Westport AC continued their strong performances in cross-country running in the recent Connacht Championships at Calry, Leitrim on the 29th Oct (evens) and at Moyne, Longford on the 5th Nov (unevens).  Saoirse O’Brien was the star of show, claiming gold in both U16 and U17 races.  
First up on the deceptively difficult course in Calry was the U12 boys.  Luke Durkan, Padraig Corduff, Declan Moore, Cillian McGing, Jack Dawson and Jack Sweeney all put in plucky displays, taking the 3rd club team award and helping Mayo to the gold medal in the county competition.  Roisin O’Brien, carried the flag as the sole Westport runner in the U14 girl’s event with a strong showing in 4th place.   Next was the turn of the U14 boys. James Marrey, Conal Dawson, Colin Hastings, Jack Mulchrone and Cathal Breslin ran a superb team race to win the club prize and significantly contribute to Mayo taking the top county team also.  Westport AC’s 1st individual gold medal of the day, came from the ever-reliable Saoirse O’Brien who put in her customary stellar performance to cross the line well ahead of her fellow competitors. The U16 boys’ team took the silver medal for the club event and contributed to a 2nd place finish for the county team.  Ethan Lloyd (4th), Rossa McAllister, Con McNamara, Oisin Ryall, Ronan O’Donnell, Joe Grady, Josh Lally and Odhran McCarney all ran strongly.  Sarah Staunton, as the sole competitor for Westport AC, put in a great effort in the U18 girl’s race.  When it was the boys turn, the ever-improving Jack Maher put in a gutsy performance with a 4th place finish followed closely by Cian McAllister, Aaron Doherty, Patrick Chambers and Sean Doherty. These lads won the club title and contributed to the runner-up spot for the county accolade.  To finish off a successful outing for the talented Westport AC crew, Sorcha McAllister stormed to victory in the Junior event with the oldest of the successful O’Brien sisters, Aoife, following in 3rd place.  
There was no rest for the busy Westport AC club as 1 week later it was on the road again, this time to Longford, for the unevens cross country.  The U11 girls started proceedings, with Katie Heraty running her heart out as the sole representative of the club.  This was followed by the U11 boys.  Jack Sweeney, Conor Whittaker, Daragh Dawson, Jamie Durkan, Ethan McGing and Seimi Noone all put in plucky displays, helping Mayo to 2nd position in the county competition.  Next up was the U13 boys, where Luke Durkan, Declan Moore, Padraig Corduff and Cillian McGing helped steer Mayo to a silver medal.  Westport was represented in the girls U15 race by Roisin O’Brien who was back to her best form in managing a 2nd place finish.  The boy’s event Con McNamara performed admirably in securing a 3rd place finish.  Mayo took runner-up position in the girl’s event with the Mayo boys going one better when managing to claim gold. The ever-competitive Saoirse O’Brien stormed home in 1st place in the girls U17 race, adding to her gold from the previous week. Sarah Staunton also put in a good showing in this same race. Next up was the U17 boys who took the club team award with strong running from Oisin Ryall (4th), Sean Doherty (5th), Ronan O’Donnell and Tim Campion.  To round off two days of accomplished displays from Westport AC, Aoife O’Brien finished an impressive 2nd place in the girls U19 race.  
It is now back to the hard graft in training for those athletes who have qualified to run in the All-Irelands.  These events are scheduled for Abbottstown, Dublin on 26th Nov (evens) and for the WIT Arena in Waterford on 17th Dec (unevens).