Clongriffin AC athletes delivered an excellent set of performances on Day 1 of the Juvenile All-Ireland Indoor Championships in Athlone, with a number of podium finishes, finalists and strong displays across track and field.
The standout performance of the day came from Ella O’Dwyer, who claimed gold in the U16 Girls 800m, producing a superb run to take the national title. In what was at times a very physical race, Ella steered clear of trouble and made the decisive break with 300m to go and was not going to be caught. See the last 250m of Ella’s race on the link here
There was further success on the track with Adam Conway (U16 Boys 200m) and Dylan Brennan (U17 Boys 200m) both delivering outstanding performances to secure silver medals in their respective finals. Both boys ran big PB’s when it mattered most and again showed the benefits of the hard work and commitment of their training throughout the whole winter. The U17 final had three Clongriffin athletes with Keane Wosser (4th) and Jaden Hagan-Frank (5th). Earlier, Ava Kananagh had set the tone for the sprinters with a 1 second PB to finish 7th overall in the Girls u16 200m, just missing the final. Ella O’Dwyer showed her versality with an 8th place finish in the same race.
In the hurdles, Etienne Cotter produced an excellent performance to finish 4th in the U14 Boys event, just outside the medals, while Sophie Winkless also impressed in the U16 Girls race, placing 5th. There were further performances from Leon Keogh (8th, U14 Boys), Keane Wosser (8th, U17 Boys) and Sarah O’Halloran, who ran well to finish 7th in the U13 Girls event having taken half a second off her PB in the heats.
The jumps events saw a number of top 6 finishes. Robin Harris continued his consistent form to finish 4th in the U15 Boys Long Jump, while Patryk Pucek also placed 4th in the U18 Boys Long Jump. Unfortunately Patryk suffered an injury while in the medal hunt and couldn’t finish the event. Speedy recovery to Patryk. Mark Khodzinskyy secured a 6th place finish in the U17 Boys Long Jump on his All-Ireland debut, and Aoife Ferguson placed 5th in the U17 Girls High Jump. Timur Ciparsons competed in the U18 Boys Long Jump, finishing 10th, while Nikita Alex Riecka placed 11th in the U15 Girls High Jump on her All-Ireland indoor debut. In the middle-distance Max Lyons finished 7th in the U15 Boys 800m with a strong and competitive PB run.
There were also a number of our younger athletes competing with Quinn O’Dwyer (U13 Boys 60m Hurdles) and Mikey Hayden (U13 Boys Shot Put) both gaining valuable experience, performing well in highly competitive fields.
Overall, it was a very positive opening day for the club, highlighted by one national title, two silver medals and multiple top 6 finishes. The performances reflect the continued progression of the group and provide a strong foundation heading into Day 2 of the championships.
Clongriffin AC 