Medals galore for NW athletes

And there were excellent doubles from Ciaran Doherty, Declan Reed, Stephen Duncan and Pauric McKinney and at Klilybegs on Sunday while one of the other Masters medallists Keith Shields, led the Foyle Valley male Novice squad to team bronze in the NI/Ulster Championship.

At the same venue the local Spartans Boys U17 squad ably led by Shane McGowan and Michael Melarkey claimed team bronze to clinch qualification for the Nationals in Wexford next month when they will be joined by several others who claimed individual qualifying finishing places in the other age group races.

Let’s start with the local impact at Saturday’s Masters International at the Queens University Malone playing fields where teams representing the Home Countries Masters athletes from 35 to 70 plus put on a terrific show for the very sizeable and impressed spectators.

In good conditions, the competition was red hot and local runners were prominent in the gripping up-front action.

In the Men’s 35-49 years 8 Kms. race Letterkenny’s Ciaran Doherty, City of Derry’s Declan Reed and Omagh’s Stephen Duncan were in the lead group from the off.

Despite having to give best to the eventual winner, England’s M40 Andy Morgan Lee, Doherty grabbed the overall runners-up spot and first M35, just ahead of the M40 runner up Duncan, with Reed sixth overall and claiming the M35 silver individual medal.

These were hugely impressive performances from the leading North-West trio who went on to clinch team medals with their respective squads, Doherty as part of the winning Irish M35 quartet.

Reed was joined by Foyle Valley’s Keith Shields in the NI squad who lifted M35 bronze and City of Derry’s James Brown’s gritty run was rewarded with a M40 NI squad team silver alongside Duncan.

Doherty, Reed and Duncan are established big hitters and well used to honours but a special well done to Shields and Brown who made a significant breakthrough with last Saturday’s fine performances.

Another regular medallist Pauric McKinney, now running in the colours of Inishowen AC, claimed the individual M45 silver and added team silver as a member of a strong Irish squad to also register an impressive double.

In the M50 age category Finn Valley’s Domnic Bonner was on the winning Irish squad as was former Spartan Tommy Hughes.

Damien McGinty (pictured left) hung on tenaciously to anchor the NI M50 team to the keenly contested bronze medals.

In the combined women’s and M65 plus 6K there were more honours for North West athletes.

F60 Roisin Lynch was in fine form and helped her Irish squad to team silver behind a very strong English outfit and Christy McMonagle was on the bronze medal winning Irish M65 team.

Finally Omagh’s Julie Butler, another former Sparta athlete, was a key member of the NI F35 bronze medallists.