Two national silvers for Saragh
Saragh Buggy won two silver medals at the National Seniors over the weekend
THE pinnacle of the National Track and Field season took place over the weekend with the National Track and Field Championships taking place in Santry.
St Abban’s AC had strong representation throughout the weekend across a range of events. Events were split between Saturday and Sunday with many track heats taking place on Saturday but the field events had plenty of medals on offer.
In the jumping pit, Saragh Buggy put together two consistent jumps to claim a silver medal in the Ladies Triple Jump. Saragh broke with her first attempt, but settled herself down for round two when the leap measured 12.54m. In her next jump she went further again, reaching 12.74m, the mark which won her a silver medal behind Daphni Douplatais of Raheny Shamrock AC.
Saragh’s teammate Katie Baldwin jumped 10.41m which was good enough for sixth place.
On the track Maisy O’Sullivan safely navigated her way into the Senior Women’s 800m final when she finished second in the Heat 2. In the Senior Women’s 1500m Emily O’Shea also qualified for the final when she finished fourth in Heat 2. Rachel Ayers gained great experience when running in Heat 1 of the Senior Women’s 1500m where she finished 11th.
In the Senior Men’s 1500m Cian Kelly made the early running in the Heat 2, but eventually had to settle for ninth place in a time of 4 minutes. Niall Harvey finished in 12th in the same race in a time of 4:16.
Day 2 saw a bumper crowd in Santry with many of last year’s Olympians on show across the day.
In the first race of the day Cheryl Nolan battled all the way to the line to finish fifth in the Women’s 5000m. An early pack of three broke away from the field, with Cheryl heading up the chasing group almost all the way only to be passed in the final few metres. Nonetheless Cheryl ran a new PB of 16:13.
Also on the track, Emily O’Shea finished in eighth place in the final of the Women’s 1500m. Emily was positioned well throughout and will earn great experience from this final.
The final athlete in action on the track was Maisy O’Sullivan in the Women’s 800m. Maisy has made good progress throughout the year on the track and finished in a time of 2:08 which was good enough for eighth place.
In the field events, Ger Kelly was in action in the Senior Men’s Hammer and Weight for Distance. In the Hammer Ger came 10th with a best throw of 43.09m while his best in the Weight for Distance went out to 5.69m. Aoibhinn McDonald finished sixth in the Senior Women’s Pole Vault with a best vault of 2.80m.
Saragh Buggy was the final athlete in action for the club when she took her second silver in the Senior Women’s Long Jump. Saragh had a very consistent set of jumps ranging from 5.78 in the first round, 5.88 in the second round and her medal winning jump of 5.96m in round four. The competition was won by Lauren Callaghan of Finn Valley with a jump of 6.24m.
A huge well done to all who took part over the weekend, representing St Abban’s with great pride throughout the competition. Well done also to their coaches and families who support these athletes throughout the year in preparing for these events.
It was also great to see huge numbers of the club’s juvenile athletes up supporting the senior athletes and also getting to see their heroes in action.
