7 Gold Medals and 2 Championships Records for West Waterford Athletes at National Championships
The Antrim Forum was the venue for this years National Championships. This was the first time the championships were held north of the border. On Friday 15 west Waterford athletes accompanied by coaches Mary Ashe and Tony Shalloe and a small number of parents made the long trek to Antrim. The weather looked good and spirits were high as the journey passed quickly. On Saturday it was a different as we woke to the now familiar wind and rain. As we made our way to the track we were thankful to have the shelter of our newly purchased club tent, which provided shelter from the elements. We had nine athletes in action on Saturday. It was an early start for the pole vaulters as their competition got under way at 10.00am.
Gold for Lisa Houlihan and Emma Dunne
In far from ideal conditions the pole vault got under way and West Waterfords young athletes soon made their mark. All the age groups were run together and with the bar at 2m40 all three vaulters were clear. Lisa Houlihan came closest to clearing 2m60 but was not helped by a slippery pole and had to settle for a championships equalling performance of 2m40 when winning the gold medal under 16. Emma Dunne turned the tables on Aisling Fennell to take the gold medal under 19 with Aisling winning the silver medal. There has been a great friendly rivalry between these two girls all the way through their athletic careers and while Emma came out the better this time Aisling had the satisfaction of winning the schools championships earlier in the year.
First National Title for Stephen Mc Mahon
Young Stephen Mc Mahon caused a bit of a stir when he won the Munster title two weeks ago and qualified for his first All Ireland. On Saturday here took it all in his stride and despite the bad weather and slippery surface on the circle he opened his account with a throw of over 28m in his first round set down a marker and as the competition progressed so did Stephen throwing over 30m to lead the competition and win his first All Ireland title with a throw of 33m49.
Another Record Breaking Performance from Kate Veale
Kate Veale continues to astound us all with one record breaking performance after another. Last Saturday she was again at her best as she walked with confidence from the gun. The under 15 and under 16 walks were run together and Kate showed a clean pair of heels to all the under 15 and under 16 walkers. Her time of 9.37 was thirty nine seconds inside the old record and this new mark is one that should stand for a long time. On Sunday Kate ran a very respectable 2.34 for the 800m.
First National Title for Kate Hickey
Having won the B championships last year Kate Hickey was determined to make the finals of the A Championships this year and she set about in a determined fashion with a very good winters training. This bore fruit when Kate qualified for all three throwing event at the National finals. Kate made it into the last eight in the javelin but it was in the discus she shone going into an early lead. She was never in any difficulty being the only competitor to throw over 39m and winning with a throw of 32m31cms.
Another Record for Thomas Houlihan
Thomas Houlihan was at his best when winning the boys under 17 Pole Vault. Having won the competition at 2m80 cms he decided to attempt to break the record of 3m 90. This record was set in 1974 by Liam Hennessy (whose brother Mike teaches in Abbeyside School) when he was a boarder in the Friary and was coached by Fr O’Donnell who celebrated his Golden Jubilee this weekend. The same Liam Hennessy is now fitness coach to the Irish rugby team. The bar was set at 3m 91cms and as the photo on the AAI website shows Thomas was well clear. With the record beaten Thomas decided to go for a new personal best of 4m10 but this proved just too high on the day and so the new record will stand at 3m91cms. In the same competition Michael Devine cleared 3m for the first time to finish in third place while Laurence Houlihan won a bronze medal in the under 15 competition with a jump of 2m 60cms.
Shot Putt Title for Dayle Kennedy
One Saturday Dayle won a bronze medal in the discus with a throw of 40m 32cms. He was however determined to do better in the Shot on Sunday. In a very tight contest Dayle was holding the lead going into the last round but Discus champion Daniel Clifford was not finished and putt the shot 13m25cms in his last go to take the lead. It was now all down to Dayle’s last go and he gave it everything putting 13m 57 to achiveve a new personal best and ending his juvenile career with a gold medal winning performance.
Silver for Zoe Scanlon and Personal Best Performances for Brandon Barry and Declan Power
In the under 16 Javelin Zoe Scanlon had to produce a personal best performance of 31m 70cms to finish second and claim a silver medal to add to her growing collection of national medals. There was also a personal best performance from Brandon Barry who jumped 10m 66cms when finishing fourth in the boys under 15 Triple Jump. In the past month Brandon has upped his performance by almost a metre. There was also a personal best from Declan Power who ran a very gutsy 3000m to break 10mins for the first time. In the under 17 Hammer Aaron Meehan made it into the final eight with a throw of 29.63. Claire Collins competed in the first running of the steeplechase she was going well until a stumble at the first water jump saw her lose contact with the rest of the field and she had to run the rest of the race on her own. Next week Claire will compete in her more favoured event the high jump and she will be hoping for better luck in that event. Well done to all who competed it was an excellent championship for all and all in West Waterford are proud of you.
Congratulations to the Houlihans
On Monday Lisa Thomas and Laurence Houlihan will be presented with the Credit Union Award for the month of May. They won the award for their unique achievement in winning three titles at the Kit Kat Irish Schools championships Junior Boys Pole Vault (Laurence), Inter Girls Pole Vault (Lisa), Inter Boys Pole Vault (Thomas) –well done to all three and to coach Bro. Lennon and not forgetting big brother Liam who has been mentor to all three. The award will be presented at Tramore Credit Union at 7.15.
Flag Day
Once again thanks to all who supported our flag day collection and to Helen and Albert for their input in organizing and running it. Training continues as usual this week on Wed and Fri at 6pm
3rd Day of All Ireland
The third day of the national championships will take place in Tullamore next week and the following athletes have qualified:
Kate Veale 1500m under 15
Declan Power 1500m under 18
Meg Fitzgerald Hammer under 17
Michelle Kenneally Hammer under 17
Claire Collins High Jump and Triple Jump under 17
Brandon Barry 200m under 15
Zoe Scanlon Discus under 16
Joe Conway Walk under 17
Best of luck to all.
