Weekend Review NI and Ulster U14 to U20 Age Group Championships

Day 1- Saturday 17^th July

Track

The first track events to kick off the NI & Ulster Championships were the U14 75m Hurdles, where Finn Valley AC came out on top, with Emily Kelly winning the Girls race in a time of 12.37 and Conor Lyons winning the boys event in 14.28. Conor won another gold in the U14 Boys Long Jump later that day, with a distance of 4.44m. City of Derry Spartan’s Veronica O’Neill collected the gold medal for the U16 Girls 80m Hurdles in a time of 12.23 (w/s 0.7). This was to be the first gold of the day for Veronica as she returned to the top of the podium in the U16 250m Hurdles in a time of 36.30.

Tir Chonaill AC’s Lucy McGlynn won the U18 Girls 100m Hurdles in 14.62 (w/s 0.9). This was the first of 4 gold medals for Lucy, as she won the U18 Girls Long Jump with a jump of 5.21m and the Shot Put, throwing 11.35m, before returning on Day 2 to pick up gold in the 400m Hurdles, finishing in 64.97. Ballymena & Antrim AC’s Toby Thompson won the U16 Boys 100m Hurdles in 14.02 (w/s 1.4) and the 200m, having qualified top of his heat in 23.47 (w/s 1.5) to cross the final line in a time of 23.61 (w/s 1.5). Ballymena & Antrim AC’s Zane McQuillan won the U18 Boys 110m Hurdles in 15.14 (w/s -1.4) and the 100m Hurdles in a time of 11.67 (w/s -0.9).

In the 250m Hurdles, Annalee AC’s Cormac Crotty took the U16 Boys title in a time of 35.39, with Tir Chonaill AC’s Jamie Kennedy taking the U15 Boys title in 39.82, also winning the U15 Boys High Jump competition on Sunday, by clearing 1.50m. Letterkenny AC’s Fern Duffy claimed the U15 Girls 250m Hurdle title in a time of 39.60, returning on Day 2 to win the U15 Girls 200m title in a time of 27.56.

In the 200m, Shercock AC’s Eadaoin Lynch finished first in heat 4 of the U14 Girls event in 27.69 (w/s 1.0) before winning the final in a time of 27.79 (w/s 1.4) and Loughview AC’s Mason McCreery qualified first in heat 2 of the U14 Boys 200m in 26.96 (w/s -2.3) to go on to win the final in 26.60 (w/s 1.8). Oriel AC’s Amy Jo Kierans qualified 1^st in 27.23 (2/s -2.0) for the U16 Girls 200m final from heat 2 becoming the NI & Ulster Champion in a time of 26.35 (w/s 0.8) in the final.

Rachel Callery from Glaslough Harriers earned gold in the U18 Girls 200m Final, finishing in 25.72 (w/s -0.4) and in the U18 Girls 100m, finishing in 12.66 (w/s -0.3). Ballymena & Antrim AC’s Ross Stevenson earned gold in the U18 Boys 200m final in 23.86 (w/s -0.9).

Loughview AC’s Freya Boyce seized the Championship title in the U14 Girls 80m, finishing top of her heat in 11.08 (w/s 0.3) to qualify through to the final, where she finished in 10.78 (w/s 1.2). North Down AC’s Ryan Hamilton qualified top of his heat in the U14 Boys 80m in 10.45 w/s -0.7) before improving his time to win the final in 10.35 (w/s 1.4).

The 100m sprints titles went to Lagan Valley AC’s Melvin Duru for the U16 Boys, who finished in 11.70 (w/s 0.6) and Annalee AC’s Ellie Brady for the U16 Girls, who crossed the line in a time of 13.16 (w/s -0.7), before also collecting the gold medal in the U16 Girls Long Jump with a jump of 5.10m.

In the 400m, the U18 Girls gold medal was won by Loughview AC’s Tanis Merron in a time of 1:06.46 and the U18 Boys gold was won by City of Lisburn AC's Finlay Stewart in a time of 51.53.

