IAAF Northern Ireland International Cross-Country Team Announcement
21 December 2018
The Northern Ireland and Ulster Senior & Celtic Teams for the IAAF Northern Ireland International Cross Country have been announced.
Many congratulations to the following athletes who have been selected to represent Northern Ireland and Ulster in the 2019 IAAF Northern Ireland International, which are being held at the Billy Neill Centre of Excellence, Dundonald on 19th January 2019.
Senior Team:
|
Men |
Women |
|
Conor Duffy (Glaslough Harriers) Adam Kirk-Smith (Derry Track Club) Mark McKinstry (North Belfast Harriers) Declan Reed (City of Derry Spartans) |
Nakita Burke (Letterkenny AC) Breege Connolly (City of Derry Spartans) Jessica Craig (North Down AC) Fionnuala Ross (Armagh AC) |
Celtic Teams:
|
Men |
Women |
|
U17 |
|
|
Jack Holian (Letterkenny AC) Matthew Lavery (North Belfast Harriers) Sean McGinley (Olympian Youth & Ac) Callum Morgan (St Malachy’s AC) |
Amy Greene (Rosses AC) Cara Laverty (City of Derry Spartans) Tara McDonough (North Down AC) Sorcha Mullan (Omagh Harriers) |
|
U20 |
|
|
Adam Ferris (St Malachy’s AC) Peter Gracey (Beechmount Harriers) Micael McCaul (St Colman’s College) Conal McLean (St Malachy’s AC) |
Grace Carson (Mid Ulster AC) Niamh Carr (Springwell RC) Sarah Kelly (Inishowen AC) Rebecca Wallace (Lagan Valley AC) |
|
U23 |
|
|
Luke Dinsmore (Springwell RC) Eoin Hughes (Letterkenny AC) Craig McMeechan (North Down AC) Fintan Stewart (City of Derry Spartans) |
Rebekah Nixon (Dromore AC) |
The men’s team brings together British and Irish Masters Cross Country Champion, Mark McKinstry, with fellow masters athlete, Declan Reed, Commonwealth Games steeplechaser, Adam Kirk Smith and Conor Duffy who ran 30:34 at the recent Telford 10km.
Hopes will be high for Fionnuala Ross who represented Ireland in the recent European Cross Country Championships and also outperformed a strong field at the 2018 Leeds Abbey Dash 10k when she ran 33:30 at the beginning of last month. She will be joined by Breege Connolly, Teresa Doherty and Nakita Burke who have all put in excellent performances at the Irish Cross-Country Championships and domestic road races.
In the Celtic Teams there is a great wealth of talent, as many of the athletes have competed at the recent Irish Life Health Even & Uneven Age Group XC Championships, as well as the All-Ireland Novice Championships. To highlight a few of the most recent achievements within the team; the U23 Letterkenny AC athlete, Eoin Hughes claimed the NI & Ulster Novice XC Championship title in Scotstown in November this year while Mid Ulster AC’s Grace Carson took Gold at the British & Irish Junior Mountain Running Championships in September this year.
Announcing the teams, Athletics NI’s Director of Coaching & Athlete Development, Jackie Newton, said: ‘’We’re delighted to announce the teams that will be competitive in what is 2019’s first major cross-country event. We look forward to seeing our athletes get 2019 off to a great start with strong performances on home soil’.
Entries are still open, so for more information on the IAAF Northern Ireland International Cross Country Championships please see here