There were numerous impressive performances by Leevale athletes at the Munster Juvenile Indoors in Nenagh over the weekend, almost too numerous to keep track of them all!
In the girls U14, both Chelsea Wright and Rachel Smith made the sprint final with Chelsea finishing 2nd. Rachel, Chelsea, Eimear Hallahan and Taylor Murphy went on to finish 2nd in their relay on Sunday. Jack Murphy started Saturday with a win in the U14 60m Hurdles. He went on later in the day to win the high jump (1.55m) and the long jump on Sunday, with a new CBP of 5.12m. Also in the U14 high jump, Barry Shanahan gave a characteristically technical display of precision to clear a very impressive 1.4m, finishing just outside the medals. Luke Ring got the weekend off to a great start by finished 3rd in the U14 shot putt, and went on to win the 60m sprint in a powerful style. Matthew Murnane and Barry Shanahan won their 800m heats with Matthew going on to finish 2nd in a very competitive final. In the relays, Matthew, Barry, Luke and Jack finished in 2nd place to their arch rivals.
In the girls U15, Katie Crowley and Louise Shanahan “boxed clever” to finish 2nd in their 800m heats, conserving energy till the final. Louise went on to win the final, taking the lead at the bell and outpacing the competition over the full final lap. Marie O’Halloran and Ali Burke made the 60m sprint final with Marie finishing 3rd. Marie doubled up in the sprints, finishing a good 2nd in the hurdles. In the boys U15 age, Daniel O’Mahony had a good run in the hurdles finishing 4th.
In the U16 sprints Emma O’Brien had a first place finishing in the semi-final and final. In the 200m, Emma was edged out into 2nd place on the line, fighting all the way with typical determination. Nadine Murphy finished 3rd in the high jump clearing 1.40m, which is very promising given so little practice so early in the season. There were also fine runs by Aisling Hanrahan and Denise Hallahan in the middle distances. In the boys’ events, John O’Brien got off to a great start with 3rd place in a very tight finish in the hurdles. John also qualified well for the 60m final, Unfortunately, his interest in the event was ended early due to a false start in the final. John also had a good outing on Sunday finishing 3rd in 200m.
Robert Nagle was placed 2nd in U17 high jump, clearing 1.65m, and was very close to the 1.70 mark on his second attempt. Robert also finished 3rd in the long jump. Robert O’Halloran made the final of the 60m and finished 3rd in the 200m.
In the boys U18, Chris Mintern finished 2nd in the 1500m which had to be rerun.
Chris looked even stronger in the rerun, also finishing 2nd. Ryan Casey jumped just over 12m to win the triple jump. The boys U18 team went on to finish 3rd in their relay. Jessica and Christine Neville had good wins in the U19 200m and 400m.