It was a successful day at the National Indoor League Final held in the new National Indoor Arena in Abbottstown in Dublin for GCH men’s and ladies’ teams and Craughwell AC ladies, who all competed strongly on the day .
GCH men’s squad under manager Brendan Glynn put on a tremendous display, finishing third team overall, securing bronze medals, with a tally of 64 points, behind winners Clonliffe Harriers. The squad secured maximum points via victory for Brendan Staunton in the Shot putt,while young sprinter Jack Dempsey was a sensation for the city team, placing second in the 60m (7.0), 3rd in the 200m (22,4) and anchored a great GCH relay team home to 2nd overall.
Robert Meagher continues to progress over 400m running a new personal best time of 50.25 –placing 4th overall , Eoin Lyonsplaced 5th in the 800m improving on his time from the National Juniors last weekend to 2.05.
There was a 6thplace finish for Eamon Hornibrook, with a 4.33 1500m,while Simon Callaghan was 3rd in the 60m Hurdles and 5th in the Long jump.
Henrique Nkolovata put in a good performance in the triple jump coming 4th and scored a valuable point in the High jump. Cliff Jennings was 3rd in the pole vault, while Darren Costello and Eoghan Dobey also competed on the relay squad.
The GCH ladies squad produced some great displays,as they achieved a sixth placed finish overall on their first ever final outing . Star of the show was Aoife Sheehy, who competed in three events, with a third place finish in the 400, 7th in the High jump and helped the 4*200m relays quad to seventh spot. Laura Ann Costello also had a great day, placing was 4th in the 60m in 7.82 and ran a fantastic 200m breaking 25seconds, securing 2nd place points for the team.
Kathryn Casserly placed fourth in a very competitive 1500m, while Solange Diogo placed 7th in long jump, and was 3rd in the triple jump. Kate Greaney placed 8th in the 60m Hurdles in her first race in a number of years. and Maebh Brannigan had a good 4th place finish in the 800m
Laura Nally scored in the Shot putt for the team, while Anna Giatraki secure valuable points in her first ever Pole Vault, rounding off a good day’s work for the GCH ladies
Craughwell ladies team placed eighth in the final, as Lorraine Delaney led the way with a fine 1.50m clearance in the high jump to claim second place. Sineád Treacy placed 6th in the 200m in a time of 26.49 and 5th in the long jump with a leap of 4.82. Sarah Finnegan placed 6th in the 60m hurdles in a time of 10.55 and 5th in the triple jump with an impressive 10.17.
Ciana Reidy placed 5th in the pole vault with a best of 2.20, while Caoilin Milton was 6th in the 400m in a time of 65.24The versatile Laura Cunningham secured 5th in the shot putt with an 8.18m PB and was 7th in the 60m sprint in a time of 8.33 In the final event of the day, the club ran an impressive time of 1.48.26 to place 5th in the 4x200m relay with Sineád Treacy, Caoilin Milton, Lorraine Delaney and Laura Cunningham.
National Masters Cross-Country Championships
A number of Galway’s top Masters cross country runners will head to Waterford next Sunday for the National Masters’ cross country championships. The likes of Martin Kearney, and Martin McEvilly of GCH, as well as Ian Egan and Sean Burke of Tuam AC will aim to secure individual medals, as will the strong running Eilis Ni Dhuill of GCH in the Ladies race over 4km.
Other news
Alanna Lally, formerly of GCH and now running with UCD, placed third in a time of 2.08 behind Olympian Ciara Mageaan in a fast 800m race at the AAI Games last weekend
Laura Shaughnessy, one of Galway's top runners, competed with DSD ladies squad in the European Cross Country Clubs Cup in Albufeira, in Portugal Sunday last. She placed 31stoverall and the Dublin based club were sixth ladies team overall
Gort 8km road race
South Galway Athletic Clubs annual Gorgeous Gort 8km road race is taking place this year on Sunday 12th February at 1.30pm.
It’s just €20 to register as an individual online and as it is falling on the Valentines Day Weekend, South Galway AC are offering a special couple entry of €35.
Race HQ is at Gort Community Centre on the morning of the run from 11.30am. The run starts on George's Street in the town and routes through the town of Gort and around the scenic hinterland to the finish at Gort community centre.
The route is Jones counter measured, Athletics Ireland permitted and all runners will be chip timed. There are prizes for top 3 seniors male and female, over 50’s male and female and fastest couple.
