Leinster Schools medals for Brady and Rigney

Liam Brady and Sinead Rigney had great runs at the recent Leinster Schools Cross Country Championships in Santry. A cool but dry day greeted the athletes and all the medals on offer were hard earned. Liam Brady (St. Brendan"s Birr) surprised everyone with a superb run in the Intermediate Boys (U-17) race to finish second to international athlete, Jake Byrne, over 4,000m. Liam, who won the South Leinster Schools Championship, will now contest the Irish Schools Cross Country Championships in Jordanstown, north of Belfast, on Saturday 7 March. Sinead Rigney (Sacred Heart, Tullamore) also caused a surprise with her excellent run to finish third in the Minor Girls (U-14) 1,500m race. Sinead gave some indication that she could challenge for medals when, a week earlier, she finished second in the South Leinster Schools race. Sinead was followed home in the South Leinster race by Aoife Dempsey, who ran a great race to take third place, and by Kate Maxwell, who came 20th. Personal best for Hannon Fearghus Hannon set a new PB for 60m when he finished third in a guest race at the Celtic Indoor Cup in Cardiff on Sunday last. He ran a fine new PB of 7.19 seconds. He then ran for the Irish U-20 4 x 200m relay team. He ran an excellent second leg but unfortunately the fourth leg runner dropped the baton so the team did not finish. The Celtic Indoor Cup featured athletes from Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland. Rás na hEireann Tullamore Harriers athletes performed with distinction at last Sunday"s Rás na hEireann Cross Country races which were held on the Battle of the Boyne site in Oldbridge, Drogheda, Co. Louth. Eoin Mulligan got the day off to a great start for Tullamore Harriers as he battled all the way to win the Boys U-11 (800m) race. He showed great determination as he lost the lead and then regained it towards the finish. Barry Mooney gave his usual determined and gritty performance to take the runner-up spot in the Boys U-13 (1,200m) race. Barry was narrowly beaten by Mullingar"s Cormac Dalton but had the consolation of leading Tullamore Harriers to the team title. Niall Flynn had a great run to finish sixth. The scoring four were completed by Glen Cunningham in 14th and Gerard Godley in 16th. Zoe Murray is showing excellent form at the moment and she proved herself again with a fine third place finish in the Girls U-11 800m. Her team-mate Muireann McDaid (22nd) finished in the middle of the field, despite a cold. Liam Brady confirmed his huge potential with a really gutsy run in the U-19 (4,000m) race where he took third place. He had a great battle with a South African and Togher"s Peter Hanrahan before they narrowly beat him on the run in to the finish. Keelin Guilfoyle ran a fine race to come fifth in the U-13 (1,200m) race and she led her team to second place behind Dundrum South Dublin. Cara Todd ran a great race to finish seventh, while Ciara Galvin was 11th and Michelle Keegan completed the scoring four in 15th. Just behind Michelle was Noelle Cocoman in 16th place and Alison Mooney in 22nd place. Nicole Cuskelly led home the Girls U-15 team in 6th place. She faced strong opposition and DSD took the team title from Mullingar with Tullamore third. At the recent Leinster Indoor Championships, Simon Healion did better than originally thought when he took the silver medal in the Boys U-17 High Jump with a leap of 1.55 meters. Simon has now qualified for the National Championships. The second and third days of the Leinster Indoors take place this weekend and Tullamore Harriers will have a big squad travelling down to Nenagh for them. Fixtures Saturday 28 February: Leinster Juvenile (Day 2) Indoor Championships, Nenagh; Sunday 1 March: Leinster Juvenile (Day 3) Indoor Championships, Nenagh; Sunday 1 March: Woodie"s DIY AAI Senior & Junior Cross Country Championships, Santry; Saturday 7 March (1pm): Kit Kat All-Ireland Schools Cross Country Championships, University of Ulster, Jordanstown; Fri 6 March to Sun 8 March: European Indoor Championships, Turin, Italy.