The 2022 indoor season came to a fitting end on Saturday last, with Boyne AC once again featured on the medal winner’s podium.
Capitalising on their recent win in the Leinster Indoor championships, the u19 relay team of Leon King Abor, Adam Byrne, Cathal Monaghan and Sean Stratton were back on the track and hungry for more in the All-Ireland Indoor Championships.
To qualify for a national final is the dream of many, and to do so as a team, where every individual performance counts, makes it even sweeter. These 4 young men have worked tirelessly over recent weeks as they built up to the national finals in both their own events and the relay, and the hard work has certainly paid off for them.
Coached by Ken Meier and Keith Byrne, the team arrived in the impressive indoor arena in Athlone on Saturday full of excitement tinged with nervousness, but also with a steely determination to get the job done.
With five exceptional teams in the final, a medal of any colour was not a certainty, but this did not deter these talented young men, as National 200m Champion, King Abor, got things underway with a flying first 200m leg.
A well executed baton change to Byrne saw the team settle into 3rd place overall, and with a super run off the bend for Byrne, the boys were now sitting in medal contention. Monaghan faced a tough 200m but held his nerve and maintained position as he passed the baton to Stratton.
The Leinster silver medallist over 200m then put the foot down and ran a blistering final leg, finishing just a thousandth of a second behind the first place finisher.
With a combined run of 1.33.98, the boys secured the silver medal overall and took their place on the podium with pride, joined by team sub, Max Kingston.
A well deserved result for this talented team, who now set their sights on the upcoming outdoor season, with some more medal winning performances sure to come.
Also on Saturday last, some of Boyne ACs members took on the Red Mountain Challenge in support of the Charlie Bird fundraiser for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and Pieta House.
On a tough 8k route, Juvenile member Callum Reilly finished in 3rd place overall, with senior member Mark Dowling in 5th and Cormac Reilly also finishing in the top ten.
