The Nenagh Indoor Complex was bathed in sunshine coming through the glassed parts of the roof on Sat/Sun 27th/27th March for Days 1 and 2 of the AAI National Juvenile Indoor Track and Field Championships where Mullingar had a number of athletes in action chasing National honours.

On Saturday, Adeola Ojoma-Amaka finished 3rd in a thrilling u/12 girls 60m final, only a few hundredths of a second off the silver medal place, proving what an all round talent she is, winning medals at National cross country only a few months ago and now taking a medal in the short indoor sprint. In the u/14 boys 60m, Mervyn Harris was clearly hampered by recent injury and unfortunately didn’t advance from his heat.

Meabh McNulty qualified from her heat of the 600m u/12 on Saturday, but in Sunday’s final struggled a bit to find her best form and though ran well found herself in a difficult boxed position at the crucial point and finished out of the medals. Cormac Dalton and Patrick Shaw qualified very comfortably from their 600m u/13 heats and in the final it was Cormac who pulled away to win with ease, with Patrick very unlucky not to close the gap at the finish and had to settle for 4th place, just outside the medals.

Vinny Connolly was delighted to take a bronze medal in the 1,500m u/19 final in what was his last race at underage indoors, as he moves up to the Junior ranks next year. No medal unfortunately for Thomas Lynn who battled well in the 1,500m u/16 and was very unlucky to finish just out of the medals in 4th place but hats off to Ryan Blundell in his first All-Ireland indoors where he finished in 5th place. Ryan has had a phenomenal season, given that he is only running with the Club barely 6 months and is surely a bright star for the not too distant future. Stephen Nea got caught up in a very fast heat of the 1,500m u/17 and was unlucky not to advance to Sunday’s final, and likewise for Adam Daly in the 1,500m u/18, but better fortune for Robert Yorke in the same u/18 heat who made Sunday’s final where he ran strongly but unfortunately finished outside the medals. Reveling in the atmosphere of his first National final on Sunday, Eoin Sheridan showed great improvement in the u/14 shot putt with a very good series of throws to finish in the top eight, but out of the medals.

As is always the case with National finals, they are very competitive and medals are extremely difficult to win, so well done to Adeola, Cormac and Vinny on their successes but equally well done to all the others Club members who can be proud to be part of a very select cohort entitled to compete in the National finals.