The Striders Juveniles were in great form at the National T&F Championships, with lots of great performances, medals, PB’s and a national champion. The boys did really well in the middle distance events, starting with Myles Hewlett running an excellent time of 1:40 in his 600m race to finish just outside the medals. Next up, Darragh Flannelly posted a PB of 2:20, in his 800m final, to continue his fantastic form this season. The first medal of the weekend was won by Adam O’Connor, with Bronze in his 800m event. With the event streamed live by Athletics Ireland, there were lots of Striders at home in New Ross watching Adam get into a 3 man lead group and finish the race in impressive fashion to secure a spot on the podium, with a PB time of 2:09.
In the throws we had the Hewlett brothers, Cosmo and Joshua, both competing in the Javelin. Cosmo followed up an impressive display in the Leinster Championships, with another fine performance. Throwing just under 30m, Cosmo was only a few metres short of a medal. Reigning national champion, Joshua Hewlett retained his title, with a throw in excess of 50m. Good to see Joshua in great form as he will make his international debut next month, representing Ireland in the Celtic Nations event.
Nic Walkden was our sole sprinter in action, on this first weekend of action, posting a great time in his 400m event. Returning from an injury he picked up at the Leinster Championship, Nic did really well, considering his interrupted preparation, in this his first season with the Striders. Last, but not least, our Race Walkers, Ryan Kielthy, Ciara Murphy and Eve Byrne were exceptional, finishing third, fourth and fifth respectively. Our walkers have done really well in a short space of time, to get to the point where they are winning national medals. Well done Ryan for bringing home another national medal and also to Ciara and Eve who were competing in big fields, that also included the English national team who were participating as guests. Well done to all.
A week later we had great running today from Aidan Shannon, Aedhan Rogers and Darragh Flannelly all running over 1500m. No medals for the lads, but Aidan Shannon came close, coming a fantastic 4th, in a new PB of 4.41. Also competing were Cian Flannagan in the Javelin and Ciara kelly in the High Jump. Well done lads on a great days competition, at national level.
