Boyne AC had over 60 young athletes competing at the Boyne at Athletics Louth Championships and there were superb performances from each and every one of them.
For many it was their first time competing in such a high calibre event, but this certainly did not deter the youngest of the athletes, who gave it their all over a variety of distances and disciplines.
Getting Boyne AC’s very successful weekend off to a start, young Conor Hughes ran a great 60m to finish 2nd in his heat of the u9 60m, as did Joseph McBennett who also finished 2nd in his heat of the u10 event.
Aoife McCabe made it through her heats and semi-final to take the bronze medal in the final of her u11 sprint.
The u11 boys are proving to be a strong cohort of athletes as Cillian Hickey took the win in final of the 60ms, while Sean Clarke finished first in his heat, Ross Byrne finished 2nd in his heat, and won bronze in the u11 Long Jump, and Harry Kingston finished 3rd in his heat of the 60 sprint.
Meanwhile, All Ireland u12 High Jump champion, Hila Raji continues to impress as an all rounder as she took Gold in the High Jump, clearing a fine 1.32m, and also finished 2nd in the Shot Put.
Teammate Isabelle Winters finished 2nd in her heat of the 60m sprint, and was unlucky to just miss out on a place in the final. In the 80m sprints, Mollie Fay finished 3rd in her u13 heat, while clubmate Maisie Byrne finished 2nd in her heat.
Caoimhin McShane, Jack Devitt (centre) and Tom Redmond on the podium at the Louth Championships.
Bonnie Hegarty put her sprint training to good use as she took the silver medal in both her sprint and 200m race. Like sister Hila, Hannelle Raji was another big medal winner over the 2 days, as she took silver in both her 100m and 200m final, and took gold in the u15 Shot Put and Long Jump, while clubmate Aimee Rice continues to impress as she finished 3rd in both her 200m final and Shot Put.
Nina King Abor made light work of the field taking a comfortable win in the u19 100m sprint, with Hannah Newman finishing 3rd in the same race. Hannah also took silver in the u18 Javelin and Shot Put, and added a gold to her collection in the Long Jump.
In the longer sprint races, Jack Devitt showcased his speed with a win in the u19 200m, and it was a clean sweep for Boyne AC as Caoimhin McShane took silver and Tom Redmond the bronze. Caoimhin also finished second in the 400m race.
Young Caitlin Hughes proved her strength as she finished in a fine 3rd place in the u10 girls 500m, while it was silver for Dara Ellie Winters in the u14 800m, as she makes a steady return to competition following injury.
Naoise McAvinia ran well to finish 3rd in his u15 800m race, while Jack Garvey ran a controlled race to finish 3rd in both the u16 800m and 1500m. The final track medal of the day was won by Shauna Rice, with a super run in the u15 1500m, where she finished 3rd.
In the field events, Boyne AC once again dominated the podium, with Ronaldo Ozolins finishing 2nd in the u13 Javelin, with an amazing throw of 21.76m, and he also finished 3rd in the Shot Put.
Cillian Everitt was delighted with his silver medal in the u14 boys Long Jump, while Sean Luke Alhaddad also took silver in the u14 Javelin and bronze in the Shot Put, while clubmate Evan Gamble took home the bronze in his u15 javelin.
No stranger to the podium, Max Kingston threw 42.97m to take the win in the u19 boy’s event, and not to be outdone by her big brother, young Heather Kingston was the happiest athlete on the day, as she won a silver medal in the u9 turbo javelin!