The heat of the day was challenging for most, but even more so for those athletes who took on the 3000m. Loughview AC’s Rebecca Rossiter ran a solid race to finish 1^st in the U18 Girls in a time of 10:33.29, while North Down AC’s Mackenzie Eager took the U16 Girls title in a time of 11:27.44. Rebecca won the 800m U18 Girls title in a time of 2:20.93, before returning on Day 2 to add the gold medal for the U18 Girls 1500m to her collection, finishing in a time of 4:35.31. In the Boys 3000m race, it was Annadale Striders’ Ryan Smith who took the U18 title in a time of 9:05.36, with City of Lisburn AC’s Oisin McGloin taking the U16 title in 9:41.28. Oisin returned on Day 2 to win the U16 Boys 1500m in a time of 4:31.76.

The final track events of the day where the 800m, with no less than 16 races, providing strong competition for the NI & Ulster athletes. In the U14 Girls event, Lagan Valley AC’s Isa McCarron battled against Willowfield Harriers’ Emer McKee, who currently holds the World Age Record for a 13-year-old over 5k. Isa claimed the title in a time of 2:15.67 and Emer finished in 2^nd place in a time of 2:16.82. Both girls would return again on Day 2 to battle for the 1500m title, with Emer coming away with the gold medal in a time of 4:34.00 and Isa finishing in second place in 4:51.45.

The U14 Boys 800m title was won by North Down AC’s Seb Holley who finished in 2:12.97, after having won the U14 Boys Shot title earlier in the day, throwing 10.02m. City of Lisburn AC’s Rebecca Moore claimed the U15 Girls title from race 2 in a time of 2:25.01, collecting the 1500m U15 Girls gold medal on Day 2 in a time of 4:54.92. Cranford AC’s Caolan McFadden finished in a time of 2:10.12 to take the gold medal in the U15 Boys 800m, before returning on Day 2 for the 1500m where he again won gold in a time of 4:36.23.

The Foster family had a double win, with Lucy Foster (Willowfield Harriers) winning the U16 Girls in 2:18.52 and sister, Kirsti (Willowfield Harriers) winning the U17 Girls in a time of 2:12.45. The girls would return on Day 2 to win their respective 1500m events, with Lucy winning the U16 Girls in 4:33.79 and Kirsti winning the U17 Girls in 4:31.66.

Thomas McCusker of Loughview AC finished the 800m in 2:08.24 to win the U16 Boys event, while City of Derry Spartans’ Seamus Robinson led the U17 Boys event in a time of 2:00.15 and won the 1500m title on Day 2 in a time of 4:03.50. Oisin Kelly of Cranford AC won the U18 Boys 800m in 1:58.04 with Finn Valley AC’s Cara Laverty winning the U19 Girls title in 2:17.38 and then taking the U19 Girls 1500m title on Day 2 in a time of 4:37.35. North Down AC’s Mark Carberry won the U20 Boys 800m in a time of 2:04.14.

Field

In the field events, Lifford Strabane AC’s Adrienne Gallen added more NI & Ulster gold medals to her ever-growing collection, winning the U18 Girls Hammer with a throw of 59.23, then throwing 21.52m in the U18 Girls Javelin to win the competition, before finishing her day with a winning throw of 30.61m in the U18 Girls Discus.

Finn Valley C’s Blaine Lynch won double gold, winning the U16 Boys Javelin with a throw of 50.87m and then winning the U16 Boys Shot, with a throw of 10.95m, with Carrick Aces’ Charlie Laverty winning the U18 Boys Shot with a throw of 11.48m. Tir Chonaill AC’s Eoin Boyle also claimed double gold, first winning the U16 Boys Long Jump with a jump of 5.27m and then winning the U16 Boys High Jump by clearing 1.70m. Athletics NI Unattached athlete, Lexx McConville won the U18 Boys High Jump, clearing 1.80m.

