Sligo AC News: Ransboro 10k

Over 150 runners and walkers took part in the Ransboro 10k yesterday evening in what could be best described as balmy conditions. From the off a small group of runners broke free of the chasing pack with Letterkenny's Neil Faulkner pushing from the front. Faulkner kept the pace fast forcing Dunboyne AC's Derek Croal and Sligo AC's Ultan McNasser to work hard in order to close the gap. Sligo AC's Alan Kearins, Seamus Somers and Neil Walton followed closely. By the 5k mark Croal had taken the lead with McNasser moving into 2nd place where he remained until 9k until a determined Faulkner once again made a successful move for second. Croal had the win wrapped up at this stage having made a good gap between himself and his two pursuers, crossing the line in just over 35 minutes. 2nd and 3rd place came right down to the wire with McNasser forcing Faulkner into a sprint finish where the letterkenny athlete just held onto his place. Sligo AC's Lucy Brennan (pictured) ran a steady race throughout and was the leading lady once again, taking first with confident ease. With all proceeds going to the charity Aquired Brain Injury Ireland it was a very successful and well run event. Well done to all involved in the organising and all who competed! For full results, please email sligoac@gmail.com and we'll try and have them out to you asap.

Sligo AC Update: Sligo Athletes shine at graded meet!

Five Sligo athletes took part in graded meet number 5 in Irishtown, Dublin last night. There were 4 excellent pb's set by the up and coming youth of Sligo athletics. First up Connell Boal in the senior mens Javelin, picking up tips and advice from his competitors he threw an amazing 43.6m bettering his previous best by nearly a full metre. Next up, Ania Bednorz (pictured) in the senior ladys triple jump. She opened with a jump of 11m 20cm which was a new PB but still unsatisfied with that she went even further on her next jump although jumping well before the board. PB number 2 for the night 11m 36cm and this moves Sligo's 14yr old up to number 8 on the senior ranks and even closer to the European Youth Olympic standard of 12m, she still has 2 years to achieve this. Onto the 1,500m where Aisham Patil lined up in the B grade and All Ireland Schools champion Tommy Casey in the A grade. Aisham ran a super race to finish in a time of 4min 26.12 a huge new PB for this up and coming 14 year old taking nearly 7 seconds off his previous best. This time would have given him a bronze medal at the recent All Ireland schools. Up last for the juveniles stepped Tommy Casey (pictured), lining up against a very strong field. Casey bossed his way to the front in the opening 150m and just dropped himself in as the opeing lap unfolded. A group of 3 athletes had a gap back to Tommy at 800m of around 4 or 5 metres but Tommy was still going very well in himself. At 1,200m the gap had dwindled and he was now ready to pounce moving down the backstraight for the final time, he moved into second onto the shoulder of Eoin Flynn of Rathfarnham, rounding the top bend with 200m to go both athletes were pushing for the lead, into the home straight Casey edged clear but just a couple of strides from the line Raheny Shamrocks Richie Corceran just pipped Tommy for the victory. Never the less Casey went away smiling with a huge new PB of 3min 54.88sec nearly some 5 seconds of his previous best. Martin Conroy capped off the night in the grade A 5,000m with a solid performance, running 15min 32sec, this is nearly a full minute outside his personal best so just an off night for Martin. We definitely have a lot to look forward to this summer and for many years with this up and coming bunch of stars. Well done from all at the club!

Sligo AC News: Medal haul for club's athletes!

