Juvenile News--- Wicklow C/C

Wicklow "Even-Ages" Cross Country Championships

A huge well done to all our athletes who competed in Sunday's Wicklow even-ages XC Championships in Avondale, Rathdrum this morning.

First, we had James finishing 1st and becoming county champion in the U8, followed by Rian finishing an excellent 8th in the U10s. Imogen was a super 5th in the u10 girls even though she's only an u9, while Ella ran very cleverly and overtook loads of runners in the second half of her first ever XC race. The u12 boys Joey, Elliot and Cian all finished in the top 15 of their race, and certainly would have won a team medal if they had a 4th runner - this goes to show the importance of showing up and competing for your club, even if you're not winning and individual medal.

The u12 girls showed how it can be done with all 6 runners all finishing in the top 12 and won the team gold medal. Eleanor ran a tremendous race to come 1st and become county champion, while Gráinne powered to a 3rd place and an individual bronze medal. A special mention also goes to Aoife Carter for her sprint finish to hold off 2 other girls for 4th place! Hannah F was just behind her in 7th, with Hannah K and Katriona hot on her heels too. In the u14 boys, 3k was no problem for Adam following his recent 5k pb, as he finished well inside the top 10.

It seems the u14 girls won a team bronze medal (TBC!), thanks to some great performances from Mia in 9th, Orla in 11th, Hannah G in 14th and Natasha - the 4th scorer is often the most important in the team race - well done girls. Emily showed her parkruns are paying off in the u16 race, running strongly in the toughest race of the day - she was up against some girls who have won national medals and competed for Ireland!

Shanganagh parkrun 5k 

Meanwhile, we also had several runners in the Shanganagh parkrun on Saturday. Aoife Grogan, despite being ruled out of the XC with a fractured wrist (!), ambled around to be the first lady to finish in a time of 23mins. Matt Nalty went close to his pb in 26mins, while Hannah Gruebsch (26mins), Elliot Burns (29mins), and Cian Gruebsch all somehow ran and also still had the energy to the cross country the day after!

Next Sunday's "Uneven Ages" Cross Country

Next on our calendar is the uneven ages cross country championships at 11am next Sunday (October 11th) in Roundwood. Please see the table below for eligibility details. Following the success in Avondale, it would be great to see as many Bray Runners taking part as possible, especially those who didn't make it this week. It's ultimately a team event as every position counts, and we have a great chance of winning team medals in most races if we have the numbers. There will also be a team bus travelling to the event from Bray to facilitate athletes and / or parents. Further details to follow. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if your child would like to compete and indicate whether they will be taking the bus.

Compilation of results and race reports courtesy of Richard H