On what was a beautiful Autumn day Cranford AC travelled to Rostrevor in Co Down for the Even Age Cross Country Championships and Bobby Rea Memorial.
Lucie McGarvey had a great race in the Girls u10 and came home in an impressive 8th place. Michael Moore ran very well in the Boys u10 also coming home in 8th place with Diarmuid Gallagher finishing further down the field.
Miah Fletcher looked very comfortable in the u12 Girls and kept pace throughout the very fast race to come home in 2nd place winning a silver medal. Joycelene Diver also ran very well in her first Ulsters finishing in 15th position with Clodagh Neely and Blathnaid Gallagher both finishing strongly. These girls were 4th Team.
Next up was the u12 boys where Caolan McFadden had a great race and kept with the lead pack throughout and after a superb finish came home in 2nd place winning a silver medal.
Caolan was well supported by Eoin Friel, Aidan McFadden, Oisin McNulty, Ryan McMenamin and Dean Hewitson and the Boys were well rewarded with a Team Bronze and qualification to the National Cross Country Championships in Abbotstown in November. Caolan was also part of the Gold winning Donegal Team.
In the u14 girls Caitlin O’Hara put in a strong performance with Nazara McFadden, Sophie Curran and Orla Neely all running well.
In the u14 boys Oisin Kelly ran a brilliant race keeping with the leaders throughout the 2500m course before taking off in the final stretch to come home in 1st place earning himself a Gold medal and the Ulster title. Max Roarty also had a great race and had to dig deep to claim the 12th position to win a well deserved individual medal.
Oran McMenanin also had a great run coming home in 26th place with Cian McMenamin coming home in 30th position and with Johnny Trearty running the boys were delighted to win Team Gold for the third consecutive year which is a massive achievement for these young boys. Oisin, Max and Oran were also part of the Silver winning County Team. These boys also now qualify for the Nationals in November.
Molly Trearty was our only runner in the u16 girls and had a good run to come home in 30th position.
In the u16 Boys Johnny McGroddy put in a strong performance in a very competitive race to come home in 17th position with Eoghan Moore finishing strongly. Johnny was also part of the Donegal Team that came 2nd so also now qualifies for the Nationals in Abbotstown.
Last but not least was our only senior runner Bridie Trearty who competed in the Bobby Rea Memorial.
Bridie got off to a great start in the 5000m race and kept with the lead pack throughout the tough mucky course and was well rewarded with the Gold medal in her age category, finishing in 22nd place overall out of 112 runners which is an amazing achievement considering there were all age groups from junior girl upwards.
Thanks to the coaches Eamon Giles, Ernie McElhinney, Joe Boyce, Rose Gavaghan and Bridie Trearty and to the parents who travelled for all their support. Next up is the Uneven Age NI and Ulster Cross Country Championships in Finn Valley in two weeks time.
