Innyvale Athletics Club

The Ulster Children’s Games Track & Field competition for Under 9 to 13s took place in the Peacelink track in Clones, Co. Monaghan on Sunday 5th June and saw a contingent of 20 athletes from Innyvale AC taking part. This event is both an individual competition for all ages, but also sees children in the U9-11 ages paired up with their clubmates, with the top three pairs in each event qualifying for nationals in July.

The U9 girls sprints saw Aoibhinn Farrelly and Katie Hannon both winning their heats, with the duo eventually placing fourth and seventh overall. The girls also took part in the 300m race with Katie taking fourth place, Aobihinn sixth and Heidi Donohoe finishing in eleventh place. Aoibhinn's and Katie's results qualify them for the All-Irelands next month in both events, with the girls being the third best pair in the sprint and second best team in the 300m.

The boys events saw the pair of Jackson Everett and Logan Rotheram competing in the turbojavelin and the 300m race. Jackson’s third place in the turbojavelin thanks to a best throw of 10.60m saw him claim the bronze medal. The boys ran well in the 300m event, a difficult contest with twenty athletes jostling for position and despite getting held up twice by other athletes trying to find a gap for themselves to run in, Jackson managed to finish eighth place, with Logan in fourteenth. The boys did well enough to be the third placed team in both events and move on to nationals.

In the U10s, Aoibhinn Kelly was the highest placed Cavan athlete in the girls turbojavelin, with a best throw of 8.46m, while Íosa Lynch was likewise the best placed Cavan runner in the 60m sprint, but in an event where a tenth of a second is the difference between four athletes, the tight margins saw her squeezed down to fifteenth place out of the 32 competitors. The girls relay team of Íosa Lynch, Ruby Reilly, Katie Hannon and Aoibhinn Farrelly took part in a closely fought contest where they finished in fifth place. The boys team of Charlie Reilly and Jake Brady were tenth and thirteenth in the turbojavelin, the highest finishes for any Cavan athlete with best throws of 10.44m and 8.63m respectfully.

The under 11 girls saw Zoe Hogan lead the charge of the Cavan athletes with a fine run to ninth place, while Kaitlin Shaw finished the turbojavelin event in fourth place, her best throw of 12.54m just 16cm behind the bronze medal position. Zoe’s best throw of 10.80m saw her finish in fifth place, with the pair ending the day as the second best team in the event, meaning they qualify for the nationals too. The U11 relay team of Sáibhe Mulvey, Zoe Hogan, Íosa Lynch and Ruby Reilly had to fight off some stiff competition to finish in fourth place in their relay race.

The U11 boys turbojavelin saw Tony Rotheram finish in 13th place with a best throw of 8.14m, making him the second best of the six Cavan athletes on the day, with Tony and Charlie Connaghan running well in their 60m sprint. The U11 boys relay team of Charlie Connaghan, Tony Rotheram, Charlie Reilly and Jake Brady finished in eighth place, hot on the heals of the teams in front of them.

The Under 12 boys long jump saw Calum Reilly make a big step up in performance to jump 3.74m, just 13cm shy of the medal positions. It was an extremely tight contest, with Calum’s jump being equalled by three others in the event, with Calum being credited with fifth place on countback. James Brady, Dylan Farrelly and Cormac Kelly all finished very close together in the same event, a nice bit of competition that will push the boys on to new hieghts. The boys relay team of Cormac Kelly, James Brady, Dylan Farrelly and Callum Reilly finished their 4x100m event in sixth place.

Well done to all who took part and thank you to all the parents and coaches who travelled for a long but enjoyable day. The full results can be found on our results page, while photos from the day are on the club's photo gallery

www.flickr.com/photos/162692233@N06/albums

Qualifiers for All- Irelands on 2nd July in Tullamore:

• Under 9 girls - Katie Hannon & Aoibhinn Farrelly in 60m and 300m;
• Under 9 boys - Logan Rotheram & Jackson Everett in turbojavelin and 300m;
• Under 11 girls - Zoe Hogan and Kaitlin Shaw in turbojavelin.