Crusaders AC News

P.B., Club Record, Leading Irishman, 3rd in Golden League Debut

2009-07-08T13:02:00.003+01:00

Thomas Chamney ran a P.B. of 1:45.41, smashing the club record, extending his lead on the Irish rankings and finishing 3rd, all in his debut in the Golden League last Friday. As you can see the Crusaders singlet also got a run out in Oslo, not an occurrence we have seen too often in the past but one we hope to continue to see in the future. Videos of the race & post-race interview here.

Another 100m record for Colvert

2009-07-07T09:28:00.003+01:00

He dipped under the mark that stood for 19 years in his first serious race of the year, but it took him nearly two months to get the official record when he ran 10.79 in Round 1 of the National League. Since then he has improved his mark several times and his P.B. and Club Record now stands at 10.65s after winning the Cork City Sports B 100m last Saturday. Colvert has also been selected for the Irish Junior Team for the European Junior Championships later this month so keep an eye out here for more results from the youngster over the coming weeks.

100m Club Record

2009-06-15T15:50:00.003+01:00

Yesterday in Antrim at the National League Team Championships Round 1, Carlos O'Connell's 19 year old Crusaders 100m record was broken by Steven Colvert with a time of 10.77s. The conditions were poor but the lack of wind allowed Colvert to set this legal P.B. and record after dipping under O'Connell's mark of 10.80 twice before but with wind assistance. Colvert will hopefully find another .02s in the next month to make the European Junior Qualifying time.

European Team Championships

2009-06-09T22:03:00.003+01:00

This year the European Team Championships takes the place of the European/Europa Cup for the first time but the change doesn't seem to have bothered the Cru athletes as 5 have made it onto the mens half of the squad. They will compete alongside their male and female counterparts on the 20th and 21st of June in Banska Slovakia.

Of particular note are Juniors Colin Quirke and Steven Colvert. Quirke has made waves in the last few years breaking several national records and will throw both discus and shot in Banska. Colvert, one of our most recent members takes a place on the 4x100m squad. A massive achievement for his first year in the sport.

Congrats to all Crusaders who made the European Team Championships squad: Ian McDonald (110h), Steven Flemming (LJ), Thomas Chamney(800m), Colin Quirke (SP, DT) and Steven Colvert (4x100m).

2009-04-22T23:04:00.002+01:00

Well it was a sweet Sunday afternoon yesterday not only was the sun out but the hardware was taken home by Crusaders for the first time in the National Road relays. For some it was a debut performance on the 1 mile loop in Raheny, for others it was a case of - so close so many times, maybe this year we can do it!!

Lead off was to none better than our Olympic 800m man Thomas Chamney or Chammers as we call him. He settled in nicely and came around in third spot looking like it was a jog. The leading two had a 50 or 60 meter gap. Away he went, disappearing into the second lap. Some 4minutes forty five and change later the officials roared at the 2nd leg runners to clear the way for the leaders... Raheny and Tallaght!! But as they neared it was actually Raheny and Chammers, The Cru. Someone must have spurred him on somewhere on that second lap. Raheny took over, maybe 5 seconds in front, I got the baton in 2nd.

As I turned the corner, I thought "focus on this Raheny back and DO NOT let him away, this is your chance", this year it's a medal. We've got as close as 4th before. So down the back side I raced, thinking only of that Raheny guys back... forget the crowd, forget the cars, ignore the pain… watch his back!! Although a slight gap was opening he was not getting anywhere too distant. At 1200 the screams from behind were getting loader, the tallaght man was closing, I had to dig deep. We rounded the last corner level, this 800 specialist was trying to kick the Euge out of it, Al, the new man on the scene was waiting, I had to get him on the shoulder of the next guy, we had to stay in touch. This young kicker as no match, I held on and passed level.

Al could tuck in and try to enjoy the ride for a lap or two. The 3 miler is a tough distance for anyone let alone a big man like Al who specialises in 8's and 15's. He has wintered so well, won National Novice, National indoor 1500 and dominated his first Irish cap over in Cardiff, Wales. He has trained and competed with club men all year, learned so much and tried to pass on what he has picked to others in the group. He has so many names now, TLac, A Lo, OBee, Big Al!! Well today he marched around those 3 circuits with that hardware in mind, he has been talking about this with team for a number of months now and no way was he about to let someone like the Claw (Mick Clohissey) from Raheny catch him. Incidently, to put Al's run in perspective, Mick has a 4th at National Cross, a 14.20 5k. He loves the distance, the longer the better, he had his sights on Al but Al's belief was too strong, he had his sights on medals.

