An exciting indoor athletics season came to a close last weekend, with two national medals making their way home to Drogheda courtesy of two of Boyne ACs juvenile star athletes.
The 2023 Indoor season began with the provincial championships at the start of March, where athletes had to finish in the top four of their event to progress to the national finals.
As the largest province, the Leinster Indoors are always a tough competition to qualify from, but Boyne ACs young athletes rose to the challenge with no fewer than four athletes progressing to the All Irelands in their respective events.
Hannah Newman was first to compete for Boyne AC, and this talented young lady threw 9.48m in the u18 girls Shot Put, just short of her PB, to finish 9th overall.
Next to the throwing circle, Leinster u15 Shot Put champion, Hannelle Raji, gave it her all amongst a very competitive field, finishing just shy of a medal in 4th place, but throwing a new PB of 10.05m, she also competed well in the girls Long Jump.
Younger sister Hila was not letting her sister have all the limelight though, as she also competed in two events over the weekend. Having taken the bronze medal in the Long Jump at the Leinster Championships, a very strong competitive field at the national event, saw her finish in a below par 11th place overall. However, she was obviously saving the best for last, as she took to the floor for the u12 girls High Jump.
Relatively new to the event, Hila had cleared the bar at 1.32m in the Leinster Championships, to take the gold medal, and set a new PB in the process. Fast forward to last Saturday, and with some good training sessions over recent weeks, under the watchful eye of international high jumper Amy McTeggart, the stage was set for a fearsome battle.
A strong field of 16 athletes all eyeing a medal position, saw some super jumps displayed at such
a young age, and as the bar went higher, the numbers left in contention grew smaller. Hila sat in 3rd place after 7 jumps, with the bar set at 1.35m, already a new PB for this talented young lady. A third time clearance of 1.38m saw her move up to 2nd position, which she followed up with an amazing first time clearance of 1.41m!
The 2nd place athlete failed to clear the same height, ensuring the win and the gold medal for Hila, but with the championship record set at 1.42m, the challenge was on to break it.
With three very close attempts, it was not to be on this occasion, but with a new PB now of 1.41m, Hila is sure to break that record very soon.
No sooner was Hila off the podium, when Sean Stratton took to the start line for the u19 60m sprint, where a solid 7.20 seconds saw him comfortably qualify for the final, under the watchful eye of coach, Ken Meier.
A quick turnaround saw Sean line up against some of Ireland’s top sprinters, as they settled into their blocks for the final track event of the championships. A lightning quick start and a well executed race saw Sean just on the shoulder of the winner as they crossed the finish line, where a speedy 7.09s saw him finish in second place, a national silver medal for his efforts.
After a short rest Boyne AC’s athletes will be back in action in a few weeks’ time as the outdoor season gets underway, with high hopes for yet more success.
