Moyne AC Weekly Roundup: Victories at Munster Championships, Star Awards Recognition, and Athlete Achievements

Munster U9-U11 and Race Walk Championships

On Sunday, a great group of athletes travelled back to Nenagh to compete in their Munster championships. 

In the boys u14 walk, Michael Doyle kicked off the day in style, taking home a Munster gold medal in the 1km walk, in a time of 6.18.81. This excellent performance follows a tough winter of training from Michael and his hard work is certainly paying off. We are delighted to see the club represented so well in this discipline.

Meanwhile, our youngest athletes, boys and girls u9 toed the line in the 60m. Caoimhe Quinlan lined out in heat 8 of 9, and her impressive time of 10.93 was enough to progress her to the semi-finals. Harriet Ely, in the final heat, competed in her first 60m, finishing in 13.18. Caoimhe went on to follow up this performance with a huge improvement to 10.71, to earn a place in the final, where she finished 9th in 11.10. Our u9 boys also clocked great times, Senan Dunne in heat 1 ran 11.69, Jack Drennan in heat 2 clocked 11.62 and James Delaney in heat 2 ran 10.97 and finished second with an automatic qualification for the semi-final. In a tough semi-final he went on to match this time exactly, and finish 8th.

The u9s competed in 300m, a tough, fast distance for this age group. James finished second in his heat in 1.01.41 and Eoin O'Shea finished in 1.07.97 in his heat. In the qirls race, Caoimhe Quinlan ran 1.07.76, Molly Hackett 1.15.68 and Harriet Ely 1.18.14. These were exceptional efforts from these young athletes and we are so proud of the way they battled throughout their races. Well done. Finally, the u9s took part in the long jump, where each and every one of them put in a great performance. Their best jumps of the day were; James (2.84m), Senan (2.42m), Jack (2.26m), Caoimhe (2.86m - 6th overall), Molly (2.20m).
Moving on to the u10 competition, the club were well represented by both boys and girls. Aoibheann Doyle was first out in the 60m, running a time of 10.45s. She followed this up with her first ever performance in a 500m, where she clocked a brilliant 1.52.74. Grace Cantwell, in her first Munster championship, tumbled across the line in 10.56 in her 60m, finishing third in her heat. Our boys u10 opted to compete over the longer distance of 500m. Bothboys showed great determination in their respective heats, sticking with a tough pace and finishing strong. Tom O'Shea finished in 1.45.23 in heat 7 and Tom Esmonde followed this up in heat 9 in a time of 1.51.37. There was a long wait for the u10 long jumps, the final events of the day, and our athletes did not let us down, with best jumps of Tom O'Shea (3.08m), Aoibheann (3.15m) and Grace (2.74m). Well done to all.

In our final age group, the u11's, the club had four girls competing. Their first event of the day was the long jump where, building on a gold medal at last week's Tipperary championships, Lily Murphy jumped an impressive 3.61m, picking up a silver medal - a huge achievement at this level of competition. Meadhbh Hall and Annie Ely also jumped well on the day, with jumps of 3.19m and 3.04m respectively. Annie went straight on to her 600m competition, where she raced in the fifth heat, with a strong final lap, she finished in 2.12.14. Meadhbh meanwhile competed in the shot putt, a new event for her, she had a best throw of 4.80m to finish 8th overall. The girls final event of the day was the 60m sprint, with a huge 14 heats, this was a tightly contested competition. Ella-Mai Drennan was the first of our three competitors, running in heat nine and clocking a time of 10.73s. In heat 10, Lily crossed the line first in 9.39, and in heat 11 Meadhbh was second in 9.68, with both girls earning an automatic qualification to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, Lily was second in her heat in 9.37s , and Meadhbh was second in hers in 9.73s. Lily secured a fastest qualifier spot for the final, while Meadhbh narrowly missed out on this occasion. After a very short turn around, Lily went on to finish 5th in a time of 9.52s. 

Well done to all the athletes who competed in Nenagh this weekend. It was wonderful to see the club represented so well at this tough competition.

Templemore Throws Festival

Gerard Delaney took part in the Templemore throws Competition this weekend. This was a great opportunity for him to get back throwing the javelin and he took full advantage, throwing a best of 22.43m, well done Gerard. 

Tipperary Star Awards

The club was delighted to have so many of our juvenile athletes recognised at the annual Tipperary star awards this weekend. Thank you to Tipperary athletics for organising this and for the inclusion of our young athletes. Recognised for their 2023 team achievements on the night were;Girls u9 Long Jump Pair; Aoibheann Doyle and Daisy LyonsBoys u9 300m Pair; Noah Ryan and Tom Esmonde Boys u9 4x100m relay; Noah Ryan, Tom Esmonde, Aaron Hanrahan, Tom O'SheaGirls u10 60m Pair; Lily Murphy and Meadhbh HallGirls u10 4 x 100m relay; Meadhbh Hall, Orlaith Costigan, Annie Ely, Lily Murphy, Aoibheann Doyle, Beibhinn Maher. During the evening the athletes were presented with certificates, and were inspired by the achievements of the wonderful athletes recognised on the night, including the club's own Katie Bergin, recognised for her outstanding 2023.

Tipperary AI Awards 2023

The Tipperary AI Athletic Awards '23 were held in The Horse & Jockey Hotel on Saturday night last, Two senior athletes from the club received awards Katie Bergin, Tipperary Senior Athlete of the Year '23, and Ber Spillane Tipperary Master Female Athlete of the Year '23. Congrats to both.

Irish Schools Cross Country 2024

Well done to Jack Renehan who represented St Kieran’s Kilkenny on Saturday at the Irish Schools across Country Championship in Tallaght. Jack ran a strong race to finish in 97th position in the junior boy's category. St Kieran’s finished 5th in the team competition. Well done Jack, this experience will stand to you in the future.

Tullamore Harriers 5k 2024.

On Sunday morning Patrick Bowe took to the roads to take part in the Tullamore Harriers 5k. Patrick finished in 54th position overall and 4th in the men’s over 50 category with a super time of 18:50. Well done Patrick.

Templemore Throws Festival 2024.

Well done to Rob Hall and Gerard Delaney who competed at the Templemore Throws Festival over the weekend. Results to follow.

Moyne A.C. Open Juvenile Sports 27th. April

Moyne A.C. look forward to hosting an open sports event for juveniles from u8 up on Saturday April 27th. We invite athletes to join us for a day of running, throwing and jumping, which we are sure will be lots of fun! All welcome.

Training Times

A reminder to all that training on Tuesdays and Fridays is now at the earlier time of 7pm - 8pm.Mondays and Wednesdays from 7.15pm to 8.30pm.

Featured Image: L-R; Sharlene Mawdsley, Newport AC. Tipperary International Athlete of the Year '23. Jennifer O'Leary, Nenagh Oly. AC., Tipperary U/15 - U/19 Cross Country Athlete of the Year '23. Clodagh Donohoe Nenagh Oly. AC. National U/17 Triple Jump Record Holder 10.8m. Katie Bergin Moyne AC, Tipperary Senior Athlete of the Year '23.