A relatively small group of Westport Athletics Club athletes made the trip to Claremorris for the Connacht Track & Field Championships on June 14th but between them they brought home no less than 17 gold, 5 silver and 6 bronze medals, meaning that Westport will now be well represented at the All-Ireland championships which will take place throughout July.

First events on the track were the relays.  The Westport under 13 boys of Malcolm McEvilly, Ted Horan, Jason Monroe and Shane O’Malley got the day off to a great start with a third place finish.  This was followed by a silver for the under 14 boys quartet of Ethan Lloyd, Kian Moore, Rossa McAllister and Cillian Heaney.  The girls under 14 team of Ella Staunton, Eimear Corduff, Kitty Harburn and Amy Mulroy also had a great run but were outside the medals this time.

In the field events, Westport athletes had a great day.  Adam Sheridan collected three golds for under 14 boys hammer, shot and discus.  Jennifer Chambers was also on a gold rush, picking up another three golds in the under 17 girls Javelin, Shot and Discus.  Kate O’Malley took gold in the under 16 girls shot and Jordan Walsh added to the in-field tally with a gold in the under 17 boys discus and a silver in the shot put.  In the jumps, Malcolm McEvilly took silver in the under 13 boys high jump and Aisling Halpin Fahy came away with a silver in the under 15 girls long jump.  Eimear Corduff and Kitty Harburn also jumped very competitively in the under 14 girls long jump and high jump respectively.

Westport athletes took home medals across the board on the track, from sprints to steeplechase.  Cillian Heaney had a stormer of a run – the first return to athletics competition after a demanding soccer season – to take gold in the under 14 boys 80m.  Aisling Halpin Fahy took bronze in both the under 15 girls 100m and 200m races and Cain Moore delighted the crowd with his exuberant third place finish in the Senior Men’s 100m.  

Sorcha McAllister took gold in her first attempt at the under 18 girls 2000m steeplechase.  She later took a silver in the under 18 girls 1500m where she was following a string of Westport middle distance successes.  Malcolm MacEvilly stormed around the track to win the boys under 13 600m race, followed very closely by his third placing team-mate Shane O’Malley.  Saoirse O’Brien had a double win taking gold in both the under 14 girls 800m and 1500m, a race in which her team-mate Kate Moran finished fourth.  Ethan Lloyd, who has only recently taken up athletics, took his first Connacht title with a great win in the under 14 boys 1500m, followed by his team mate Rossa McAllister who finished in third place.  Thomas Devaney took home a silver from the boys under 15 1500m and Aoife O’Brien and Cian McAllister finished up the day for the distance runners with golds in the under 16 boys 1500m and under 17 girls respectively.

Finally, Harrison Quinn, Kian Moore and Kitty Harburn competed very well in the hurdle events – an event for which, unfortunately, it is very difficult to train without an indoor facility throughout the winter.
Click HERE for Photos Results on Results page