New Championship Best Performances Set at GloHealth Juv Champs

Day one of the GloHealth National Juvenile Indoor Championships took place in AIT Indoor Arena in Athlone on Saturday, 21st of March. Athletes from the age of U12 to U19 contested the relay events on the track with a number of the older age groups vying for positions in the field events.

Relays

There was a new Championship Best Performance (CBP) set by Tallaght AC in the boy’s U19 4x200m event as they stormed to victory in a time of 1.31.08. The time was fractionally inside the old mark held by St Laurence O’Toole which stood at 1.31.25 since 2013. Dundrum South Dublin picked up two national titles in the girl’s U18 and U19 4x200m relays.  Leevale AC won a close boy’s U18 event in a time of 1.32.97.

Galway City Harriers AC won the U17 title in a fast 1.33.41 with Emerald AC sealing gold in the girl’s event in a time of 1.44.78.

Greystones & District AC were a clear winner of the boy’s U16 event in a time of 1.38.49 while Nenagh Olympic won the girl’s equivalent in a time of 1.47.61. St Laurence O’Toole dominated the girl’s U15 event as they set a new CBP of 1.46.82 to win the title.

Dooneen AC won an exciting contest in the boy’s U15 relay to win the national title in a time of 1.45.29. The Dooneen AC girl’s U14 team matched their club mates by winning the U14 girl’s 4x200m title. Portmarnock AC clinched gold in the U14 boy’s event in a new CBP of 1.47.07.

Galway City Harriers won the girl’s U13 event setting a new CBP of 53.81 in the process. The Templemore AC quartet fought all the way to the line to win the boy’s U13 title. The youngest athletes competing today were in the U12 category with Thomastown AC winning the girl’s title and Nenagh Olympic winning the boy's title in a new CBP of 55.51.

Field Events

Michaela Walsh (Swinford AC) threw a massive distance of 15.58m to win the U18 shot putt event which improved on the old CBP of 13.52m. 

Anne-Marie Torsney (Fingallians AC) dominated the girl’s U19 shot putt event as she won the title with a throw of 11.81m while Anu Awonusi (St Laurence O’Toole AC) won the boy’s event with a throw of 15.78m

Recently crowned British Combined Event Champion Sophie Meredith won the girl’s U15 high jump title in a new CBP of 1.65m, adding 1 centimetre to the old mark. Sommer Lecky (Finn Valley AC) was a clear winner of the U16 girl’s event as she won the title with a jump of 1.72m. Ryan Carthy (Adamstown AC) was in superb form in the U17 event as he set a new CBP of 1.98m.

The U19 boy’s pole vault was a thrilling contest with Jamie Fennell (West Waterford AC), Brian Flynn (Lusk AC) and Jurijs Kanass (West Waterford AC) battling it out for the title. All three athletes cleared 4.10m with Fennell winning the national title on countback. 

Laura Cussen (Old Abbey AC) won the girl’s U18 pole vault with a clearance of 2.80m with Ellen McCartney (City of Lisburn AC) going even higher to clear 2.90m to win the girl’s U17 event.