PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Paul O’Neill
ATHLETES from Enniskillen Running Club excelled at day two of the Provincial Championship for the Uneven Ages and Novice which were held at the Finn Valley Centre in Stranorlar.
The first six Enniskillen runners were all in the top 25, with the remaining four athletes really pushing on and improving with each race they run in. This time the girls had to settle for silver in a close team contest.
Both Annabelle McKenzie and Megan Mulally secured a place in the Ulster Squad for Dublin when they finished 11th and 12th.
Erin McPhillips was unfortunate to just miss out in 13th, but battled bravely having had a cold all week. Jessica Largo Ellis is another who has settled into this team well and again had a good run placing 16th.
Of the other six girls, Moya Magee finished 20th, Mailie Hennesy placed 21st, Grainne Gallagher was 24th, Orlagh Kelly was 30th, Ava Hennesy finished 37th and Tori Lilly was 38th. All 10 girls now qualify for Nationals as Enniskillen finished second to Donegal in the Inter County Team contest.
In the Girls U15 race over 3000m, Kate Kelly finished third in an intriguing contest. She was backed up by fine runs from Erin Quigley, Orlaith Lunney and Evanna McCreesh which duly saw them take fourth place and a nationals spot.
Kate Cassidy did well having been out with a heavy flu while Caoimhe McDermott was another athlete to gain valuable experience.
In a strongly contested U17 Boys race, the Enniskillen team narrowly missed the team medals, but on a positive note made it through to Nationals with four teams qualifying.
Jack Donnelly ran very well, despite a few falls leading the boys home with a fine performance in ninth place.
Nathan Coyle had a strong showing placing 20th on his debut, not far behind Piaras Tone who just got up in the final 150m to pip team mate Finn Elliott as they placed 26th and 27th respectively.
Paul Cox also gained further valuable experience by finishing 56th.
The Enniskillen Boys U19 team suffered a major blow pre-race, as lead runner Harry McKenzie would not take to the start line due to illness.
The four remaining lads were determined to win a place at Nationals and duly done so when taking bronze to add to the Silver they won two weeks ago at U18 level.
Lead runner Tiarnan McManus set his stall out early, finishing fifth. He was well supported by Alex Irvine who placed 13th while just behind him were James O Neill in 15th and Ryan Hegarty in 16th.
The U13 Team were the first of the Enniskillen athletes to go to the startline where Bella McCreesh led the team home with an impressive outing when finishing 19th.
Well done also to Fianna, Saoirse and Naoimh all of whom had solid performances.
In the Boys U15 race, Oisin Gunn and Tom McCreesh tumbled during the course of the race. Gunn placed 13th in the end, while Tom battled hard to finish in 25th.
In the Novice races, ERC fielded a team in both the Women’s and Men’s races.
Carala Prentice was the leading ladies athlete placing 20th, while in the Men’s race, James Naan finished in seventh.
Four teams qualified from these championships towards the All Irelands in Abbotstown.