Sligo athletes made the trip to Galway to contest the Connaught Track & Field in Dangan. Within an hour of our arrival we had 2 gold and 3 silver medals with Stephen Reynolds throwing beyond 40m for the first time in the senior mens hammer to claim gold, Dylan Carty looked incredible, strolling to victory in the u-15 boys walk, Graham Kerr claimed the first of his 3 medals when claiming silver in the u-13 boys long jump, David Lynch claimed a silver in the u-15 boys hurdles and Ania Bernodz took her first of 4 medals when finishing second in the u-16 girls high jump. Up next were the sprints where Sligo claimed 3 titles. In the u-13 boys 80m Keelan Deering, Niall Gray and Lee Roper all ran fine races but it was their Sligo team mate Graham Kerr who stole the show streaking clear at the 40m and winning well to add his second medal of the day, next was his sister Stacey Kerr who, if keeps progressing the way she is, will be an unstoppable force in sprint races for many years to come. Stacey cruised through her heat in the girls u-14 80m but came up against All Ireland champion Laura Ann Costelloe, who boasts an unbeaten record in all Connaught competitions in her short career, with both girls neck and neck all the way Stacey dipped on the line to record an impressive victory in a hugely impressive time of 10.62 seconds. Sligo had yet another sprint title added to their tally with Ania blitzing the field in the u-16 girls 100m and adding another medal to her total. Keely Greene also ran a fine race in the u-13 girls 60m, just missing the final as did Orla Mulvihill (u-16 100m) & Thomas Delahunt in the boys u-15 100m. Dylan Carty got us off to a great start with a silver in the boys u-15, Aisham Patil ran a fine race in the u-16 boys 1,500m running 4.34 to finish 4th and Orla Mulvihill ran well in the u-16 girls equivilant. Next we moved onto the 200m events where after Staceys impressive display in the 80m went in a warm favourite. There were 2 heats with the fastest time from the heats to determine the winner, Stacey from lane 2 had the stagger made up withing 60m and demolished the field to win her heat in 26.7 in the following heat Costelloe of GCH had her own back by winning her heat in a slightly faster time, a mere .1 of a second. Nicola McGoldrick battled well in the girls u-16 200m to finish 4th in her final as did Thomas Delahunt in his 200m. Next up the middle distance where we got off to a sensational start with Caelinn McGonigle showing her true class by beating her All Ireland conquerer by 5 seconds, Caelinn recording a time of 1min 45seconds, solo and the gold medal. in the boys u-13 600m Lee Roper and Keelan Deering ran fine races and will gain a lot of experience from their days work. Onto the 800m, where Clare Conlon got us off to a flyer by finishing runner up to multiple National Champion Alanna Lally. Clare ran the perfect race, sitting in 4th place and kicking with 150m to go, this surprisingly was Clares first individual medal at a connaught event but no doubt she will claim many more over the years. Philip Hunter ran a great race in his u-14 800m, finishing not far outside his pb. Gavin Foye running in his first outdoor Championships ran a super race to finish 5th and running a superb new pb of 2.18 in the u-16 800m. His training partner Shane Kilcawley was next up in the u-17 800m. Shane sat in 4th spot, lurking and waiting to pounce throughout the race, with 200m to go he unleashed a deadly kick to claim 2nd place behind Westports All Ireland 800m Champion from last year Anthony Chambers. Shane not only claimed a silver medal but a huge pb of 2min 10 seconds. Tommy Casey won the u-19 boys 800m as he liked in a time of 1.58, which will set him up nicely for his up and coming races. Rianne McHugh ran two great races to win gold in the U19 400m and silver in 800m, moving up from her sprint events. Conal Boal also won the u-18 boys Javelin throwing 45m for the first time and other notable medallist was Colm Bourke in the u-17 boys triple and long jump. Sligo AC claimed many more medals in the relays at the end of the day. Well done to every athlete who took part in this excellent day for Sligo athletics. And good luck to all who qualified for the National Championships in July where we have a lot of serious medal contenders.

Sligo AC News: Calry 5k

Over sixty athletes turned out for the annual Calry 5k Road Race on friday evening last. This was a good turn-out considering a large amount of local athletes were already focused on the Mullaghmore Triathlon which was to take place the following morning. The evening remained warm as all participants toed the line and a stiff breeze blew against them on the opening kilometre. Runners who were familiar with the course knew that as much ground as possible needed to be made on the 1st half of the race (downhill) as a minute would be lost on the return leg. Sligo AC's Dermot McDermott simply ran away from the chasing pack although winning it in a slow, by his standards, 16 mins 39 seconds. Sligo AC's Ultan McNasser and Alan Kearins came in 2nd and 3rd respectively. All proceeds were destined for the North-West hospice & with over 600 euros collected it was a successful event for all concerned.

