Ulster Childrens Games Photos
A selection of photos taken at the Ulster Children's Games on Saturday has been uploaded to the club's online web album. The photos were taken by local photographer Paul Smith.
May 29th - Official Opening of Shercock Track & Ulster Children's Games
May 29th will long be remembered in Shercock as the day when the club's track development was officially opened after a ten year development programme which saw the facility grow from a basic cinder track, constructed in 2000, through the provision of a club house and flood lighting in 2006 to the completion of the tartan track which was opened today. The opening ceremony was conducted by Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith, who unveiled a commemorative plaque (left) following speeches by club chairman Eileen Fitzpatrick and secretary John McGeever. Also present were Liam Hennessy, president of Athletics Ireland, and Maeve Kyle, Ulster Council of Athletics Ireland.
The day was marked by the holding of the Ulster Children's Games and under 12 & 13 Juvenile Championships. This was the first time that an Ulster track championships has been held in Cavan - a fitting endorsement of the new facility in Shercock. Among the many exciting performances in the juvenile competitions there were wins for Shercock's Shane Duffy (u12 60m) and Oisin McEntee (u10 500m and long jump). Silver medals were won by Grace Kiernan (u10 ball throw) and Danielle Hill (u10 60m) while bronze medals were won by Aine Corcoran (3rd in the u10 LJ) and Laura Taylor (3rd u9 ball throw).
Team events: Shercock also featured stronly in the team event, winning the girls under 9 and 10 relays, while the boys under 10 finished second. The girls under 9 did very well in the team 60m, finishing 1st and 3rd while the boys under 10 also won the team 60m and the girls under 10 won the ball throw. There were second place finishes by the girls under 9 in the long jump and ball throw and third place by the boys under 10 in the ball throw and the girls under 9 in the long jump.
Ulster Children's Games & under 12,13 Championships
Shercock, May 29th 2010
The European Youth Olympic Trails are being held in Moscow this weekend and James Treanor was the first of the Irish athletes to compete when he lined out for the 10km walk at 7:15am on Friday morning. James put in a great effort to finish in 12th place in a time of 46:22, just outside his PB and ahead of his ranked position based on the other competitors personal bests. The first six countries to cross the line qualified their lead athlete for the Summer Youth Olympics and James came close on this count with Ireland finishing 9th of the countries represented.
With the Trials still ongoing we wish the remaining Irish athletes every success and a safe journey home on Monday.
At the Ulster Schools Championships in Antrim meanwhile, two Shercock athletes were in action on Friday. Shauna McGeever came second in the intermediate girls pole vault with a best clearance of 2.20m and Darina Fitzpatrick was sixth in the intermediate hammer with a best throw of 19.58m. Ciaran O'Reilly was third in the intermediate discus and fourth in the shot put on Saturday.
James Treanor led from start to finish of the 5km walk at the AAI Games in Castleisland today, covering the distance in a time of 22:11.
This was James' last race before heading to Moscow for the European Youth Olympic trials on Wednesday - volcanic ash clouds permitting. In Moscow he will compete against the best under 18s in Europe over 10km, hoping to improve on his previous best time of just over 46 minutes for the distance. He is likely to face tough opposition from the Eastern European walkers in particular however, with a a qualifying place on offer for the World Youth Olympics in Singapore, he is certain to rise to the occasion.
We wish James and the rest of the Irish team every success in Moscow this weekend. James is due to compete early on Friday morning, taking to the track at 10:15am Moscow time which is 7:15 am Irish time.
May 9th - Cavan Senior Track and Field Championships
History was made in Shercock on Sunday when the Cavan championships were held on a tartan track in the county for the first time. On another bright sunny day athletes from the local clubs turned out in force to enjoy a highly entertaining days action on the track and in the field. The growth in both numbers and quality among Shercock athletes was in evidence across all age groups. In the juveniles winning performances came from Grace Kiernan, Oisin McEntee, Shane Duffy, Clara Duffy, Shauna Kerley, Liam Kieran and the girls under 9, 10 and boys under 10 relay teams. In the under 15 age group there were impressive wins by Padraig Donagh, Killian Farrelly and Ciaran Corrigan. Shercock finished in second place overall for the juvenile trophy - the Moynagh Cup.
There were impressive wins in the masters events by Jody Clarke, Brian O'Reilly, Kay McEntee, Luis Halpin and the mens relay team. Shercock finished second in the masters cup by just a point!
In the senior events Shercock athletes dominated across all categories - lead by a double win over 1500m and 3000m by Noel Carroll. Also in gold medal winning form in the seniors were James Ruxton, Paul Fitzpatrick, Matthew O'Reilly, Craig Lynch, Richard Tsang and Anne Marie Burns. In the under 18s David Donagh and Celine Clerkin led home their track events while a strong under 16 squad saw winning performances by Ciaran O'Reilly, Niall Clerkin, Edel Kieran, Darina Fitzpatrick and the boys relay team. Shercock retained the overall senior trophy - the Dr. Quinn Cup.
