Rosses AC enjoyed another two great weekends on the national stage, bringing home seven All-Ireland medals, including four gold, two silver and one bronze, across the Outdoor Combined Events and All-Ireland B Championships.
Leading the celebrations was Evan Ward, who secured silver in the U16 Boys Combined Events at Morton Stadium. The demanding competition, made up of sprint hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump and 800m, saw Evan recover from fourth place early on to finish strongly and claim the silver medal. Already an All-Ireland High Jump champion and 800m silver medallist this season, Evan’s latest success brings his tally to three individual All-Ireland medals this summer.
In the U14 girls Rosie Breslin decided to give the Combined Events a go and performed really well finishing inside the top 10 as she claimed 10th place with 2125 points. In the U15 girls Aaliyah Gallagher Canavan was very competitive and slightly disappointed that she did not come away with a medal ending up with 2331 points to claim a strong 6th place.
Onto the All-Ireland B Championships in the U14 Girls Shot Put, with Katelynn O’Donnell claiming gold after leading from start to finish with an impressive throw of 10.80m. Enya Logue also reached the podium with a strong bronze medal performance, while Beth McLaughlin finished an excellent sixth. Katelynn added a second gold medal to her weekend in the U15 Girls High Jump, clearing 1.43m to secure the national title. Returning from injury in recent weeks, she showed great determination and talent to continue the club’s recent dominance in the event.
There was further high jump success for Aileen Logue, who claimed her first All-Ireland gold medal in the U16 Girls High Jump, a richly deserved reward for one of the club’s hardest-working athletes. In the U14 Girls Long Jump, Caitlin Sweeney made a superb return from injury to claim the silver medal, while Eveney Greene produced a personal best performance to finish fourth, narrowly missing out on a podium place. Deacon Parker added another medal to the haul by winning bronze in the U13 Boys 600m. He also recorded a personal best in the long jump, finishing sixth in a strong all-round display.
Away from the track, Rosses athletes were also prominent in road racing and adventure events. At the Damien O’Brien Memorial 5K, Patrick Trimble finished third overall in 18:24, while Paul McKelvey was fifth overall and first M40 in 18:33. Colin Mooney claimed third M40 in 19:04, Denis Bonner finished in 26:45, and Helen McCready recorded a strong 19:37. At the Rathmullan Festival 5K, Shane Trearty produced what is believed to be a personal best of 20:45. In the Road to Glory Adventure Race in Kiltimagh, Mayo, Declan Ferry took victory, while Charlie secured third place on the podium. Declan Gallagher delivered a strong performance in 28th place, with experienced adventure racer Adrian Bonner finishing 55th.