Lifford Strabane AC’s Ashleigh McArdle won the U16 Girls High Jump, clearing 1.52m, and the U16 Girls Shot with a throw of 11.48m, while Tir Chonaill AC’s Alannah Anderson also won double gold, first in the U14 Girls Shot, throwing 10.41m and then in the U14 Girls Discus, throwing 26.49m.

In the Hammer event, Shercock AC’s Thomas Williams won the U14 Boys title with a throw of 54.55m with Tir Chonaill AC’s Luke Ward won the U16 Boys title with a throw of 32.77m and Lifford Strabane AC’s Cormac O’Donnell won the U18 Boys title, throwing 55.63m. Shercock AC’s Grace Gormley won the U16 Girls Hammer competition with a throw of 21.64m.

Lifford Strabane AC’s Jamie McGinley won the U14 Boys gold medal in the Javelin competition, with a throw of 19.41m, with North Down AC’s Hannah Lawden winning the U16 Girls Javelin with a throw of 26.74m and the U14 Boys Javelin title was won by Finn Valley AC’s Stephen Slevin with a throw of 27.46m, before he went on to win the U14 Boys High Jump competition, clearing 1.42m.

Orangegrove AC’s Ben Sykes won the U14 Boys Discus competition with a throw of 20.52m while Shercock AC’s Grace Gormley won the U16 Girls competition, throwing 20.16m. In the U16 and U18 Boys Discus competition, it was a Carrick Aces double, with Cillian Fox winning the U16 title with a throw of 19.53m and Charlie Laverty winning the U18 title with a throw of 36.81m.

In the High Jump events, Letterkenny AC’s Katie Elliott won the U14 Girls title, clearing 1.38m with Ballymena & Antrim AC’s Anna Campbell claiming the U18 Girls High Jump title, with a clearance of 1.54m.

In the Long Jump events, Alexander Seifert of City of Lisburn AC won the U18 Boys with a jump of 5.52m and Ava Colgan of City of Derry Spartans AC won the U14 Girls, jumping 4.56m. Orangegrove AC’s Anna McKinty won the U18 Girls Triple Jump, with a jump of 10.90m.

Pole Vault athletes competed on Saturday, in a joint competition with the U17 Girls title going to North Down AC’s Morgan Wilson who cleared a PB of 1.60m; the U17 Boys title going to Lifford Strabane AC’s Finn O’Neill, who cleared 3.00m and Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow athlete, Troy McConville won the U20 Boys by clearing 4.30m.

Finn O’Neill returned on Day 2 to take the title in the U17 Boys 100m Hurdle event in a time of 13.85 (w/s 0.8) and in the U17 Boys 400m finishing in a time of 53.00. Troy McConville also collected another NI & Ulster title on Day 2, winning the U20 Boys Discus competition with a throw of 41.07m.

Day 2- Sunday 18^th July

Day 2 of the NI & Ulster U14-U20 Age Group Championships also had clear skies and hot temperatures for the U15, U17 and U19 events and the 1500m, with more excellent gold medal performances.

Track

The U15 Girls 80m Hurdles was won by Finn Valley AC’s Riona Doherty in a time of 12.24 (w/s -1.9), who also won the U15 Girls 100m sprint in a time of 12.84 (w/s -1.8). In the U15 Boys 80m Hurdles Carrick Aces’ Christian Hanratty won the title in a time of 14.32 (w/s -1.3). The U17 Girls 100m Hurdle gold medal was won by Olympian Youth & AC’s Sophie Parlour in a time of 17.02 (w/s -1.7), who later returned in the 100m event to win in a time of 12.41 (w/s 1.6). City of Derry Spartans’ Eimear Kelly won the U20 Girls 100m Hurdles in a time of 15.47 (w/s -0.6), with Annalee AC’s Niamh McCorry coming 1^st in the U19 Girls event in 15.70 (w/s -0.6). Niamh also won the U19 Girls Javelin with a throw of 30.49m and the U17 Girls Shot competition, throwing 11.08m.

