BY JOHN WALSHE
THE sun may have shone for the first time in weeks but underfoot conditions after heavy overnight rain made conditions extremely taxing for the 700 or so competitors at the 123.ie Munster Schools Cross-Country.
Held at the same Tramore Valley Park venue in Cork city as the South Munsters two weeks before, a number of winners from that day didn’t fare as well as they did on that occasion.
A brave effort by Castlehaven teenager Caoimhe Flannery to run away from the field saw her open up a big lead over a group of four on the first of the two laps that made up the 3000m distance.
However, at the end the Skibbereen Community School athlete had to concede victory to Saoirse Twomey (St Mary’s, Macroom) who crossed line with six seconds to spare in a repeat of the South Munsters with third spot going to Eve Dunphy (Abbey CC).
‘Caoimhe had a big lead on me, I didn’t think I’d catch her,’ admitted Twomey who had finished fourth in this race last year. ‘I caught her on the hill, it was very mucky but we train in those conditions so we’ll look forward now to the All-Irelands’.
Saoirse Twomey of St Mary’s, Macroom, coming home to win the senior girls' race at the Munsters Schools.(Photo: John Walshe)
Finnian Lawton of Scoil Mhuire, Ballingeary, an easy winner at the South Munsters, had to settle for third over a strength-sapping 6000m senior boys race behind Diarmuid Molony (Nenagh CBS) and Naoise MacMurchadha (Scoil Mhuire, Béal Átha'n Ghaorthaidh).
The boys intermediate 5000m saw Finn Yore from De La Salle, Macroom, another South Munsters winner, having to give best to Andre Hinds (PBC, Cork), who had finished third two weeks previously. Yore however had the consolation of leading De La Salle to the bronze team medals.
‘I’ve never run a course like that, it was incredible, it was so mucky,’ said winner Hinds. ‘I thought Finn had me the whole race but I just had a bit left in me in the last lap.’
In one of the most exciting finishes of the day, Belgooly athlete Nellie Bateman (Mount Mercy, Cork) prevailed by just one second in defeating Saoirse Ferguson (St Angela’s, Waterford) in the junior girls’ 2500m.
The first three teams in each grade and any athlete who finished in the first 15 in each race qualified for the 123.ie All-Ireland Schools Championships that take place at Ballybrit Racecourse in Galway on Saturday, March 8th.
