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Dec 9th - Irish Universities Indoor Championships |
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The Irish Universities Indoor Championships took place this weekend at the indoor arena in Nenagh. The recent refurbishments to the facility failed to banish the penetrating cold generated by the seasonal stormy weather, however there was a positive atmosphere among the students who had gathered to compete for the country's third level colleges. Five Shercock athletes were in action, representing five separate institutions. For racewalker Paul Fitzpatrick it turned out to be a landmark occasion as he marked his first appearance for Dundalk Institute of Technology by winning the college's first ever title at the championships. Paul never appeared under threat as he pulled away from the field in the 2km walk to win by almost a lap in a time of 8:49. Fellow club member Michael Muldoon fought a dogged battle for the third place medal in the walk, hanging on grimly till the line to secure the bronze medal for UCD. James Ruxton made a return to competition following an injury and produced a solid effort to win his 400m heat in 51.3 seconds. Having been boxed in after the opening lap of the final, he fought his way up to third place and won a well-deserved bronze medal for DCU. Throwers Matthew O'Reilly, Carlow IT, and Hugh Fitzpatrick, TCD, battled hard for the medals only to miss out by a narrow margin. Hugh finished fourth in the Weight for Distance and 6th in the shot putt while Matthew finished 5th in the shot putt and eighth in the WFD. |
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There
were
some
outstanding
individual
performances
by
Shercock
athletes
at
the
juvenile
indoor
championships
in
Nenagh
today.
Craig
Lynch
(right)
further
established
his
credentials
as
a
sprinter
on
a
mission
when
he
won
the
under
18
200m
final
in
a
personal
best
of
22.94
seconds
from
Christopher
Russell
of
Ferrybank
AC.
This
follows
his
win
at
60m
two
weeks
previously
and
it
was
all
the
more
impressive
as
it
was
his
first
outing
over
the
longer
sprint
distance
this
year.
Also
making
impressive
improvements
was
long
jumper
Paul
Smith
who
broke
new
ground,
literally,
when
winning
the
under
17
competition
with
a
best
effort
of
6.70m,
an
improvement
of
over
40
cm
on
his
previous
personal
best,
to
take
his
first
national
title.
Paul
is
now
looking
forward
with
confidence
to
the
outdoor
season
when
he
hopes
an
even
greater
distance
may
be
possible.
Paul
Fitzpatrick
completed
a
rare
achievement
when
he
won
the
under
19
1500m
walk.
It
was
Paul's
fifth
successive
win
at
the
indoor
championships,
having
picked
up
his
first
gold
in
the
under
15
age
group
in
2003.
The
under
19
relay
team
(left),
which
was
made
up
of
Kevin
Ruxton,
Craig
Lynch,
Luke
O'Brien
and
Gerry
O'Reilly,
turned
up
prepared
to
take
on
all
comers,
however
the
opposition
failed
to
materialise
and
they
were
left
as
sole
challengers
for
the
title.
Running
alongside
the
three
finalists
in
the
under
17
age
group,
the
quartet
comfortably
completed
their
mission,
finishing
ahead
of
the
under
17
teams
for
good
measure.
The
Shercock
girls
under
15
team
of
Shauna
McGeever,
Sinead
O'Neill,
Barbara
Ward
and
Celine
Clerkin
found
the
opposition
too
hot
to
handle
in
their
heat
and
were
unable
to
progress
to
the
final
despite
a
brave
effort.
Craig
Lynch
(left)
was
the
star
of
the
show
for
Shercock
on
the
opening
day
of
the
national
juvenile
indoor
championships
in
Nenagh.
After
qualifying
for
the
final
with
only
a
third
place
finish
in
his
heat
of
the
under
18
60m
it
appeared
that
Craig
would
struggle
to
reach
the
medal
podium.
A
tension
charged
final
turned
the
form
book
on
its
head
however
and
Craig
kept
his
focus
through
no
fewer
than
four
false
starts
before
producing
the
sprint
performance
of
his
life
to
win
the
gold
in
a
blistering
7.21s.
Also
rising
to
the
occasion
in
the
sprint
finals
was
Paul
Smith
who
further
improved
his
PB
for
60m
when
taking
the
bronze
medal
in
the
final
of
the
under
17
competition
in
a
time
of
7.40s.
On
a
day
when
new
personal
bests
were
coming
thick
and
fast
the
club's
younger
members
were
not
to
be
outdone
with
both
Niall
Clerkin
and
Ciaran
Corrigan
breaking
the
sand
at
new
marks
in
the
long
jump.
Niall
was
in
explosive
form
as
he
produced
a
best
effort
of
4.36m
to
earn
a
well-deserved
silver
medal
in
the
under
13
competition.
Ciaran,
following
in
the
footsteps
of
his
older
brother
Brendan,
who
was
a
triple
winner
of
national
junior
long
jump
titles,
stretched
out
to
4.09m
to
finish
third
in
the
under
12
event.
