Weekend Round-up - December 8th

Catherina Mullen followed up her second place finish in the under 18 all-Ireland cross-country championships two weeks ago with a useful fourth place in the under 19 event in Coleraine on Sunday. Running with the leaders in the early stages, Catherina dropped off the lead by the half-way point and came in strongly in fourth place after a solo run for the second half of the race. Also running well for Shercock in Coleraine was Shane Duffy who finished in 40th place in the under 11 competition. Shane was the fifth athlete to finish for his Ulster team.

Noel Carroll (left) showed a good return to form when he finished in 22nd place in the All-Ireland Novice championships in Coleraine. After a conservative start, Noel settled in the low twenties, finding it hard to progress further up the field in the heavy underfoot conditions, however he was happy enough with his performance which gives him a good base going forward.

Racewalker James Traynor produced a great effort at the national 30km racewalk championships in Dublin on Saturday. Competing over the shorter 5km distance, James smashed his personal best to record 23:02 minutes for the distance - well inside his target time of 23:30. James has now set his sights on achieving the qualifing standard for the European Youth Olympics, which will take place in Moscow in May 2010. To get there he will have to achieve a time of 47 minutes for 10km, quite a challenge for a sixteen year old!

November 22nd - All-Ireland Cross Country, Kilbegan

Podium Finish for Catherina!

Catherina Mullen underlined her credentials as a cross country runner with great prospects when she took the lead in the early stages of the under 18 3000m at the national championships in Kilbeggan. Running strongly at the head of the large field, Catherina pulled out a large gap over the chasing pack with only Cork's Orlagh Farmer able to keep in contact with the strong running Cavan girl. Catherina kept the pressure up as the race entered the closing stages but was unable to shake off the attentions of Farmer, who surged into the lead with 150m to go. Catherina battled all the way to the line but had to settle for second as the Cork runner proved to be too strong on this occasion. Nevertheless it was a hugely positive performance by Catherina, who showed she has what it takes to compete at the highest level in the sport. Elsewhere Padraig Donagh was less fortunate as a fall at the start of the under 14 race left him with a badly injured leg. Padraig got up and gamely finished the race before receiving medical attention for the injury, which required seven stitches - we wish him a speedy recoovery. Jess Drohan was also in action in Kilbeggan, finishing 50th in the under 16 event when competing outside her age group.

Thanks to everyone who supported the round-table Quiz in the Sail Inn on Friday night!

It was great to see such a large turnout in spite of the terrible driving conditions on the night. The Quiz raised over 1200 euros towards the cost of the new track - well done to everyone who helped with the promotion and organisation of the event.

November 15th - Cavan Winter League - Round 2

The second leg of the winter league was held in Shercock last Sunday. The men's 6k was held on the road following a new and challenging circuit which posed few problems for local favourite Noel Carroll who was a comfortable winner with team mate Conor McCarey not far behind in third place. The juvenile and women's races were held on the track and Shercock athletes were to the fore again as Catherina Mullen led in the under 18 race ahead of team mate Celine Clerkin, also securing first team. A similar story unfolded in the girls under 16 event where Jess Drohan came home the winner just in front of Edel Kieran with the team result going again to Shercock. Padraig Donagh added to Shercock's success with a commanding run from the front to win the under 14 race while in the younger age groups Shane Duffy and Oisin Kerley were second and third under 12, leading their team home first, while Shauna Kerley also impressed when finishing third in the girls under 12 event. The final stage of the league is due to take place in Bailieborough on December 12th.

November 13th - Cavan Athletic Awards

Pictured are the award winners from Shercock at the annual Cavan athletics awards ceremony - back row: Ciaran O'Reilly, Hugh Fitzpatrick, Eamon Harvey (AAI), Craig Lynch, Geraldine Mullen, Paul Fitzpatrick & Brendan Smith (Minister for Agriculture). Front row: Siobhan O'Reilly, Niall Clerkin, Padraig Donagh, Edel Kierans, Celine Clerkin and Emma Duffy.