Ballymena & Antrim AC’s Adam Courtney won the U17 Boys 300m Hurdle competition in a time of 39.81. The multi age-group 400m Hurdle event was won by Ryan Canning from Letterkenny AC, who took the U19 Boys title in 56.69; Tir Chonaill AC’s Eoin Sharkey won the U20 Boys title in 58.05; City of Lisburn AC’s Finlay Stewart won the U18 Boys title in 63.68 and Erin McMahon of Ballymena & Antrim AC won the U20 Girls title in a time of 66.75.

The Steeplechase water jump was in full use all weekend to help athletes cool down, but it was now competition time for the U18, U19 and U20 Boys 3000m Steeplechase. Finn Valley AC’s Sean McGinley, fresh from his U19 800m win on Day 1, where he finished in 1:54.21, took the lead in the Steeplechase, winning the U19 category in a time of 10:23.62, before securing his third gold medal in the U19 Boys 1500m event in a time of 4:02.88. Annalee AC’s James Miney won the U18 Boys Steeplechase in a time of 10:38.44 and City of Lisburn AC’s Christopher Duncan won the U17 category in a time of 13:31.35.

In the 3000m event, Dromore AC’s Nadia Radcliffe and NI Mountain runner, Eimear McCarroll (Loreto College) ran a strong race, with Nadia winning the U19 Girls title in a time of 10:39.16 and Eimear winning the U17 Girls event in 10:40.38. North Belfast Harriers’ Matthew Lavery won the U19 Boys 3000m title in another strong field of competitors, in a time of 8:52.27, while Loughview AC’s Kyle Thompson won the U17 Boys title in 9:04.93.

The U15 Boys 200m title went to Loughview AC’s Jayden Booth in 23.93 (w/s -1.7), with Jayden also winning the U15 100m in a time of 11.81 (w/s -1.8) and the U15 Boys Long Jump, jumping 5.70m (w/s 0.8). Annalee AC’s Renee Crotty had a double win, finishing top in the U17 Girls 200m in 25.70 (w/s 0.7) and the 400m in a time of 57.68. In the U17 Boys, Lagan Valley AC’s James Hillman won in a time of 23.65 (w/s -0.6), with City of Lisburn AC’s Molly Curran winning the U19 Girls 200m in a time of 26.42 (w/s -3.5).

Ballymena & Antrim AC’s Callum Baird won the U19 Boys 200m in 22.51 (w/s -2.5) and the 100m in 11.37 (w/s -2.7) with club mate and Youth Academy athlete, Alice Rodgers winning the U20 Girls 200m in 26.30 (w/s 0.6) and the U20 Girls 100m in 12.61 (w/s -1.2). Youth Academy Multi-eventer, Jordan Cunningham (City of Lisburn AC) won the U20 Boys 200m in 22.70 (w/s 1.5); the U20 Boys Long Jump with a jump of 6.74m and the U20 Boys Shot, throwing 14.58m.

Michael Boyera (Lagan Valley AC) won the U17 Boys 100m NI & Ulster title in a time of 11.73 (w/s -2.5), with Monaghan Phoenix AC’s Orlagh Leer winning the U19 Girls 100m in 13.04 (w/s -1.2), before winning the U19 Girls 400m in a time of 61.71 and Orangegrove AC’s Nathan Stewart winning the U20 Boys 100m in a time of 11.30 (w/s 1.1). City of Derry Spartans’ Aela Stewart won the U20 Girls 400m in 60.39, with Willowfield Harriers’ Jakob Hamilton winning the U19 Boys 400m in 49.42.

In the final 1500m events, City of Lisburn AC’s Luke McCausland won the U14 Boys event in a time of 4:40.02, with Willowfield Harriers’ Hannah Gilliland winning the U20 Girls 1500m in 4:46.31; North Belfast Harriers’ Fionntan Campbell secured the U20 Boys 1500m title in 4:09.83 and Cranford AC’s Oisin Kelly won the U18 Boys 1500m in 4:20.19.

