finished sixth and seventh respectively in their heat of the under 18 1500m.

March 18th - Junior Indoor Championships The national junior indoor championships took place in Nenagh today and despite a relatively low turnout there were some very encouraging performances, not least from the Shercock perspective as no fewer than eight club athletes came home with individual medals. The 5km walk saw a dominant display by Peter Muldoon as he responded to the challenge of rival Meath man Michael Doyle by taking the race out at a strong pace to burn off Doyle's notorious finishing kick. Going through the 3km mark in 13 minutes, Peter had opened up a half-lap lead, however he was not content to settle for the lead and pushed on strongly. Despite a series of surges by Doyle in the closing stages, Peter's lead was insurmountable and he crossed the line to win his third successive junior indoor title in a new indoor PB of 21:54 minutes. Team mate Paul Fitzpatrick adopted a similar tactic to shake off the attentions of a chasing pack which included Martin Manning and Niall Prendeville in the battle for the bronze medal. Paul was well clear by the halfway point and eventually crossed the line with more than a lap to spare, finishing in third place in a time of 24:14. Pictured on the podium are: Michael Doyle, Cushinstown (2nd), Peter Muldoon (1st) and Paul Fitzpatrick (3rd). The Shercock sprint squad were in top form in Nenagh with the trio of Philip Daly, Gerry O'Reilly and Craig Lynch all making an appearance on the medal rostrum. Craig was an unexpected finalist in the 200m having won his heat convincingly. Gerry had a comfortable win in his heat and was in dominant form in the final, accelerating away from the field on the home straight in typical fashion to win the title for the second time. Craig also ran a very positive final, holding off the challenge of Monaghan man Patrick McCarron to win the silver, a great achievement in his first year as a junior. Philip Daly featured strongly in a 60m final that produced a few surprises as Eoin Hannon from Tullamore came through to win in 7.21s, just ahead of Leevale's Derek Duff (7.24s). Philip produced a great run to take the bronze medal in a new personal best of 7.26s while Craig Lynch was next to cross the line in fourth place. Hugh Fitzpatrick was disappointed to only finish fourth in the shot putt but he was more than compensated in the weight for distance where he set a new PB of 5.74m to take the silver medal behind James Nagle. Kevin Ruxton won his first junior medal when he finished in third place in the pole vault, an event in which club mate Fiona Smith finished fifth in the junior women's competition. Fiona Murray was the club's best performer in the middle distance events, taking a well deserved bronze medal in the 1500m. James Muldoon struggled to find his form in the 800m and crossed the line in fifth place. Matthew O'Reilly finished fifth in the shot putt with a best effort of 11.95m.
		There was an Ulster clean sweep in the 200m final when Gerard O'Reilly led home team mate Craig Lynch and Glaslough Harrier Patrick McCarron. Gerry was a comfortable winner for the second year in succession while Craig confirmed his status as an emerging sprint talent by taking the silver medal in his first year as a junior.
Eoin Hannon (Tullamore Harriers) dips first ahead of Shercock's Philip Daly to win the junior men's 60m final in 7.21s. Philip showed an impressive return to form when winning the bronze medal in a personal best time of 7.26s. Leevale's Derek Duff took second place (7.24s). Also pictured is John Shanahan, St. Mary's AC.
		Triple Crown! - Hugh Fitzpatrick (far left) recovered from the disappointment of finishing fourth in the shot putt to take the silver medal in the Weight for Distance with a personal best throw of 5.74m. Peter Muldoon (centre) won the junior 5km racewalk title for the third successive time with an indoor PB of 21:54 while team mate Paul Fitzpatrick was third in 24:14.
Kevin Ruxton was all smiles for the pole vault medal presentation at which he was awarded and unexpected bronze medal, having only decided to enter on the day. Fiona Murray put in a great effort to keep in touch with the leaders of the junior women's 1500m until the final lap when she was dropped by the lead pair, however she finished strongly to earn a well-deserved bronze medal.
March 19th - Senior Indoor Relays The AAI senior indoor relays continue to offer a great development opportunity for emerging clubs by providing championship competition in a less formal team context. Shercock had club teams in action in the 200m, 800m and shot put events while the Cavan teams in the inter-county racewalk relay featured five Shercock walkers. Following their strong performance in the junior walk the day before, Peter Muldoon and Paul Fitzpatrick teamed up with Innyvale AC's Orla Smith as the Cavan A team to retain the relay title for the third year in succession. The Cavan B team was made up of three members of the Muldoon family - Michael, James and Bernadette - who walked well to take the silver medals in a repeat of last year's result. The Shercock 4x200m relay team put in a great effort to win their heat and went into the final in search of the title. Craig Lynch ran a storming opening leg before passing to Alan McEntee who was overtaken on the back straight and came into the change zone in third place. As he passed to James Ruxton a falling runner from the DSD team collided with the pair, blocking the lane. Left with a large gap to close, James battled his way around the lap in a typical determined effort and overtook second placed Menapians AC. The DSD lead proved to be a gap too far for Gerry O'Reilly who couldn't overcome the deficit. While disappointed with the way the race developed, the team showed great spirit to come back after the incident in the change zone and battle their way into the silver medal position. Hugh Fitzpatrick and Matthew O'Reilly produced what was arguably the best performance by a Shercock team on the day when they both increased their personal bests by large margins in the team shot putt to take the bronze medals with a combined total of 23.26m. This left them in third place among a large field behind winners Star of the Sea and second placed Tralee Harriers. There was another bronze medal performance for Shercock in the 3x800m relay when a very young team made up of James Muldoon, Luke O'Brien and Kevin Ruxton showed great spirit to hold third place over the three legs having withstood off an early challenge from Strabane Track Club. Noel Carroll was the club's sole representative in the 3000m event, in which he finished well in the middle of the field in a time of 9:05 minutes.
		Cavan racewalkers were in dominant form in the inter-county 3x1000m racewalk relays when the county's A & B teams cleaned up the gold and silver medals between them. The Cavan A gold medalists were Orla Smith, Peter Muldoon and Paul Fitzpatrick, while the silver medal winning B team was made up of Bernadette, Michael and James Muldoon. The teams are pictured with Michael Heery, president of the AAI (left) and team manager Eileen Fitzpatrick.
Following a lack-lustre performance in the junior men's shot putt the previous day, Hugh Fitzpatrick and Matthew O'Reilly were in a determined frame of mind when they teamed up for the senior 2xshot putt competition at the national indoor relays. Both throwers broke new ground as Hugh pushed his PB out to 11.76m and Matthew likewise smashed his PB with an 11.50m throw. This gave the pair a combined total of 23.26m which put them in third place among a large field behind winners Star of the Sea and runners-up Tralee Harriers.
		A young Shercock 3x800m relay team were expecting to gain little more than experience when they toed the line at the senior relays today. However a spirited opening leg by James Muldoon saw them break away from Strabane Track Club and move into a clear third place, a position which was maintained all the way to the line following positive runs by Luke O'Brien and Kevin Ruxton. The trio found their pockets a bit heavier on the journey home having collected their first ever senior medals.

