INDOOR ATHLETICS 2009

LINK TO: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004

March 14th - Ulster Juvenile Indoor Championships, Magherfelt

Shercock Juveniles in Top Form at Meadowbank

The highly impressive Meadowbank Sports Arena in Magherafelt, the largest indoor facility of its kind in Europe, played host to the Ulster Age Group Indoor Championships today. The 21st century venue brought the best out of the Shercock athletes to made the journey to mid-Ulster with several impressive PBs being set on the day. Paul Smith went into action early in the morning and adapted well to the elevated long jump runway, setting an impressive new PB of 6.85m to win the under 19 competition. Paul was delighted with his jump, however it still leaves him 1cm short of Brendan Corrigan's long standing club record. Paul was back on track shortly afterwards for the 60m final in which he once again broke new ground, recording a PB of 7.25s when finishing second.

Catherina Mullen was out on her own at the head of the field of the under 18 1500m, however she kept a strong pace going to set a new PB of 5:01 to secure the gold. Hannah Schneider was also in action in the same race, finishing well in fourth place. Mitsumi Ito made her debut as a racewalker in the under 18 1500m and produced a technically good effort to take second place. Blaithin Hughes showed good form in the high jump, clearing 1.30m to take the bronze medal in the under 18 event, and went on to also finish fourth in the 60m final. Blaithin and Mitsumi are pictured right with their medals.

Shercock relay teams were strongly in evidence on the day and the best performance came from the boys under 15 team of Ryan Rogers, Niall Clerkin, Senan McGeever and Ciaran O'Reilly who came from behind with a great finish to secure the silver medal. Also in medal winning form were the girls under 15 team of Ashling Farrell, Jess Drohan, Emma Duffy and Edel Kieran who finished well in second place in their semi-final and were placed third overall based on their time as no final was held. There were further strong runs by the girls under 14 team who were third in their semi-final and the girls under 18 who were fifth in their final.

All the medal-wining athletes can now look forward to the all-Irelands which will take place in Nenagh and Magherafelt in the weeks ahead.

Shercock Boys under 15 silver medalists: Ryan Rogers, Niall Clerkin, Senan McGeever and Ciaran O'Reilly.

Shercock girls under 15 bronze medalists: Jess Drohan, Darina Fitzpatrick, Ashling Farrell, Emma Duffy and Edel Kieran.

March 11th - Contracts Signed for New Tartan Track in Shercock

Contracts were signed today for the new tartan track in Shercock, which will replace the existing cinder track. Pictured at the signing are, from left: Ed Crawford, Sports Surfaces Ireland, Councillor Francis McDermott (FF), Philip Fidgeon, Director Shercock Sports & Recreational Facilities, Ann Lynch, Treasurer Shercock AC, John Daly, FJD Surveyors, John McGeever, Secretary, Shercock AC, James Anderson, Sports Surfaces Ireland and Brian O'Reilly, Coach, Shercock AC. The new track will be the first of its kind in the region and work is due to start on site on April 5th.

March 8th - Level 1 Coaching Course, Shercock

The first stage of the level 1 coaching course scheduled for Cavan-Monaghan was held this weekend in Shercock. Twenty-six enthusiastic participants, including eight from hosts Shercock AC, took part in the course, which was delivered by Athletics Ireland regional development officer, Eamon Harvey, ably assisted by decathlete Kevin Grant.

March 7th - Irish Schools Cross Country Championships, Jordanstown

Impressive Run By Catherina

Catherina Mullen had a very positive outing at the Irish Schools Cross Country Championships in Jordanstown on Saturday. Despite finishing in just fifth place at the Ulster Schools Championships a fortnight previously, Catherina pulled out all the stops on this occasion and with a typically determined effort at the front end of the field, finished impressively in fourth place in the intermediate girls 3500m.

Catherina has shown steady improvement over the past two years and has marked herself out as a name to watch out for both on track and over the country in the years ahead.

Feb 28th - Isle of Man Open Walk

Paul Fitzpatrick Makes 20km Debut

Paul Fitzpatrick took the first step in his progression from the junior to senior ranks when he completed his first 20km race at the Isle of Man Open Walks in Douglas today. Paul was hoping to gain valuable experience over the distance which will form the main basis for his competition programme now that he has moved up to full senior status.

