The atmosphere at the Louth Championships on Saturday was hot, heavy and humid and the competition serious. With record-breaking numbers entered this year, the event was split across two weekends and Boyne AC made their presence felt from the very first event on day one.
Massive credit must go to club coaches, Keith, Ken, Andrew, Alan, and Catherine who had the Boyne AC athletes prepped, calm, and confident from the get-go. And a special mention for Ian, who once again was making sure everyone was fed, watered, and looked after throughout the long, hot day.
The action kicked off with Aimee Rice powering over the hurdles in the U18 100m to take a brilliant gold. Isabelle Winters followed that up in style, pacing her U14 1500m perfectly to claim gold in a gutsy, smart run.
In the U15 1500m, Eoin McEntee showed brilliant form to take silver, while Joe Bell stayed strong in the final stretch to secure bronze. Then came a great run from Shauna Rice in the U17 1500m digging deep for silver and Eilish Keenan followed up with another strong silver in the U19 race.
Then came the speed. Aaron McMahon and Riley Byrne lit up the U15 200m. Aaron clocked a super silver while Riley flew to gold with an outstanding finish. In the U17 200m, Ryan McMahon sprinted home to a fantastic silver and Hannele Raji flew down the track to win gold in style. Emmett McShane (5th), Evan Gamble (4th), and Sam Doyle (6th) also gave big performances, each showing real fight in one of the day’s most stacked events.
Over in the U19 200m, Harry Devitt grabbed a well-earned silver and Romeo Fomenky powered home to take gold, two big performances from two big athletes. In the U12 60m hurdles, Jessica McMahon raced into 3rd for a well-earned bronze, while Caitlin Hughes ran her heart out to finish just outside the medals in 4th.
In the field, Hila Raji made sure her name will be remembered for matching the U14 high jump record with a stunning 1.46m to take gold. She wasn’t done yet, adding silver medals in both the javelin and shot put. A true all-rounder.
Harry Kingston threw brilliantly to grab silver in the U13 javelin, and Georgia Rice launched a big one to take gold in the U15s. Ruadhan Fangerau took his place on the podium with a bronze, while Harry Devitt capped off his day with javelin gold in the U18s
Ashley Byrne deserves serious praise, she lined up in four events, finishing just shy of the medals every time, but showed grit, consistency, and real team spirit all day long. Eoin McEntee, already a medallist on the track, added a 4th place in the javelin to his name too, showing his versatility across disciplines.
Long jump brought more highlights, Cillian Hickey nailed silver in the U13s and Finnbar O’Sullivan hit a new PB in the U12 category, a big moment for one of our rising stars. Jessica McMahon, Harvey Fomenky, and Ashley Byrne all competed with heart and effort, finishing just outside the top spots. Hannele Raji came back for more gold in the U17 long jump, and Aimee Rice added a silver in the U19 category to her earlier hurdles win.
Finishing off in the shot put, Caitlin Hughes and Ashley Byrne both placed 4th , each giving it everything and showing great strength across the day. Next stop for Boyne Ac is the Leinsters!