A potentially great 4x200m final between Shercock, DSD and Menapians came to an abrupt end as a contest for Shercock when the second DSD runner crashed into James Ruxton and Alan McEntee during their changeover (above), leaving DSD in the clear with a large lead. James battled hard to bring the club back into contention and overtook Menapians, however the DSD lead proved to be too great an advantage and despite Gerry O'Reilly's best efforts on the final leg the team had to settle for silver on this occasion.
Gerard O'Reilly Awarded Keara O'Hart Cup for Excellence in Sprinting at AAI Star Awards Ceremony Shercock's young sprint star Gerard O'Reilly received a double honour at the AAI Star Awards ceremony in Arklow when he was presented with both the AAI Star Award for county Cavan and the Keara O'Harte Perpetual Cup for excellence in sprinting. Gerard had an outstanding season at juvenile level in 2005, winning a sprint double indoors over 60m and 200m in his age group as well as the 200m title outdoors. To this he added a double over 100m and 200m when competing for Ulster in the Celtic International, an Irish junior title indoors over 200m and a bronze medal at the Irish senior championships, also at 200m. The highlight of his season came in Italy, however where he finished in fourth place in the final of the 200m at the European Youth Olympics, despite giving away a year in his age group. Gerard's season ended on a high note in September when he set a personal best of 21.83s when winning the 200m event at the European Junior Champion Clubs Cup Group B competition in Bosnia, at which he competed as a member of the Shercock club team. Gerard is pictured left with Breda Synnott, AAI Juvenile Committee and Michael Heery, president of the association.