Sligo AC Update: Connaught Medals for Team Event athletes

A large number of U9, U10, U11 and U12 Sligo AC athletes travelled to Galway on Saturday last for the Connaught Team Competition and Connaught T & F. For most of these athletes it was their first taste of Connaught competition and all gained invaluable experience for the years ahead. U9 boys faired well with the 60m Team of Shane McGlone and Sean Kerrigan claiming gold, Sean Kerrigan and Eoin Carty took gold in the U9 300m and the Boys U9 relay team of Sean Kerrigan, Eoin Carty, Richard Hunter and Shane McGlone took bronze. This was a great achievement for the U9’s. The U10 boys of Jack Connor and Noel Burke took silver in the U10 500m. The relays in all ages got good experience in their first time out. U12 girls took part in field events Shot, Ball throw and long jump with the boys competing in the sprint and long jump. The boys were unlucky in the relay but put up a big performance.
All Juvenile Athletes travelling to Galway tomorrow (saturday 19th June) by Bus for Connaught Under 13's upwards; please meet at the "fish sculpture" at the main entrance to Sligo I.T at 7.45am.

Sligo AC's league campaign off to a flyer!

A growing Sligo team made the trip to the AAI Club League in Tullamore on Sunday last looking to excel on the heights of their 5th place finish in last years competition. On the evidence shown they will certainly do that and more. Stephen Reynolds got the day off to a flyer with a new Pb in the hammer of 33 metres and claiming gold and more importantly maximum points, this was followed up by Kevin McGlynn braving the high hurdles to claim 4th and Aaron Murtagh matched that 4th place finish in the long jump, each claiming 5 points a piece. Martin Conroy was next, “fresh” from his race in Watford the night before and spending most of the night flying back to join up with his team mates. Martin did a great job for the team gaining two golds and 18 points in the 3km walk and the 3km steeplechase. Martin had already ran a 14.44 5k at 10pm the night before in the UK, well done Martin. Dermot McDermott got 3rd in the 1,500m as did Tommy Casey in the 800m. Casey ran a new personal best time of 1.55 and finished right on the heels of two of Irelands finest distant athletes.The 4x100m relay ran superbly to finish in 4th place, with Ciaran Collins leading them off, Kevin McGlynn building on a fine start then passing onto Ryan Monaghan who in turn passed onto Gary Hynes. Gary later finished 4th in the 200m as did Stephen Reynolds in his 2nd event, the shot putt. Conal Boal did an exceptional job in the Javelin against some well seasoned senior athletes as he threw just short of a Pb but never the less gaining a valuable 2nd place finish and 7 crucial points as Sligo were fighting it out with Ferrybank and Limerick County to claim top spot after day one. Next up was new boy Ciaran Collins who hasn't raced in over 2 years but has the calibre from all his National success as a juvenile. As 3 athletes swung into the straight to face the breeze, Ciaran being 1 of them, the writing was on the wall that he was going to get up and win and win he did, running a fine seasonal opener of 50.2 for the 400m gaining 9 valuable points for his new County of Sligo. David Heath threw big in the weight for distance and claimed a valuable 3rd place finish and 6 points for the team and Tony Druet ran a fine race in the 5,000m to claim a 2nd place finish and 7 points. Onto the last race of the day, the 4 x 400m where again as it was all day, Sligo, Limerick and Ferrybank were left to fight this out with Ferrybank coming out on top with Limerick 2nd and Sligo back in 3rd. Well done to the whole team who finished the day with 103 points which was well up on last year’s score of 65 points. We look forward to round two on the 18th of July where we welcome back athletes the calibre of Tommy Carroll and Emmet Dunleavy who will no doubt help push this growing Sligo team to the summit of team athletics in Ireland. Sligo also had 2 guests running in the League at the weekend in Anna Reddin in the 1,500m and Reanne McHugh in the 200m & 400m well done to both athletes who ran fine races. Also a big well done to 2 Sligo athletes abroad Sligo AC Martin Conroy showed his return to form finishing 7th in a BMC 5,000m race in Watford in a time of 14min and 44 seconds as did North Sligo's Tommy Carroll he finished a close 7th in the 1,500m at the same meet in a time of 3.49. This is Tommy's 2nd fastest time over the distance but shows great consistency. Tommy now has his eyes set on the AAA's championships this coming weekend before returning home for the National u-23's where he must enter the race as one of the favourites whether it's 800m or 1,500m he participates in.A number of Sligo juveniles will make the trip to Galway this coming Saturday for the Connaught track and field where Sligo will have great winning chances with the likes of Stacey Kerr, William Crowe, Cian McBride, Dylan Carty and Caelinn McGonigle to name a few. A reminder that the Calry 5k is on this coming Friday 18th of June at 7:30pm from Calry/Hazelwood Community playing fields, come early to avoid the rush!