U13 Boys 2500m Gold l-r Aaron Doherty, Cian McAllister, Oisin Moran, Patrick Chambers, Marley Hoban and Luke Dawson
 
Adamstown, Co Wexford was the venue recently for the Uneven National Cross Country Championships where Westport AC had an impressive 23 athletes competing. With good underfoot and dry weather conditions these athletes competed very well on the day amidst very stiff competition. The day commenced with the girls U11 1500m where Saoirse O'Brien once again proved she can compete with the best in Ireland when she finished 4th overall claiming her second National individual cross country medal this season. Saoirse was followed by teammates Tara Needham, Ciara Needham, Annie Noonan, Briana Bruton and Mollie Ryder, who with a total of 183 points were just 6 points short of the team bronze.

Next up was the U11 boys 1500m where Cillian Heaney led home his teammates Oisin Ryall, Rossa McAllister, Ronan O'Donnell, Padraig Murphy and Sean Costello.  The boys ran very well coming 4th as a team, again just missing out on the team bronze. The U13 girls 2500m race followed where Westport was well represented with fine runs from Ellen Noonan and Leah Moran.

The performance of the day was in the U13 boys 2500m where Patrick Chambers ran a spectacular race storming home in third place, followed by Aaron Doherty (10th), Cian McAllister (21st), Marley Hoban, Luke Dawson and Oisin Moran resulting in a superb total of 118 points and the team gold, a huge 54 points clear of their nearest competitors. These boys won the team bronze in 2010, team silver in 2011 and are fully deserving of the gold this year.  Patrick and Aaron also won individual medals.

The U15 girls 3500m was next and once again Westport was well represented by Aoife O'Brien and Sorcha McAllister, both having very good performances.

The last, but by know means least, Westport competitor of the day, was Con Doherty, running out of age in the U19 6000m, where he had a fantastic race winning an 8th place individual medal.  Con recently became the first Irish triathlete to make the podium in a World Championship Series Final event as he claimed bronze at the ITU Junior Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.
Overall, the day was an excellent conclusion to 2012 competition and Westport AC looks forward to further success in 2013. Click HERE to View Photos