March 4th - Ulster Star Awards The inaugural Ulster Star Awards ceremony to mark the achievements of the county's leading juvenile male and female athletes at Ulster level were held on Saturday night last in the magnificent Bay View Hotel in Killybegs Co. Donegal. On this occasion Innyvale’s Orla Smith was the female winner of the Cavan award and Shercock’s Hugh Fitzpatrick was the male recipient. Orla took a silver medal in the Ulster Indoor 1500m walk and repeated her silver medal winning performance in the 3000m walk at the Outdoor Championships held in the Antrim Forum. Hugh won the Ulster title in the Shot Putt at the Ulster Indoor Championships and continued his winning form at the Outdoor Championships, as he took triple gold competing in the Shot Putt, Discus and Hammer. Also on the night Cathriona McKiernan was the recipient of a Hall of Fame award to mark her achievements in cross country and marathon running. Orla and Hugh are pictured left with John McDermott, Ulster Council, who presented the awards.
March 4th & 5th - British AAA Indoor Championships Gerard O'Reilly was among a group of Irish athletes who traveled to Birmingham over the weekend to compete in AAA indoor championships. Concentrating on the 200m event, he progressed comfortably to the final by winning his heat and semi-final, both in 22.8s. Gerard then produced a great run in the final to take the bronze medal in a time of 22.78s, which was a new indoor PB for the distance. There were further medal winning Irish performances by Claire Brady (1st u20 60m 7.70s), Amy Foster (2nd u20 200m and 3rd 60m 7.75s), Mairead Deery (2nd u20 400m 56.97s), Laura Crowe (2nd 800m 2:16.24), Kelly Proper (3rd u20 LJ 5.84m), Niamh Whelan (3rd u17 200m 24.87s), Clare Fitzgerald (1st u15 SP 12.31m) and Ciaran Donnelly (3rd u15 60m H 8.83s).

March 5th - Car Boot Sale: The club held a car boot sale today in Shercock to raise funds for the new dressing rooms which are now nearing completion. A good crowd turned out to support the event on a cool but dry day and a substantial sum was raised. Many thanks to all who contributed on the day.

March 4th - Intro Level Coaching Course: 26 people attended an introductory level coaching course at the track in Shercock today which was organised by the Cavan athletic board. The participants came mainly from local Cavan clubs, with the balance made up of coaches from Donegal and Monaghan. The course was conducted by experienced tutors Eamonn Harvey and John Davis and was much enjoyed by all who took part. John is pictured above introducing the long jump event.
February 26th: A small group of the club's juveniles traveled to the Finn Valley Centre today to compete in the Ulster & NI Indoor trials for the under 12 age group. Niall Clerkin had a very successful outing, winning the long jump and finishing second in the 600m. Niall won his 600m race but was placed second overall behind the winner of the other semi-final of the event based on times as no final was held. February 25th: Racewalkers Peter Muldoon and Paul Fitzpatrick traveled to the Isle of Mann today to compete in the Manx Open. Both were competing in the junior men's 10km race and Paul had a very successful race, finishing in fourth place overall and dipping under the 50 minute barrier for the first time with a 49:47 clocking. Peter was less fortunate, being forced to make an early exit after falling foul of the judges at the 8km mark.