Kevin
Ruxton
produced
a
strong
run
to
finish
second
in
his
heat
of
the
under
18
400m,
however
his
time
of
52.79s
was
not
fast
enough
to
make
the
final
leaving
him
in
fifth
place
overall.
Edel
Kieran
also
gave
a
good
account
of
herself
in
a
highly
competitive
under
12
600m
in
which
she
finished
fifth.
Gerard
O'Reilly
Wins
AAI
Star
Award
for
County
Cavan
Belfast's
Odyssey
Arena
played
host
at
the
weekend
to
the
Irish
Senior
Indoor
Championships
and
the
regional
age
group
championships.
There
was
plenty
to
watch
and
plenty
to
celebrate
for
the
club's
athlete's
who
made
the
journey
to
the
impressive
facility.
Matthew
O'Reilly
was
the
star
of
the
show
for
Shercock
when
he
won
his
first
individual
senior
medal
with
a
third
place
finish
in
the
shot
putt.
The
field
included
Olympic
decathlon
champion
Roman
Sebrle
from
the
Czech
Republic
who
was
competing
as
a
guest
and
Matthew's
best
throw
of
11.51m
left
him
third
of
the
Irish
behind
Kieran
Kelly
and
Jeremy
Harper.
Matthew
is
pictured
right
being
congratulated
by
Michael
Heery,
President
of
the
AAI.
Also
impressing
in
the
shot
putt
was
Hugh
Fitzpatrick,
who
finished
just
behind
Matthew
in
fourth
place
with
a
best
effort
of
11.18m.
Among
other
Shercock
athletes
impressing
in
the
Odyssey
were
Kevin
McCloy,
who
finished
a
close
second
in
his
800m
heat,
Paul
Fitzpatrick,
who
made
a
massive
improvement
to
his
personal
best
when
finishing
11th
in
the
5km
walk
and
Philip
Daly
who
also
ran
a
PB
in
the
heats
of
the
60m.
January
27th
-
Star
Performance
by
Brian
Flatley
to
take
Silver
in
Senior
Pentathlon
of
the
day
came
in
the
high
jump
when
he
showed
a
return
to
his
best
form
with
a
clearance
at
1.92m.
Brian
backed
this
up
with
8.8s
for
the
60m
hurdles,
6.44m
in
the
long
jump,
7.94m
in
the
shot
putt
and
3:15.5
for
the
1000m.
This
gave
him
an
overall
points
total
of
3035,
achieving
his
target
of
scoring
over
3000
points
for
the
first
time.
The
overall
winner
of
the
competition
was
Christopher
Crowley
from
Belgooly
AC
(3377
points)
while
Strabane's
Trevor
McGlynn
was
third
(2976
points).
A
large
group
of
athletes
from
the
club
made
the
six
hour
round-trip
trip
to
Nenagh
today
to
compete
in
the
AAI
indoor
relay
championships.
It
turned
out
to
be
a
very
successful
day's
competition
for
the
squad,
with
everyone
coming
home
with
at
least
one
medal
apiece.
Top
honours
went
to
the
club's
long
jump
team,
who
produced
a
great
effort
in
the
final
round
to
overtake
the
lead
from
a
strong
Cork
pairing
from
Belgooly
AC.
Brian
Flatley,
who
was
also
contesting
the
senior
pentathlon
on
the
day,
produced
a
great
effort
of
6.44m.
Paul
Smith,
competing
in
his
first
senior
championship,
made
a
great
start
to
his
senior
career
with
a
best
jump
of
6.12m,
also
in
the
final
round.
Their
combined
effort
left
them
in
first
place
ahead
of
Belgooly
and
St.
Abban's
AC.
One
of
the
most
competitive
races
of
the
day
came
in
the
3x800m
relay
in
which
Shercock
fielded
two
teams.
Kevin
Ruxton
was
first
on
the
track
for
Shercock
A
and
after
a
conservative
opening
lap,
tracked
the
leaders
during
the
middle
stages
before
storming
into
the
lead
on
his
final
lap
to
pass
the
baton
to
team
mate
Colm
Smith
in
first
place.
Colm
ran
at
a
controlled
pace
at
the
head
of
the
field
and
by
the
final
lap
he
had
extended
the
lead
to
ten
metres
before
passing
to
Luke
O'Brien.
Luke
came
under
pressure
from
Strabane
on
the
final
leg
and
the
pair
exchanged
positions
a
number
of
times
before
Stabane
pulled
away
on
the
last
lap
to
take
the
gold.
Luke
held
off
the
challenge
of
Liffey
Valley
to
secure
the
silver
medals
for
Shercock
A.
The
Shercock
B
team,
consisting
of
James
Muldoon,
Michael
Muldoon
and
Paul
Fitzpatrick
finished
fourth.