Adopting a conservative pace, Paul showed good form throughout the first 15km, however as the race moved into the closing stages, the cold and blustery conditions began to take their toll and he visibly slowed. Showing typical determination he battled all the way to the line to take third place behind fellow Irishmen David Kidd and John Egan in a time of 1 hour 39 minutes and 20 seconds. Though somewhat disappointed with his time, Paul remains confident that he will be able to make significant progress during the year ahead and hopes to improve his time at his next race in the Czech Republic in just under two months time.

Also making progress in the Isle of Man were training partners James Treanor & Michéal Gargan who finished first and second in the boys under 17 3km event. Both finished with a clean sheet from the judges, which will serve as a confidence boost ahead of the Irish indoor championships in Magherafelt in April.

James Treanor and Michéal Gargan in action in the under 17 3km race in the Isle of Man.

Paul Fitzpatrick is presented with a plaque for finishing third in the 20km race in the Isle of Man.

Peter Muldoon made a big improvement in his season's best when finishing a close second in the 3km racewalk at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships at Graceland University at the weekend. Peter recorded a time of 13 minutes 12.67 seconds just behind Missouri Valley's Thiago Ferriera (13:12.32) with what was the leading performance of the weekend by a Central Methodist University athlete.

Peter's focus now centers on the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, which take place in Johnson City, Tennessee, on March 5th-7th.

Peter's time ranks him third in the NAIA this season.

Feb 15th - Irish Universities Indoor Championships

Paul Fitzpatrick Retains Walk Title

Paul Fitzpatrick retained his Irish Universities Indoor 2km walk title in Nenagh today where he led from gun to tape in a new personal best and Shercock club record time of 8 minutes and 22 seconds. Despite suffering from the effects of a flu, Paul walked strongly throughout as he once more secured gold for Dundalk Institute of Technology. Also in record breaking form was Shercock shot putter Matthew O'Reilly, who has made a challenging transition from the glide to the spin technique over the past year. Matthew, representing Carlow Institute of Technology, tossed the shot out to 11.84m, matching Hugh Fitzpatrick's club record, which left him in fourth place overall. Hugh was on hand to witness the assault on his record and finished not far behind in 6th place before narrowly missing out on a medal in the Weight for Distance with a best effort of 8.10m for fourth place.

Scottish Junior Indoor Championships

Paul Smith Wins Long Jump Gold

Paul Smith made a return to competition at the Scottish junior indoor championships this weekend and was rewarded with the gold with a best jump of 6.65m. The win will undoubtedly be a major confidence boost ahead of an important year for the popular Shercock jumper who aims to sail over the 7m mark for the first time in 2009. Also performing well in Scotland was Richard Tsang, who narrowly missed out on a medal when finishing fourth in the junior men's triple jump. Ciaran O'Reilly struggled to repeat his winning form from the Odyssey a week previously, finishing fifth in the under 15 shot putt with a best effort of 10.52m.

Meanwhile the Irish junior pole vault championships were also held at the indoor hall in Santry today where the sole Shercock representative was Shauna McGeever, who matched her personal best with a clearance of 2.20m which left her in fourth place overall in her first competition of 2009.

February 8th - James Ruxton heads positive Shercock Performances at the Odyssey

Belfast's Odyssey Arena played host to what is arguably the country's most impressive athletics fixture when the Irish indoor championships were held there at the weekend. Shercock athletes featured across a number of events on the programme, however it was James Ruxton who claimed the plaudits with a surprise medal winning run in the 400m final. James had to change his plans for the weekend when a spirited performance in the 400m heats on Saturday led to an unexpected qualification for the 400m B final on Sunday. With just one Irish athlete in the 400m A final, there were medals to be won for the top two places in the B final. James was in good company as Shercock team-mate Kevin McCloy had also made it through to the B final. Billy Ryan led from the front to claim the win but a threeway battle for second place went all the way to the line as James dived across the finish to deny Zoltan Gyomber second place with Kevin finishing a close fourth. That effort secured James his cherished goal - his first Irish senior medal, and he was more than surprised that it came here and not in his preferred event the 400m hurdles.

