Superb win for Mark Christie in National Junior CC
| On Sunday last the National Senior and Junior Interclubs Cross-Country Championships took place at the A.L.S.A.A. grounds, near Dublin Airport. Due to heavy overnight rain conditions were extremely difficult for all the athletes, as it was very soft underfoot. Nonetheless, all of our athletes put in excellent performances in the tough conditions, and it turned out to be a very successful day for Mullingar Harriers. The highlight was undoubtedly a superb individual performance from Mark Christie in winning the National Junior title. When you consider that Mark is eligible in this event for a further two years, it underlines the magnitude of his achievement. Mark has taken a countless number of All-Ireland titles in the Juvenile age groups over the past few years and this title will further emphasize his immense talent. Always in contention from the start, when a lead group of three broke away Mark made a decisive move midway through the race and never looked back, going on to record a very convincing and famous victory. Mark now earns automatic selection on the Irish team for the forthcoming World Championships. As well as taking individual gold, Mark also led the club to silver medals in the team competition. This was a display of true grit and determination from our Junior Men's team. Damian Shaw has been a revelation ever since he took up running before Christmas, and on Sunday he produced the goods again with an excellent run in eleventh place. Conor Twomey was next with a very determined and gutsy run. The vital fourth scorer was Ciaran O’Meara, who has had an excellent season and had another very good run on Sunday. Not far behind came Ronan Doolin, Eoin O’Meara, David Hynes and Ger Feerick, they all deserve their All-Ireland medals. Considering most of this team are underage again next, it certainly augurs well for future success. Our Junior Ladies squad gave it their all, and while they finished out of the medals they all ran really well, and are all underage for the next two years. Louise Moore was first home, with another good run. She was followed not far behind by Joanne Harney, Ellen Colton, Aine Devaney, Ruth O’Meara and Melanie Lynch. These are a very determined group of girls and will definitely be back to taste future success. The Senior Men’s race was one of the most exciting in recent years and John Burke, in brilliant form, finished an excellent seventh. Tom McGrath recovered from an early fall to work his way up through the field and is getting back to his best form. Not far behind Tom was Patrick Muldoon with a solid run in his first National Senior Cross-Country. Caroline Harney was our sole representative in the Senior Ladies race and she had a good run, finishing well up the field. All in all it was a very successful day for the club and we can now look forward to seeing the best athletes in the world in action when the World Cross Country Championships take place in Dublin in a months time. |