November 7th - Ulster Star Awards

Ciaran O'Reilly Wins Ulster Star Award for Cavan

November 8th - Ulster Cross Country Championships, Killybegs

A group of talented young club runners made the journey to Donegal today to compete in the Ulster Cross Country Championships on the links course at Killybegs. Catherina Mullen pulled clear of the field in the opening stages of the under 19 event and ran on strongly to win by a large margin with an impressive piece of front running. Jess Drohan continued to demonstrate the improvement in form that has seen her make great strides this season with a very positive performance in the under 15 event. Running with the lead pack throughout the race, Jess went into overtake mode with the finish line in sight and moved from sixth up to forth place at the line. Niall Clerkin showed an impressive return to form when he battled his way home in fifth place in the boys under ffiteen competition. Also featuring in the top ten was Shane Duffy who impressed with a seventh place finish in the under 11 competition. There were further positive runs by Edel Kieran (16th under 15), Jean Corbally (37thth under 13), Padraig Donagh (38th under 15), Conor Gargan (39th under 11), Oliver Loetscher (42nd under 15) and Emma Duffy (45th under 15).

November 1st 2009 - Cavan Cross Country Championships

Juvenile Even Ages and Senior

Well done to all the athletes who braved stormy conditions at Killinkere for the second and final stage of the county cross country championships on Sunday. There were winning performances by Catherina Mullen (u18) Lisa Clerkin (junior women) and Pauric Donagh (u14). Lisa went on to also finish third in the senior ladies with clubmate Sinead Mullen running impressively to finish second in her first outing at this level. Brian McCarey finished best of the Shercock runners in the men's race in fourth place as the club struggled to field a team due to illness and childbirth. Also running well in the juvenile age groups were Jean Corbally (3rd under 14), Jessica Drohan (3rd under 16) and Oisin Kerley (3rd under 12). Team medals were won by the girls under 10 (2nd) boys under 12 (2nd) and girls under 16 (2nd).

Special congartulations are due to Conor and Astrid McCarey on the birth of a baby girl today!

Club Marathon Record for Brian McCarey

Congratulations to Brian mcCarey who recently set a new club record of two hours fifty minutes and sixteen seconds when finishing 124th in the Dublin City Marathon.

Ulster Regional Squad - October 10th

Ulster's leading juvenile athletes gathered at Shercock's new tartan track facility today to take part in a coaching day organised by regional development officer Eamon Harvey. The session included strength and speed testing as well as technical sessions dealing with jumps, throws and track events. Eamon was assisted by a large coaching team which included Paddy McGrattan, John McGeever, Paul Fitzpatrick, Hugh Fitzpatrick and Brian O'Reilly. Everyone enjoyed the hospitality provided by the host club and the positive coaching atmosphere at the event.

Sep 20th - Cavan Winter League - 1st Leg

Photos from Winter League now uploaded in Photos section

The first leg of the annual winter league took place in Killygarry today and was marked by some impressive performances from Shercock athletes in their first race of the winter season. A great battle at the front of the men's 5km was finally resolved in the closing stages when Noel Carroll pulled clear of team mate Paul Fitzpatrick to take the win with Conor McCarey running very well to finish third. The Shercock women's team was led home by Lisa Clerkin who finished third overall. Also impressing for Shercock were Edel Kieran (1st u16), Pauric Donagh (1st u14) Celine Clerkin (1st u18), Joe Dillon (2nd u18), Niall Clerkin (2nd u16) Shane Duffy (3rd u12), Blaithin Hughes (2nd u18) and Jess Drohan (3rd u16). RESULTS

Friday August 28th - Monaghan 5k

Paul Fitzpatrick was in action today in the Streets of Monaghan 5k. Coping well with the street circuit, Paul covered the distance in a useful 16:10 which left him in sixth place in the quality field.