Feb 19th - National Indoor Championships at the Odyssey Arena Belfast's Odyssey arena provided an ideal venue at the weekend for the Irish indoor championships. The track was available for just one weekend and in a marathon session for the organisers both the Ulster juvenile and Irish senior championships were held over the two days. Great credit is due to the many officials who put in twelve hour shifts to cover the two events, including commentator John Glover who brought the juvenile competitions to life for the crowd with his trademark well-informed banter. Spread over Saturday evening and Sunday, the seniors provided some electrifying competitions and while the highlight of the weekend was the double of women's sprint records by Leevale's Derval O'Rourke in the 60m hurdles and Ballymena's Anna Boyle in the 60m on Sunday, the two long jump competitions on Saturday were almost as impressive. Enigmatic Meath man Ciarán McDonagh made a welcome return to Irish competition to put in a commanding series of jumps, narrowly missing out on the 8m barrier and his own national record in the mens competition while junior Kelly Proper from Ferrybank showed her great future potential at the event when producing series of jumps over the 6m mark with a best effort of 6.19m. The future of Irish middle distance appeared to be in safe hands with the silver and bronze medals in the 1500m being taken by juniors David McCarthy and Ciaran O'Lionáird behind winner James Nolan. Monaghan man Ciaran O'Connell comfortably retained his 800m title behind two overseas guests. Shercock athletes featured strongly across a range of events with club's best result coming, surprisingly, in the men's shot putt where Hugh Fitzpatrick and Matthew O'Reilly battled each other to new best marks of 11.02m and 10.94m when finishing fifth and sixth. In the men's 5km walk Peter Muldoon put in a solid effort to finish fifth, though he looked somewhat uncomfortable on the indoor bends, while Paul Fitzpatrick made a very successful debut at senior level when finishing seventh in a personal best of 23:52. The sprint squad were also active at the Odyssey and James Ruxton was one who took a break from winter training to test his speed over the two laps of the 400m. Finding himself up against the considerable talent of Ireland's top sprinter Paul Brizzel, who was making his debut at the distance, James powered to the front after the break, however Brizzel caught up with him at the end of the home straight (below). Determined not to give ground, James held his line around the bend and down the back straight when the pressure became too much for the Ballymena man and he was forced to concede the final bend to James. Tiring in the home straight, James was caught by Togher's Kieran Ware, however he was rewarded with a new indoor PB of 50.91s for the distance when finishing second. Gerry O'Reilly produced a good run to finish second in his heat of the 200m in 23.1s, leaving him ranked ninth on time overall, and there was a further strong run over the lap by Philip Daly despite drawing the tight bends of lane 1. Philip was also in action in the 60m heats which he completed in 7.33s just ahead of team mate Alan McEntee. Noel Carroll was the club's sole representative in the distance events, contesting the 3000m and finishing in thirteenth position in 8:57 minutes. Noel was disappointed with his performance, having lost contact with the bulk of the field after the first kilometer, and will undoubtedly be back on track again in the near future to further lower his PB for the distance. The club's juvenile athletes were also in sparkling form in the Odyssey at the Ulster indoor championships. Craig Lynch confirmed his recent strong form in the sprints when taking the 60m title ahead of Glaslough Harrier's Irish champion Patrick McCarron. Craig was also in action in the high jump in which he took a further medal when finishing third. Micheal Gargan showed potential as a racewalker when he came back from second place to win the under 14 1000m title with a strong finish off the final bend. Celine Clerkin showed great character to overcome the combined challenge of the 'flu and strong opposition to win her heat and take the bronze medal in the final of the under 14 800m. Reece McEnteer finished fifth in the under 14 long jump with a 4.15m effort while Padraig Faulkner was sixth in the under 13 long jump. There were encouraging runs in the sprints by Derrice McPhillips, Joe Dillon, Reece McEnteer, Greg Kelly Hand and Daire Gargan while Barbara Ward added the hurdles to her broad range of athletic talent, finishing sixth in the final. Also impressing in the hurdles was Owen Duffy who finished third in his heat. Lisa Clerkin, Kevin Ruxton, Brian Sankey and Daire Gargan all ran well at middle distance but finished outside the medal positions. Niall Shannon showed good form in the shot putt, taking seventh place with a 9.37m effort in the under 15 age group.

James Ruxton leads Paul Brizzel at the end of the first lap in the heats of the mens 400m in Belfast	As the race enters the finish straight, James battles with Kieran Ware from Togher for the lead as Brizzel slips back to third place.

Gerry O'Reilly comes off the final bend to finish second in his 200m heat.	Philip Daly drew the unfavorable inside lane but still produced a strong run when finishing third in his 200m heat.

Peter Muldoon in action in the early stages of the men's walk, in which he went on to finish in fifth place.	Paul Fitzpatrick made his senior debut in the men's walk in Belfast and produced a great effort to finish seventh in a new personal best of 23:52 for the 5km distance.

Micheal Gargan regains the lead at the end of the the under 14 1000m walk at the juvenile championships on Saturday.	Craig Lynch wins the under 17 60m final from Glaslough Harrier Patrick McCarron.