Noel Carroll had a winning run over 3000m at the annual Londonderry Trophy match between Queen's University Belfast and the University of Ulster at the Mary Peter's track today. Noel went into the lead in the final kilometer and held out all the way to the line to win in 8:47 from Andrew Agnew and Ryan Faulkner. At the same match Richard Tsang (right) jumped 6.02m to finish third in the long jump.
Meanwhile sprinters Craig Lynch and James Ruxton were in action at the Dublin Graded meet in Irishtown this evening. Craig won the 200m in 22.43s with James not far behind in third place.
Eamon Harvey, Athletics Ireland RDO, was in Shercock today to conduct a sprint starts workshop for juvenile and teen athletes from the Cavan clubs as they prepare for the track season. Eamon covered start drills, technique and the use of starting blocks and also explained the new start rules introduced this year. The session was well attended and much appreciated by both athletes and coaches from the local clubs.
The Irish Universities Championships took place today on the new mondo track at Santry Stadium, hosted by Trinity College Dublin. The occasion provided a chance for many athletes to open their 2010 season. Paul Fitzpatrick (Dundalk IT) held off the challenge of Tim Healy (UCC) to win the 3km walk, adding the outdoor title to the indoor title he won in February. James Ruxton (DCU) finished third in a close finish to the 400m hurdles and went on to put DCU into the lead with a strong third leg in the 4x400m relay. The lead proved to be short lived, however, as UL overtook them on the final leg leaving DCU in the silver medal position. Richard Tsang (University of Ulster) finished just short of a medal in the triple jump when his best effort left him fourth. Richard was rewarded with a personal best of 6.38m in the long jump, finishing sixth, and finally secured a medal in the 4x100m relay when his UU team finished third. Matthew O'Reilly (Carlow IT) broke new ground in the shot put, setting a new personal best and club record of 12.13m, however this was only good enough for sixth place on the day, the same position he achieved in the discus. Hugh Fitzpatrick (TCD) finished fifth in the hammer and sixth in the shot put. Noel Carroll (UU) was seventh in the 5000m with fellow Cavan man Aodaghan O'Reilly (UCD) further back in 13th place. Fionan O'Reilly (UCD) ran well in the 1500m to finish sixth while Louise Reilly (TCD) was also sixth in the women's 1500m.
Darina Fitzptrick had a very positive week's competition when she followed up winning performances in the shot put and javelin at the Cavan Secondary Schools track and field with bronze medals in the javelin and discus at the Loreto Colleges Championships in Dublin.
Coach John McGeever was elected to the coaching committee of Athletics Ireland at Congress in Sligo on Saturday.
Brian Flatley opened his outdoor season in England with a 1.95m high jump effort when competing for Reading University in Ashford. This is just short of his PB of 1.98m.
April 21st - Cavan Secondary Schools Track & Field
History was made in Shercock today when over 500 secondary school students from ten Cavan schools converged on the splendid facility in brilliant sunshine for the first ever Cavan Secondary Schools athletics championships. On a busy day for both competitors and officials, an extensive programme was completed both on the track and in the field culminating in an exciting relay climax.
Another sunny day in Shercock saw this year's Cavan Spring League come to a successful conclusion and once again it was the local athletes who were the stars as Shercocks juveniles and masters went on a medal winning spree. The shot putt featured gold winning performances at masters level by Ann Carroll, Albinas Kiltinavicius and Louis Halpin while juveniles Ciaran O'Reilly and Darina Fitzpatrick won the under 16 competitions. Jody Clarke also impressed with a win in the masters long jump. On the track Edel Kieran was uncatchable in the under 16 800m while Celine Clerkin showed winning form in the under 18 300m. The relays brought the day to an exciting conclusion and once again local teams were showing winning form taking the titles in the boys under 12, girls under 13 and boys under 18 age groups. When all performances were taken into account over the three legs of the league, Shercock finished in second place overall.
Elsewhere Craig Lynch and James Ruxton opened their season at the Leevale Open Sports in Cork. Craig ran well to take second place in the men's 200m behind Irish indoor champion Darragh Graham. James struggled to find his best rythm in the 400m hurdles and finished in fifth place. Both athletes are looking forward to competing in the universities track championships next weekend when quite a few of the club's senior athletes hope to be in action.
Congratulations are due to coach Brian O'Reilly who finished the Great Ireland Run on Sunday. Congratulations are also due to future level 2 coaches Ann Carroll, Brona Colton and Paul Fitzpatrick who completed the first weekend of the course today in Shercock.
Pictured are coaches from throughout the country who took part in the first weekend of the level 2 coaching course which was held in Shercock. The course was conducted by Eamon Harvey, RDO Athletics Ireland assisted by tutors Paul McNamara and John McGeever.
