Westport House grounds was a worthy venue to host the 123.ie National Juvenile B Cross Country Championships earlier this month, with competitors from all over Ireland taking part.
First up for Roscommon AC was Greg McNeela (U-11 boys), bringing home his first national medal with a brilliant run over the 1000m course, coming in in the top 12 overall.
Another gritty performance in the U-15 girls race saw Juliette Fallon putting in a confident run in a fast-paced race over 2500m, crossing the line in third place and winning a national medal. Juliette was running a year out of her age group; a promising, super performance from this young athlete.
Roscommon AC had a team of eleven athletes on the day with Diarmuid McNamara putting in a super run in the U-11 boys race, coming in a very decent 48th place in a field of 96 entrants. The U-13 girls put in a big effort over the 1500m course with Anna Godzic placing 68th, followed by Doireann Fallon and Méabh Mannion close on her heels. Matthew Fallon gave it his all, as always, coming home in the Top 20 of 98 boys in the U-13 boys race. Sarah Kelly, U-15 girls, put in a super effort throughout for a Top 20 finish and 18th overall.
Completing the U-15 team were a determined Saoirse McNamara, who crossed the line in 48th position, followed by a valiant run from Ruth Dennigan in 56th. This team of four just missed out on a medal by eleven points. The final competitor of the day was Nicole Dowd, who ran the U-17 girls 3000m. Nicole crossed the finish line in 23rd place.
It was another great day out for these brilliant young athletes, with some fantastic experience gained. Matthew, Juliette, Sarah, Saoirse and Ruth are out again representing their schools in the Connacht Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships on the 25th of February in Loughrea. Meanwhile, the indoor season continues with the Connacht Indoor Championships over the weekend in the International Arena in TUS, Athlone.
