Leevale senior teams achieved the double by winning both the men’s and women’s titles at the National Senior Indoor League Final today in AIT Stadium. The Leevale men’s squad dominated the competition, amassing a winning total of 76 points.
Leevale were buoyed by strong performances by David Quilligan who won both the 200m (22.03), long jump (6.92m) and Sam Healy in the high jump with a clearance of 1.90m. James Grufferty notched up another victory for the Cork club by winning the 1,500m in a time of 4:04.97. Leevale performed consistently across all of the other events to emerge the clear winners of the inaugural indoor track and field league final
The women’s event proved a much closer affair with Leevale battling it out with St Abbans AC and Craughwell AC. St Abbans were led by 400m hurdle specialist Nessa Millett who bagged maximum points in the 60m H (9.19), 400m (57.56) and finished second in the long jump with a jump of 4.98m.
Leevale responded with some strong performances of their own in the middle distance events; Louise Shanahan won the 800m in a time of 2.11.2 and Claire McSweeney secured victory in the 1500m in a time of 4:27.80. Craughwell propelled themselves into the mix after impressive results from Cathriona Farrell in the high jump (1.70m), long jump (5.02m) and club mate Sarah Finnegan won the triple jump with a distance of 10.20m.
After an anxious wait the scores were revealed and the Leevale women’s squad were declared the winners with a score of 65 points, one point ahead of Craughwell (64) in second and St Abbans in third on 60 points.
This is a great achievement for the club and cements our position as the top senior club in the country. There is now great strength and depth in the senior structure within the club and we look forward with anticipation to the outdoor leagues.
Well done to all the athletes who competed for the club today. A special thanks to John Sheehan who had the vision and drive made this happen.
Dave Hooper Interviews Tony Shine
