Young guns claim national team bronze for Harriers

A little bit of history was created by the Tullamore Harriers Girls Under-11 team at last Sunday"s National Juvenile Cross Country Championships for Boys and Girls (U-11, U-13, U-15, U-17 and U-19). A hilly course in Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan, was the venue and the athletes were greeted with icy underfoot conditions that made keeping your balance difficult. First into action were our Girls U-11 team and they exceeded most people"s expectations when they came third in the club team competition. Keelin Guilfoyle led the team home in 15th place with a hugely determined performance that saw her finish fourth scorer on the Leinster team. This gained Keelin her second medal of the day when the Leinster team finished third. Ciara Galvin also ran a great race to finish 30th despite having a cold and she can always be counted upon to produce the goods on the day. Cara Todd is improving with every race and she ran brilliantly to finish 40th over the 800m distance. Cara is new to athletics and seems capable of improving dramatically over the next few years. Muireann McDaid is a great stalwart of the team and she put in a very determined run to complete the scoring four in 71st place, finishing in the top half of the huge field of athletes. Alison Mooney (137th) was ill leading up to the race but she gave her all on the day and was a vital member of the squad, so it was a just reward that she also won her first national medal. It seems almost certain that this is the first time that a Tullamore Harriers Girls U-11 team has won team medals at the National Cross Country Championships, so well done to all concerned especially coaches Tom Godley and Damien Lawlor who have spent a lot of time preparing this team. Nicole Cuskelly probably had her best run of the season in the Girls U-13 (1,000m) race. After getting a poor start she came through the field like a train to finish a highly creditable 10th place, gaining a medal for her top twelve finish. She was third scorer on the wining Leinster team and gained her second national gold medal in as many weeks. Sinead Rigney was our lone competitor in the Girls U-15 (1,500m) race after the Harriers team had to pull out due to the illness of one of its members. Sinead ran a good solid race to finish 64th and she will still be eligible for this age group again next year. The boys" U-15 team was incomplete but Harry Flynn showed that he is improving all the time with a great run to finish 43rd. He will be eligible for this race again next year and he is capable of much more with a good year of training behind him. Sean Colgan in 80th was a bit below par after recent illness but he will be back to his best shortly. Aaron O"Leary Doyle has been a long time member of the club and he once again showed his commitment with a 99th place finish. European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships take place in Brussels on Sunday next. RTE and the BBC are showing coverage of the event at 1pm. The club wishes the Irish teams every success. Mullingar"s Martin Fagan is expected to figure prominently in the Senior Men"s race. Newsletter A club newsletter will be given to all athletes who attend training this week. It will give details of all upcoming events including the Christmas party and upcoming races. One race to look out for is the Grand National (2,400m) on Tuesday 16th December at 7pm. This is a handicapped race so everyone has a chance to win. There are prizes for the first five finishers. Club Training Club training for the U-11 to U-19 age groups takes places on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7pm in Tullamore Harriers grounds. The older sprints group also train on Friday nights at 7pm and training also takes place on Sunday mornings at 11am for the sprints group and the cross country group (when they are not competing).