Juvenile XC 2024 Round Up

Youghal Athletic Club; Juvenile Cross Country season review 2024

Post pandemic has been a rebuilding phase for Youghal Athletic Club and indeed for athletics nationally. Despite the great performances of our Senior International Athletes over the last few seasons, participation had fallen but is bouncing back and surpassed pre pandemic levels. Athletics Ireland were the first to stop group training and the last to return during that time, and as such many kids never returned.

So, for this Cross-Country season the emphasis was on trying to get as many kids racing as possible. We have 70 to 80 training every Monday evening from 7yrs of age upwards but have found it difficult to fill teams of 4 in any age group for the last couple of seasons.

The season started with East Cork Championships - Day 1 in Ballynoe.

We had notable performances on the day from Keeva Walsh taking Silver in the Girls U10 and in the Boys U12 saw Olan Rochford take Gold and teammate Diarmuid Murphy take Silver. Twins Brogan and Fionn McCarthy added the points to ensure Silver Team medal for the group and all 8 runners received their medals.

East Cork Championships Day 2 in Conna seen our uneven age runners competing very strongly. Ellie Murray set the standard taking Gold in the U9 race. In the U11 boys Brogan McCarthy finished second and lead the team to Gold. Not to be outdone the Boys U13 followed shortly afterwards taking Gold team medals home. In the U15 Boys race Tadhg Rochford put in a super performance to take Silver and Aine Collins took the title in a pillar to post win in the U17 race.

Onto the County Championships and momentum building, we had good numbers entered for Day 1. The U12 boys Team finished 6th. It was a day of mixed results, a first outing at County level for almost all our Runners and many were a little shell-shocked by the sheer numbers in each race.

Day 2 Uneven age - Ellie Murray again ran well in the U9 race finishing 16th. Brian Kelleher 13th in the boys U9. Addison Dardis was our only runner in the Girls U11 race and finished strongly in 57th place. Thomas McGrath led home the U11 boys in 14th while Freya Keating and Lucy Lynch had good runs at U13. Ruby Devereaux in his first outing of the Year finished 22nd in boys U15 whilst performance of the day went to Olan Rochford in the Boys U13 taking Gold.

The cavalcade moved on to the first day of the Munster Championships. Taking place on last year's All Ireland course in Conna strong numbers travelled with great performances. Training had been going well and this showed in results.

We had 10 girls at the start line for U10's whilst Jake Hickey led his team of 4 home in 41st place in the boy’s equivalent. The boys U12 team proved they had what it takes, with Diarmuid Murphy 3rd, Olan Rochford 13th, James Kelleher 33rd and Brogan McCarthy 75th securing 3rd team and qualification for the All-Ireland Finals. The team also included Fionn McCarthy and Shay Walsh also in the qualifying 6. Lucy Lynch had a great run in the Girls U14 as did Tadhg Rochford and Conor Sheehan in the boys U16.

Tramore was the venue for the Munster Uneven age and a dress rehearsal for the All-Ireland finals on December 1st. Great numbers travelled and plenty of success had. U9 Girls seen the ever-improving Ellie Murray finish 10th earning individual bronze, was second scorer for Cork who took the Silver intercounty. Ellie was supported by Aisling Murphy finishing like a train, Clara Fogarty and Ally Faul. Brian Kelleher was 7th overall taking bronze and 4th scorer on the Gold winning Cork team. Cillian Hogan, Cian Byrne and Lee Walsh added to the team. 6 U11 Girls toed the line in race 3 with Zoe Lynch, Shannon O'Shea, Bronagh Maher, Siún Rochford and Sisters Sienna and Adrianna Bourke all competing well. Boys U11 had 6 runners and seen Brothers Brogan 15th and Fionn McCarthy lead Darragh Curran, Thomas McGrath, Russell Cronin and Darragh McGrath O'Mahony to 6th team overall. The aforementioned Lucy and Freya were joined by Naoise Ni Laoire in the U13 Girls race all running strongly. The boys U13 had a great day finishing 3rd team and again qualifying for another All-Ireland finals. Lead home by Diarmuid Murphy in 5th, taking bronze and a County Silver. Tightly bunched, Olan Rochford and James Kelleher kept the scoring up with 13th and 20th whilst the all-important scorer Shay Walsh ran a great race to finish 67th. Charlie Landers and Fionn Byrne, vital cogs in the team will be lacing up again on December 1st. Ruby Devereaux and Tadhg Rochford had super runs finishing 18th and 19th in the Boys U15.

Tent loaded, accommodation booked, cars filled with excited runners and their fantastic families we headed for County Fermanagh and the lovely setting of Castle Irvine Estate. A tough winding course with plenty of hills greeted the boys U12 team. Training had gone really well since the Munster Championships, and we were quietly confident of a good performance. Having been 2nd in East Cork, 6th in the County and 3rd in Munster, progression was obvious.

Walking the course the boys were nervous, but with a quiet air of confidence. We had practiced starts during the week, so they knew to expect the melee and the need to get out fast to avoid it. They had a great start with 3 of the 6 in the top 30 or so turning at the first bend. By halfway there was a split with the first 6 breaking free of the bunch and Diarmuid Murphy striding strongly in 4th. A steady climb from 400 metres to go was going to be where this race was won and lost before the fast decent to the last 30 metres, and a steep ascent to the finishing gantry. With only a few metres between them, Diarmuid finished 6th taking bronze but also Gold for Cork and Munster. The real battle was raging seconds behind as the other 180 runners were going to war for position. Olan Rochford finished in 22nd place taking Gold for Cork, the ever- improving James Kelleher right on his heels in 28th. Pensively seeking our 4th finisher and vital scorer Brogan McCarthy appeared, pain etched on his face and giving it everything he had finishing in 117th place. Only a few places separated Brogan, Shay Walsh and Fionn McCarthy. Wild celebrations ensued when the lads were called out as 3rd team, as the 6 lads were presented with their medals. The team finished 3rd overall and were the first Munster Team taking home 10 All Ireland Medals between them. Most of this team have another finals to look forward to in Tramore on December 1st. They are running an age up and will be against boys 1yr older but having showed the determination and improvement, we just might have some more celebrating to do.