The
unusually
mild
weather
of
late
made
for
relatively
good
conditions
in
Nenagh
for
the
opening
competition
of
the
indoor
season,
the
AAI
Games.
Shercock
athletes
featured
prominently
across
a
range
of
events
and
a
number
started
their
2007campaign
with
new
personal
best
performances.
Brian
Flatley
was
unlucky
not
to
clear
1.90m
in
the
high
jump
after
failing
narrowly
at
the
height,
however
his
best
clearance
of
1.85m
was
sufficient
to
win
the
event
on
the
day.
Brian
was
in
action
on
the
track
also,
producing
a
great
run
in
the
60m
hurdles
in
which
he
finished
second
to
Strabane's
Trevor
McGlynn
by
just
one
hundreth
of
a
second
in
a
new
PB
of
8.72s.
Hugh
Fitzpatrick
also
displayed
good
early
season
form
in
the
shot
putt
in
which
he
finished
second
with
an
11.25m
effort.
Shercock
racewalkers
featured
prominently
in
the
men's
3km
event
as
Peter
Muldoon
(left)
made
his
first
appearance
in
an
Irish
competition
since
taking
up
an
athletics
scholarship
in
the
US.
Peter
walked
conservatively
and
finished
in
third
place
in
13:18
behind
racewinner
Jamie
Costin.
Paul
Fitzpatrick
also
showed
excellent
form
in
the
walk,
setting
a
new
PB
of
13:24
as
he
finished
just
behind
Peter
in
fourth
place.
Craig
Lynch
(right)
recovered
sufficiently
from
a
grueling
day's
competition
in
the
pentathlon
on
Saturday
to
produce
a
winning
performance
in
the
60m
D
race
in
a
time
of
7.40s.
Kevin
Ruxton,
who
had
also
completed
the
pentathlon
the
day
before,
produced
a
great
run
around
the
bends
to
set
a
PB
of
24.32s
when
finishing
third
in
the
200m
C
race.
Paul
Smith
had
double
cause
for
celebration
when
he
produced
a
great
effort
to
finish
fourth
in
the
men's
long
jump
in
his
first
senior
competition.
Paul's
best
jump
of
6.27m
was
not
only
a
new
PB
but
also
qualified
him
for
the
AAA
indoor
championships
in
Birmingham
in
which
he
will
compete
in
the
under
17
age
group.
Photos
by
Der
O'Donovan,
AAI
The
unusually
mild
weather
of
late
made
for
relatively
good
conditions
in
Nenagh
for
the
opening
competition
of
the
indoor
season,
the
AAI
Games.
Shercock
athletes
featured
prominently
across
a
range
of
events
and
a
number
started
their
2007campaign
with
new
personal
best
performances.
Brian
Flatley
was
unlucky
not
to
clear
1.90m
in
the
high
jump
after
failing
narrowly
at
the
height,
however
his
best
clearance
of
1.85m
was
sufficient
to
win
the
event
on
the
day.
Brian
was
in
action
on
the
track
also,
producing
a
great
run
in
the
60m
hurdles
in
which
he
finished
second
to
Strabane's
Trevor
McGlynn
by
just
one
hundreth
of
a
second
in
a
new
PB
of
8.72s.
Hugh
Fitzpatrick
(right)
also
displayed
good
early
season
form
in
the
shot
putt
in
which
he
finished
second
with
an
11.25m
effort.
Shercock
racewalkers
featured
prominently
in
the
men's
3km
event
as
Peter
Muldoon
made
his
first
appearance
in
an
Irish
competition
since
taking
up
an
athletics
scholarship
in
the
US.
Peter
walked
conservatively
and
finished
in
third
place
in
13:18
behind
racewinner
Jamie
Costin.
Paul
Fitzpatrick
also
showed
excellent
form
in
the
walk,
setting
a
new
PB
of
13:24
as
he
finished
just
behind
Peter
in
fourth
place.
Craig
Lynch
recovered
sufficiently
from
a
grueling
day's
competition
in
the
pentathlon
on
Saturday
to
produce
a
winning
performance
in
the
60m
D
race
in
a
time
of
7.40s.
Kevin
Ruxton,
who
had
also
completed
the
pentathlon
the
day
before,
produced
a
great
run
around
the
bends
to
set
a
PB
of
24.32s
when
finishing
third
in
the
200m
C
race.
Paul
Smith
(left)
had
double
cause
for
celebration
when
he
produced
a
great
effort
to
finish
fourth
in
the
men's
long
jump
in
his
first
senior
competition.
Paul's
best
jump
of
6.27m
was
not
only
a
new
PB
but
also
qualified
him
for
the
AAA
indoor
championships
in
Birmingham
in
which
he
will
compete
in
the
under
17
age
group.