The weekend of the 18th/19 June 2016 saw the Fit for Youth Age Group travel to the Tullamore Harriers grounds in Co. Offaly for the annual Leinster older ages Track and Field Championship. With the cream of Leinster in attendance, the Dunboyne AC athletes were going to have to be in top form to claim the various provincial titles that were up for grabs.
Our talented under 14 crew were well represented in the Midlands where on day 1 Abigail Knox left a school weekend away to travel to compete in the high jump. Despite suffering from sleep deprivation she jumped a decent 1m 35 cm, missing out on qualification on count-back as three jumpers finish on an equal heights for the final two spots. Yet another example of how cruel sport can be. Conor Leane and Doireann Ni Fhlatharta had mixed fortunes in their respective 1500m. Doireann, while on route to what seemed like a guaranteed place on the podium, hit the tartan after a trip while Conor took Silver after letting the front runners get too far ahead (much to the annoyance of the very irate author of this fine article!) before making his dash for glory, just falling short on the day. But will get his revenge on the National Stage where there will be different race tactics in his armoury. Marc Leane was in action in the 200m: Marc took an automatic qualification spot in the heats before returning for the final where he went off with more determination, but alas it was not to be as he got pipped on the line for yet another frustrating fourth, with qualification for the All Irelands being the consolation prize. Doireann was back on day 2 for the 800m race, joined by the ever improving Katie Greene. Katie was unlucky to have to contest the fastest qualifying heat, while Doireann had an easy route to the final. In the final Doireann led the race from the gun, and just ran out of steam in the last 40m, to finish in bronze position. Conor was also back for the 800m, looking strong in his heat where he qualified for the final with ease. The final was going to plan as he led the field on lap one, but it seemed to be one race too many over the weekend as his legs could not provide that explosive sprint finish we have come accustomed to, but he will be raring to go in the 1500m in July. Tadhg O’Muircheartaigh, despite having a nightmare of a season with injury, was back on duty for the Javelin on Sunday, and as always he was technically superb to counteract his mobility restrictions. Tadhg as the coaches say ‘ is always good for a medal’, and today was no exception as he broke the Championship best performance while winning gold and carving his name into the record books yet again.
Our Under 15 girls were represented by Katie Reilly in the 1500m, and Victoria Knox in the 4 by 100m inter- county relay. Katie, who is still in her maiden year in the athletics world had a great start and stayed with the pace for most of the race, finishing a respectable 7th in her first Leinster Outdoor track race. Victoria had a very impressive leg in the inter county relay, bringing the Royal County into contention in a tight finishing race, for once that day we got the rub of the green as the Meath quartet took bronze, looking the part as they ran wearing borrowed Dunboyne AC singlets to adhere to competition rules on uniformity. Jack Hayes was this groups sole male participant on day 1 as he strutted his stuff in the high jump, jumping close to a pb in a very talented field. Victoria was back on the Sunday for the opening race of the day as she went off in the 250m hurdles, one of the ultimate lactate tests on tartan. Victoria won her heat with ease and in the final dug deep and forced her way up through the field to snatch silver. Victoria is still learning this event, improving with every event and will be in the running at the upcoming All Irelands. In the 800m races later in the schedule of events the club had Sarah Magee, Nicole Frazer and Anna Griffin at the start line. The standard of this competition was so high that only Nicole managed to qualify for the final after putting in a huge effort in the heats stage. In the final Nicole did well to stay with the early pace, ending up a respectable 8th in the final. Looking for the family to be crowned with bragging rights in the greater Millfarm area, a second Thornton, namely Philip, was on the podium yet gain as he showed some great strength in the shot putt taking bronze, but it should be noted that that the size of two competitors that finished on the podium with him was like describing some ancient race of giant warriors.
Our under 17 boys had very high expectation coming westward in search of silverware, and collect their bounty they did. Thomas Thornton was our busiest athlete over this overcast and sticky weekend. Thomas is coming into form at the right end of the season as he improved his triple jump performance by over a meter in just a fortnight, much to the delight of his parents (who volunteered their services as officials on the day), his best hop skip and jump being just shy of 13m and good enough for gold. Jack Nyhan who was back in the jurisdiction after his school trip to Italy (where he reckons he was a hit with the local ladies as he strolled around shirt less to show of the benefits of his gym work). However the disruption in his training schedule was evident as he struggled with his developing technique, throwing 14m plus, well short of his recent performances, but still good enough for silver. Thomas was back in action in the long jump and 200m on day 2 where he had another impressive outing as he won the long jump by a considerable margin before stretching his legs as he came home 5th in the 200m final. Thomas was joined by his doting baby brother Philip and friends Luke Phelan and Gavin Smith for the under 17 4 by 100m relay, and as on day 1 the clubs involvement in the busy timetable came to an end with bronze in a relay event. We won’t mention anything about baton change-overs as they tried to avoid the subject in the post-race post mortem…:)
Our strong ties with Belvedere College in the throwing events continued on Saturday as Evan Mitchell walked into the circle in the throwing area in the shadow of the main Tullamore Harriers Stadium for the under 18 hammer competition. Evan, like Thomas from the younger age group, was warming up for next week’s Tailltean Games where no doubt his proud parents will be in the sidelines as he makes his debut in the Leinster colours. Consistent throwing around the 44m mark in recent times was yet again the order of the day for this young talent, and was good enough to win gold number two for the club on day 1.
The elder of our Fit4Youth athletes in action over the damp and dull weekend was Niall Bermingham, who was in the under 19 high jump on day two. Niall battled the weather and slippy underfoot conditions to win bronze, and jumping over the winning height in training in recent times will be in the reckoning come National finals time.
Well done to all and a big thank you to Paul Gorey and Bridie Thornton (who also roped in her better half) who braved the elements and officiated over the weekend. Best of luck to Evan and Thomas at the Tailltean Games which are more or less trials for the Irish team. Also best of luck to the other athletes – Victoria, Doireann, Conor, Tadhg, Marc, Philip, Jack and Niall who also qualified for the All Ireland (outdoor) Track and Field Championship 2016.