Brian Flatley had a busy weekend at the Odyssey, setting an indoor PB of 3.80m in the pole vault on Saturday before returning for the hurdles on Sunday when he finished fourth in his heat in 8.75 seconds. Paul Fitzpatrick put in a brave effort in the 5km walk, which was won in impressive style by Robert Heffernan, despite being in contention in the early stages, Paul finished outside the medal positions in sixth place. Craig Lynch progressed comfortably to the semi-finals of the 60m however a tight quad forced him to withdraw from the semis as a precaution. Matthew O'Reilly and Richard Tsang also featured in the shot putt and long jump respectively but finished outside the medal positions despite their best efforts.

Shercock Juveniles Make their Mark at the Odyssey Too....

The Ulster Age Group Championships were held alongside the Irish Seniors at the Odyssey and a strong group of juvenile athletes from the club proved that they are ready to follow in the footsteps of our successful seniors. Ciaran O'Reilly (right) led the way by winning the under 15 shot putt with a massive 12.50m effort.

Micheal Gargan held off the close challenge of training partner James Treanor to win the under 17 walk. Barbara Ward was also in winning form in the walk, winning her age group, before going on to take a bronze medal in the shot putt for good measure. Also doing well in the shot putt was Padraig Donagh, who finished third, while a further bronze medal was secured by Niall Clerkin in the long jump. Just missing out on podium finishes were Ryan Rogers (4th in the under 15 high jump) and Edel Kieran (4th in the under 14 800m). Full results are available on the NIAF website.

February 1st - News Round-up

Ulster Star Award Winners - Shercock juveniles Barbara Ward, Ciaran Corrigan and Catherina Mullen were honoured at the Annual Ulster Star Awards Ceremony at the Bayview Hotel in Killybegs at the weekend where they received the awards for leading Cavan athlete in each age group. Well done to each of these promising young stars of the future.

Scottish Senior Championships - James Ruxton continued his quest to break the 50 second mark for 400m indoors in Glasgow's Kelvin Hall at the weekend and fell short by the narrowest of margins, recording a PB of 50.16s when finishing third in his heat, just ahead of team mate Kevin McCloy (50.4s). Hopefully both athletes will find their form at the Irish Seniors at the Odyssey Arena next weekend.

January 24th - Junior Indoor Championships

Craig Lynch Wins Sprint Gold

The AAI Junior Indoor Championships were held in Nenagh today and despite the very cold conditions there were some impressive performances by the country's top junior athletes. Craig Lynch had a positive run in his first competition of the indoor season when he came from behind after a poor start to win the men's 60m final impressively in a useful time of 7.12 seconds. Paul Smith was in contention for the gold in the men's long jump however he was unlucky to secure only the bronze medal in a competition where just 8cm separated the top three finishers, Paul's best jump was a 6.70m effort. Catherina Mullen produced a great run in the women's 3000m when with a typically battling performance she secured the bronze medal, having contested the silver all the way to the line. Catherina was justifiably pleased with her run, in which she knocked no less than 25 seconds off her personal best - recording 10:27.4, a new club record for the distance. Richard Tsang improved with every round of the triple jump, however a medal proved to be out of range on this occasion and he had to settle for fourth place with a best effort of 11.68m. Blaithín Hughes made her debut at 400m and ran well to finish third in her heat.

Jan 25th - AAI Games

There were further season-opening performances by Shercock athletes in Nenagh in Sunday at the AAI Indoor Games. James Ruxton got off to a good start with a winning run in his 400m race in a useful time of 51.06s. James hopes to dip under the 50 second mark indoors for the first time this year and his run in Nenagh suggests he is in the form to achieve that goal. Paul Fitzpatrick, competing in his first year as a full senior, matched his personal best for the 3km walk when he recorded 12:33 to finish third behind Olympian Robert Heffernan and David Kidd. Both Shercock athletes will now be focused on the Irish Senior Indoor championships which take place in Belfast's Odyssey Arena in February.