Field

Lifford Strabane AC had even more field event wins to celebrate in Day 2 of the NI & Ulster Championships, with Caoimhe Gallen winning the U15 Girls Hammer event, throwing 49.57m and the U15 Girls Discus, with a throw of 27.81m. Club mate, Cora Burns won the U17 Girls Hammer with a throw of 42.95m and Jude McCrossan won the U19 Boys Hammer throwing 40.31m. Lifford’s Ross Henderson won double gold in the U19 Boys Discus event throwing 29.65m and the U19 Boys Shot, throwing 10.60m. Team mate, Una O’Donnell won the U17 Girls shot with a throw of 11.04m, before Ellie McCurdy threw a new PB in the U17 Girls Javelin of 41.19m and Emer McFadden won the U15 Girls Javelin with a throw of 27.30m.

Tir Chonaill AC’s Alex Anderson won the U17 Boys Hammer event with a throw of 40.50m and the U17 Boys Shot with a throw of 12.97m. Club mates, Ava Anderson won the U15 Girls Shot, throwing 11.09m and Shane Breslin won the U19 Boys Javelin, throwing 30.15m. Tir Chonaill’s Tori Murchan won the U17 Girls High Jump, clearing 1.65m and Daire McDevitt won the U17 Boys Long Jump with a jump of 5.90m.

Carrick Aces AC’s Patrick Laverty won the U15 Boys Hammer with a throw of 25.33m. Finn Valley AC’s Dean Leeper won the U15 Boys Discus event with a throw of 30.30m before winning the U15 Boys Javelin with a throw of 45.03m, while Cian McKenna of Glaslough Harriers won the U17 Boys event, throwing 34.54m. In the Girls events, Molly Coffey O’Connor from Clones AC won the U17 Girls Discus with a throw of 34.55m and Sasha Barrett-Ferris (City of Lisburn AC) won the U20 Girls Discus with a throw of 18.49m and the U20 Girls Javelin with a throw of 24.36m, while City of Lisburn AC’s Jack Brownlie won the U20 Boys Javelin with a throw of 47.16m and Charlie Lawden (North Down AC) won the U17 Boys Javelin with a throw of 45.25m.

Finn Valley AC’s Andrew Jansen won the U15 Boys Shot event with a throw of 13.07m, while club mates Lauren Callaghan won the U20 Girls Long Jump, jumping 4.80m and Amy Timoney won the U15 Girls High Jump, clearing 1.50m.

City of Lisburn AC’s Natalie McCrory had a double gold day, winning the U17 Girls Long Jump with a jump of 5.23m and the U17 Girls Triple Jump, jumping 10.83m (w/s -0.4), while club mate, Abby Tate won the U19 Girls Long Jump with a jump of 5.11m. Cranford AC’s Amy Cullen won the U15 Girls Long Jump, jumping 5.12m and Annalee AC’s Roisin Kellegher won the U19 Girls High Jump, clearing 1.63m.

The Triple Jump was the final event on the field for the two-day championships, with Letterkenny AC’s Elvis Okoh winning the U17 Boys title with a jump of 11.34m and City of Lisburn AC and Youth Academy athlete, Joshua Knox winning the U20 title with a jump of 13.42m. The U19 Girls Triple Jump was won by Olympian Youth & AC’s Lily Surman, with a jump of 8.93m (w/s 0.1) with Lagan Valley AC’s Kate Lenny winning the U20 Girls Triple Jump with 10.46m (w/s 1.5).

Thanks

Congratulations to all those who took part, in a rather warm Championship weekend. We want to thank all of the athletes, coaches, parents and family members for all their support of our Championships as well as to our Officials and Volunteers whose hard work and effort was well rewarded with an excellent weekend of athletics. Thanks also go to our commentary and live stream teams providing entertainment for those at the stadium and at home.

Full results can be found on our website: www.athleticsni.org/Results

Check out the live stream recordings to re-watch your favourite events: https://www.youtube.com/user/AthleticsNI/videos

Photos from the Official Photographer, Bob Given Photography can be found on our Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/athleticsni/