2018 Leinster XC Championships Uneven Ages
A super day for the club!
A fantastic day for the club from the get go; before the championship race got down to business there were two u9 races; on a tough course our academy runners set the tone for the day with great runs.
This was followed by two u19s races, with no Gowran athletes competing.
Then the real business could get underway it was time for the u11s to toe the line. As ever a packed field were condensed into pens making the start a nervous affair for athletes, coaches and parents.
The u11 girls showed the value of packing well in their race, with a strong showing from the top 4 grabbing a 4th place for the club by the tightest of margins – a countback with Mullingar and Bray Runners. Our 4th scorer, Kate, finishing just ahead of their 4th scorers. So that team of 6 are All Ireland bound in December!
The boys u11 was a similarly competitive affair, but Gowran had 2 teams lining up with 14 athletes on the line. Conor Carroll’s recent good form continuing with a top 25 finish, the boys club teams finished a very good 6th and 14th with super runs by everyone – many making their XC debuts. The county team here finished 4th, and with it 5 Gowran athletes can keep their long spikes in as they get ready for All Irelands. Congrats to all the u11s and their coaches – and thanks to their parents for travelling and supporting.
The girls u13 team had to run 2.5km, but were more than able for the task. The team performed outstandingly, with two top twelve finishers (Sarah and Rachel), Hazel was just outside in 14th backed up by Ruth, Alex,Clodagh and Caoilfhinn who all ran their hearts out. Again, showing how tight the margins are in XC, Ruth Fogarty’s fast finish was enough to grab the silver medal from Mullingar by 1 place – with the gold medal just two places further ahead!
Mid way through the meet, the weather took a biblical turn and conditions for all worsened radically, in the mire – the boys u13 ran bravely and were led home by Sam Brennan in 21st, keeping his rich vein of form alive in his debut season. All of this team from Sam to Michael arrived at the finish live covered in muck, frozen and exhausted – XC eh, what’s not to like? Much of this team is looking forward to the warmth and comfort of Athlone indoor arena!
The girls u15 hadn’t a full team but we made our mark anyway, at the top end of the field Hannah Kehoe delivered an commanding performance without fuss or showiness – she is an excellent role model for our younger athletes. In the middle of the pack, Pia, took on the horrendous conditions with a smile and moved strongly through the field – Pia is only finding her feet at cross and there is much more to come there, and then Iseult, only returning to training, ran a terrifically brave race to pick off her competition and finish exhausted but with a smile. Kudos to all three of our u15s. Sadly, the Kilkenny squad did not make the top 4, so only Hannah goes through.
In the boys u15, Billy recovered from an impeded start to dig out a 13th place finish – just outside the medals, this brought some disappointment for him as he is a top performer, but scoring on the Kilkenny team that won gold medals will somewhat make up for it.
In the final underage race of the day, boys u17, Brogan was thrilled to finish 24th and with his teammate David grab a coveted All-Ireland spot on the county team. David good form in XC continued and despite a fall and a mud-bath finished in 52nd place. And Diego just behind in 53rd.
Photographs….click here
Results Summary
A fantastic 45 athletes competed
3 X Individual Top 12 (Sara Kehoe, Rachel O’Neill, Hannah Kehoe) Medals
1 X Medal Winning Club Team – Girls u13
1 X All Ireland Qualifying 4th Place Club Team – Girls u11
4 X Medalists on county teams
22 All Ireland Qualifiers (marked by * below)
U9 Girls Non-Championship
6th Niamh Brennan
8th Aisling O’Neill
U9 Boys Non-Championship
1st Robert Coogan
6th Evan Ryan
7th Darragh Carroll
Girls u11
Club Team 4th – All Ireland Qualifiers (on countback – tied with Mullingar & Bray)
County Team 6th
23 Eimear BRENNAN* (1st Kilkenny)
24 Orla BRENNAN* (2nd Kilkenny)
48 Lucy COOMEY* (5th Kilkenny)
57 Kate HAYDEN*
86 Ailbhe STEGER*
94 Eve DOYLE*
97 Kathy PHELAN
117 Molly LYNCH
Boys u11
Club A Team 6th
Club B Team 14th
County Team 4th – All Ireland Qualifiers
21 Conor CARROLL* (2nd Kilkenny)
36 Tom KEHOE* (5th Kilkenny)
49 Tomas CARROLL* (7th Kilkenny)
50 David MAGEE* (8th Kilkenny)
51 Sam MCAVINEY* (9th Kilkenny)
68 Aidan KEATING
82 Charlie RYAN
83 James KELSEY
89 Adam JOYCE
90 Odhran PRENDERGAST
105 Ross MURRAY
106 Conor MALONE
108 Eabhan KEHOE
109 Noah DENIEFFE
Girls u13
Club Team 2nd – All Ireland Qualifiers
County Team 1st – All Ireland Qualifiers
4 Sarah KEHOE* (1st Kilkenny)
12 Rachel O’NEILL* (4th Kilkenny)
15 Hazel COOGAN* (5th Kilkenny)
34 Ruth FOGARTY*
46 Alexandra BRENNAN*
75 Clodagh MAHON*
131 Caoilfhionn LAWLOR
Boys u13
Club Team 9th
County Team 5th
19 Sam BRENNAN
41 Ruairi MURPHY
86 Matthew MCAVINEY
87 Jack JOYCE
91 Darragh DUNNE
97 Liam O’DWYER
100 Michael HOLLAND
Girls u15
Club Team NA
County Team 5th
1 Hannah KEHOE*
53 Pia O’GRADY
82 Iseult GREENE
Boys u15
Club Team 6th
County Team 1st – All Ireland Qualifiers
13 Billy COOGAN* (4th Kilkenny)
43 Cillian DUNNE* (9th Kilkenny)
50 Luke PHELAN
56 Charlie BRENNAN
70 Matthew HOLLAND
74 Luke JOYCE
Boys u17
Club Team NA
County Team 4th – All Ireland Qualifiers
24 Brogan MCAVINEY* (3rd KIlkenny)
52 David BYRNE* (10th Kilkenny)
53 Diego RODRIGUEZ
Mens Senior
6th Niall SHEEHAN