Jan 25th - AAI B Cross Country Championships - Lough Key Forest Park

A number of Shercock juvenile athletes traveled to Lough Key Forest Park for the all-Ireland B cross country championships. Padraig Donagh fared best, coming sixth in the under 13 event, also performing well were Hannah Schneider (11th under 17), Celine Clerkin (12th under 17) and Kelly Colton (12th under 13). Edel Kieran featured on the Cavan team which finished third in the inter-county relays while Niall Clerkin helped his county team to fourth place in the same age group.

SHERCOCK ATHLETIC CLUB ANNUAL AWARDS 2008

A large and appreciative crowd turned out in Saint Patrick's Hall on Friday night to celebrate the club's achievements in 2008. Club chairman Colin Watterson highlighted the success of racewalker Paul Fitzpatrick, who represented Ireland at the World Cup and World Junior Championships, national senior medalists Paul Smith and Craig Lynch, and the senior men's team who finished in the top three at the final of the national league's premier division. There were several impressive video presentations on the night, including the national league final, and each athlete who won a national or international medal during the year was presented with their medal, which had been professionally framed by the club for the occasion. The highlights of the evening were the presentation of the Athlete of the Year Awards to Paul Smith and Catherina Mullen, and an interview with Craig Lynch by coach John McGeever which proved to be both inspirational and entertaining in equal measures.

Athlete of the Year 2008: From left - Councillor Francis McDermott, Catherina Mullen, female winner, Breda McCabe, Shercock Credit Union and Paul Smith, male winner.

National Irish Bank Cheque Presentation: Pictured at the presentation of a cheque towards the development of the new Tartan athletic track in Shercock are, from left: John McGeever (coach), Jim Deeney (Regional Manager, National Irish Bank), Ann Lynch (treasurer) and Craig Lynch.

January 18th 2009 - Weekend Results Round-up

The indoor track season continued to gain pace at the high performance centre at Jordanstown at the weekend where several Shercock athletes were in action at an open indoor meet. Newly-crowned national combined events champion Brian Flatley competed in the pole vault, finishing fourth with a best clearance of 3.50m. Paul Smith opened his indoor account in the long jump with a best effort of 6.70m to finish second with club mate Richard Tsang one place behind with a best jump of 5.75m.

At the Celtic International Cross Country in Wales, Catherina Mullen represented Ulster in the Junior Women's 5000m and coped well with the step-up in level and distance to finish in 18th position.

USA - Peter Muldoon Qualifies for National Championships

AAI Senior Combined Events Championships - January 10th
Winning Performance by Brian

Brian Flatley (right) had an outstanding result at the Irish Senior Combined Events Championship in Nenagh on Saturday where he lifted the title. Brian had good results in the high jump (1.85m), 1000m (3:06), Long Jump and Hurdles which were enough to make up for a slightly dodgy shot putt and left him with just under 3000 points for the pentathlon. Brian is only the second Shercock athlete to win an individual national senior title - well done Brian!
 
Senior Indoor Relays
Eileen Fitzpatrick managed another successful outing for the County Cavan racewalk team at the senior relays on Saturday when the experienced Hugh Fitzpatrick led debutantes Michéal Gargan and Barbara Ward to victory in the 3x1000m racewalk. It was very encouraging to see these young athletes, in their first month as eligible seniors, being given a taste of success in senior competition - hopefully it will whet their appetite for more success in the future. Great credit is due to Eileen for keeping this little-known success story going from year to year. We first entered the competition in 2002, finishing second, and have won it every year since (this year's win makes it six in a row).
There was further success at the Relays for our shot putt team of Hugh Fitzpatrick and Matthew O'Reilly who finished a highly commendable third - not a bad start to the year for our top throwers.

International Selection

Congratulations are also due to Catherina Mullen (left) who finished well in fourth place in a highly talented field in the under 17 event at the Antrim International Cross Country.

Catherina has been rewarded for her impressive form over the country by selection for her first junior international when she will represent Ulster in the Celtic Cross Country in a week's time. This will be a big step up for Catherina, not least because the distance is 6000m, however it will be a good preparation for future races at this level.