Sommer Lecky Soars to Victory at Ulster Schools Athletics Championships
22 May 2017
Sommer Lecky (Coach: Niall Wilkinson) was the outstanding performer at the well-supported Ulster Schools Track & Field Championships in Antrim at the weekend (Friday 19th and Saturday 20th May 2017).
The rising star jumped to 1.85m, breaking Ursula Fay’s Ulster Schools Senior and the Northern Ireland Under 20 record. The exceptional performance also equalled Deirdre Ryan’s Under 20 Irish National record and saw the Strabane Academy student reach the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games standard for a second time. As if this wasn’t enough, Sommer also claimed gold in the Long Jump with a 5.62m effort.
Aaron Sexton (Coach: Roger Sexton) completed an impressive 100m/200m double with an event record of 21.67 in the 200m; the Bangor Grammar student ran 10.94 in the 100m. Davicia Patterson (Coach: Paul Magee) ran a personal best of 39.18 to win the 300m.
Anna McCauley (Methodist College) and Lauren Roy (Slemish Int, Ballymena) could not be separated in an epic Intermediate Girls 100m final, with both girls being clocked at 12.56 and taking a joint 1st place. Anna then went on to secure gold in the High Jump and 4 x 100m, while Lauren won the 200m.
Rebekah Nixon (Banbridge Academy) enjoyed a 1500m (4:58.64) and 3,000m (10:45.31) double in the Senior Girls category, while James Edgar (Friends School Lisburn) produced a similarly impressive haul in the Senior Boys events, winning the 1500m in 4:18.48 and the 5,000m in 16:07.64. St Louis (Ballymena) athlete Michael McAuley won the Senior 100m and 200m in 11.35 and 23.30 respectively, while Fintan Stewart (Lumen Christi) recorded 1:58.88 to win the Senior 800m.
In a closely contested Intermediate Boys 3,000m, Jack O’Farrell (St Colman’s Newry) claimed gold ahead of Conal McClean (St Malachy’s College Belfast), with Jack running 9:10.02 (1st place) and Conal 9:10.57 (2nd place). St Colman’s Eoghan Byrne impressed with a 50.60 run for gold in the Intermediate 400m, as did Cormack O’Rourke (St Malachy’s AC) in the 800m; Cormac broke the 2-minute barrier with a 1:59.30 outing.
In the Junior ranks, Alice Rodgers (Ballymena Academy) won the 100m in 12.80 and the 200m in 25.95. Amelia Kane (Strathearn) ran 4:53.06 for gold in the 1500m and Kate Lenny (Shimna Integrated) went over ten metres in the triple jump with a 10.17m leap.
The Junior Boys 800m and 1500m races were fiercely contested – in the 800m, Matt Smyth (Methodist College) broke the beam in 2:08.26 to take 1st place ahead of St Colman’s athlete Cathal Farrelly, who ran 2:08.80 for 2nd place. Less than a second also split Sean McGinley (St Eunan’s Letterkenny) and Joseph Haynes (Armagh Royal School) in the 1500m, with Sean recording 4:26.25 (1st place) and Joseph 4:26.90 (2nd place).
Dylan McBride (Grosvenor Grammar) ran 2:08.90 for victory in the Minor Boys 800m, with Victoria Lightbody (Wallace HS) winning the girl equivalent in 2:15.57. Joel Chambers (Nendrum College) won the Mini Boys 800m in 2:16.20. In a battle for the Mini Girls Long Jump, Sophie Hoey (Strathearn) won with a 4.58m jump.
To catch up on all the action at the successful Ulster Schools Athletics Championships, check out their website at www.ussaa.co.uk
Source: NiRunning