Galway 5km Series
The second race of the 2018 Galway 5km Series was held Tuesday last in Craughwell, with a huge field of l over 600 runners finishing the event on the traditionally fast course. Paddy O'Toole of Westport AC was first man home in a series best this year of 16.14 ahead of marathon man Kevin Mooney of Craughwell AC, second in 16.21 and David Richardson of Limerick, third in 16.27. First lady home was once again Regina Casey of GCH in a time of 17.51, with Sinead Brody, also GCH second in 18.17 and Aisling Joyce also GCH third in 18.21.Loughrea AC host the series on May 8th, with Claregalway hosting the following weeks race.
Galway Track and Field Juvenile Championships
Day Two of the 2018 Galway Track and Field Juvenile Championships was held Sunday last in perfect conditions in Dangan, with the U9 to U12 age groups competing in front of a large attendance at the NUI Galway venue.
At U12 level, there were some great individual performances, with double golds for Darragh Fahy, Shannon Quinn, Aine Maguire and Darragh Kelly. The opening event, the 60m sprint hurdles saw wins for Darragh Fahy of Loughrea AC and Katie Flaherty of South Galway AC. Victorious in the Long Jump were Shannon Quinn of Craughwell AC with a Galway record, and Darragh Fahy of Loughrea AC with his second gold of the day.
The Turbo Javelin golds went to Tara Keane of Craughwell AC and Cian O'Brien of Tuam AC. The 60m sprints were won by Aine Maguire of Tuam AC and Richard McGrath of Galway City Harriers. Danielle Moynihan of Tuam AC and Darragh Kelly of Craughwell AC claimed gold in the U12 High Jump. In the Shot Putt, Shannon Quinn of Craughwell and her clubmate Darragh Kelly both won their second gold medals of the day.
In the distance events, Aine Maguire was another double gold winner, claiming the 600m title after sprint gold, while joint gold medalists in the U12 Boys 600m were Enda Keane of South Galway and Shane Meagher of GCH. Tuam AC U12 girls and GCH U12 Boys teams won relay gold.
The U9, 10 and 11 competitions were team based with the top three teams of two in each event making the Connacht championships
The Relay events were won by Tuam AC with four wins at these levels, in a superb club showing, claiming gold at U9 Boys, U9 Girls, U10 Girls and U11 Boys events. Craughwell AC took two relay golds, winning at U10 Boys and U11 Girls.
At U9 level, Katelyn Kelly and Yvie Huban won the Long Jump for South Galway AC, while Thomas Riordan and Oisin Munnelly of Tuam AC won the Boys event. In the Turbo Javelin, the Tuam pairing of Holly Hughes and Saoirse Maguire won gold in the girls, with Odhran Kelly and Darragh Brady, also a Tuam AC team, winning out in the Boys section. On the track, the 60m event was won by the Tuam pair of Eimear Fallon and Rachel Treacy in the girls and in the boys’ event, the winning team was that of Callum McMahon and Alan Hallinan of Craughwell AC. The 300m distance event team winners were Remy Aylmer and Aisling Lavan of Craughwell AC, with a second team win for Callum McMahon and Alan Hallinan of Craughwell AC in the boys’ 600m section.
In the U10 team competition, Lauren Morgan and Mia Hollingworth of Craughwell AC won Long Jump gold in the girls, with Oran Collins and Leo Molloy, also of Craughwell, winning gold in the Boys event. In the Turbo Javelin Ciara Byrnes and Megan Smith took victory for Craughwell AC, with Tadhg O'Meara and Daniel Farrelly, also of Craughwell, victorious in the Boys competition. The 60m girls event was won by the pair of Hazel Fahy and Ciara O'Halloran of Loughrea AC, with Eanna Morrissey and Oran Collins, a Craughwell pair, winning the Boys. The 500m distance race event team winners were Grace McGrath and Kate Halligan of Tuam AC in the girls, with Shane Earls and Ryan Cremin, representing Loughrea AC, winning the Boys title.
At U11 level Emma O’Donovan and Lauren Kilduff of Craughwell AC won Long Jump gold in the girls, with the Craughwell pair of Ben Moran and Dara Zimmerer winning gold in the Boys event. In the Turbo Javelin, Emma Phelan and Ciara Mernagh took victory for Craughwell AC, with Dean McNally and Harry Lynam also of Craughwell taking the honours in the Boys competition. The 60m girls event was won by the GCH pair of Juno Hayes and Elisa Jaime Stapleton, with Jeremiah Oifoh and Ciaran O’Donnell of Tuam AC taking gold in the Boys. In the final action of the day, the long distance 600m event, the team winners were South Galway pair of Aisling Geaney and Amber Horan in the girls event, with Riley Stenson and Keelan Moorehead of Craughwell AC winning the Boys title.
Irish Milers Club
Some of GCHs best middle-distance runners competed at the Irish Milers Club meet in Greystones with Thomas McStay clocking 4.01 over 1500m, Eanna Folan 4.02 and Aaron Brennan 4.05. Neill Keane clocked 2.02 over 800m, while Aisling Joyce and Maebh Brannigan ran encouraging season openers of 2.19 and 2.21 respectively over 800m
At the Ton na Gaoithe wind sprints meet in Waterford, Cillin Greene ran 21.78 over 200m for victory and 10.65 over 100m with Jack Dempsey also GCH clocking 22.13 and 10.94. Nicole King ran 25.31 over 200m
Limerick Marathon
GCH athletes had considerable success in the Limerick Marathon held Sunday last, as Neasa De Burca placed second in the ladies in the Marathon event in a personal best 3hours 4 minutes, while Sinead Brody clocked a superb 1 hour 25 minutes for third in the half marathon. Louis Coyne, with 2.53, and Jimmy Ward, with 2.54 both broke 3 hours in the marathon.
West of Ireland Ladies Mini Marathon
The 9th Annual West of Ireland Women’s 10k took place Sunday in Castlebar, and it was Regina Casey of GCH who took a well-deserved victory in this most prestigious race, with Sinéad Whitelaw (Mullingar Harriers) and Maeve Gallagher (Swinford AC) finishing second and third respectively.