The last leg fell to Gar, an experienced relay man at Raheny, having been involved many times before when we fell short. Having had what he described as a disaster at the 12K Cross, Gar has worked hard to get back to where he belongs. He was to prove a point. A steady first lap saw him open his gap from bronze to 4th spot by a few crucial seconds. He looked strong and composed, his mind was too set on that elusive road relay medal. NEVER did he look behind, showing his experience. He focused on his task of bringing it home. The last 500 meters were nerve racking as the Rathfarham man, Paul Fleming, and Clonliffe lad Eoin Pierse had closed in on Raheny B. The three were now moving through the gears and working together. The gap was closing to Gar and quickly, Fleming and Pierse were now full tilt and racing for that spot that Crusaders had guarded so well. He hit the corner, took one look around and that was it, the head was down, Gar hit those gears right up to the line to earn a National Medal!!!

Boys well done, it was nice!

From the 4 of us, to Rob who prepared during the week to step in when things were not looking good for everyone and of course to Mick, who managed everything so well to get us to the line in 4 good pieces. THANKS!"

JuniorCru @ National Indoors

2009-03-31T22:22:00.000+01:00

Some of our new young juniors had a tough introduction to national athletics in Nenagh over the weekend. As expected the rest of the country produced much stronger, more accomplished athletes than were on view in the Dublin qualifiers.

The relatively experienced Sarah Fleming (U18) came closest to a medal. However her best shot putt of 8.88m was below par for Sarah and left her in fourth position.

Indeed the shot competition produced our other two top-eight finishes. Isabel O'Leary did excellently to finish 7th of 15 in the U12 competition while Brian Gray's 8.92 earned him eighth place in the U16 category.

On Saturday James Woods (U12) got boxed in his 600m heat and didn't go forward to Sunday's final. Matthew Behan, the smallest athlete in the field, was overpowered in the U14 sprint hurdles when clocking 10.99. Similarly Alix Hughes was simply outmuscled by bigger girls and didn't make the cut of the U14 shot.

Olibhia Collins (U12 shot) and Patrick Keegan (U16 60m and long jump) also wore the Crusaders singlet with pride in the championships.

So no medals and our athletes now have a better idea of what it takes at national level. And next Sunday we have three relay teams (U12G, U13G and U19M) travelling to Derry to contest the All-Ireland relay championships, so good luck to all involved.

JUVENILE ALL IRELAND INDOOR T & F FINALS

2009-03-24T19:58:00.000Z

The Club would like to wish good luck to our athletes, Mathew, James, Sarah, Brian, Patrick,Isabel, Olibhia and Alix, who are competing this weekend in the juvenile Indoor All Ireland Finals which are being held in Nenagh.

25 Years since first Irish female Olympic Finalist

2009-03-12T10:09:00.001Z

Caroline O’Shea ran for Crusaders for many years. Having begun her career as a sprinter, she went on to set Irish records over 400 metres. Surprisingly beaten over 200 metres at the Leinster Championship in 1984, she chose to opt for the 800 metres at that year’s Olympic Games. Fortified by hill and speed sessions in UCD, she managed to run the qualifying time at the Cork City Sports when finishing third behind two Soviets. At the Olympic Games, she ran intelligently in the heats and semi-finals to qualify for the final, which was won by Doina Melinte of Romania. Caroline was 8^th, thereby becoming the first Irish woman to reach an Olympic final. Maeve Kyle, who was the first track and field athlete and fourth sportswoman to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games, had reached the semi-finals of the 800m in Tokyo in 1964 when the event was won by Anne Packer of the United Kingdom. Caroline’s best time was 2.00.70 and it remained the Irish record until Sonia O’Sullivan removed the smallest possible margin from the record by registering 2.00. 69. To date, no Irish woman has broken two minutes for the 800 metres, but Caroline O’Shea might have done so with ease if she had not injured herself in 1985. Her place in Irish history is assured by her performance at the Olympic Games 25 years ago.

Margaret Ó hÓgartaigh, Crusaders A.C.

Dublin Juvenile Indoor Championships

2009-03-10T21:39:00.002Z

Some very tired athletes, coaches and parents left Santry after a great weekend of athletic performances from our young athletes most of whom had never competed in a track and field competition before.

Competition started late on Saturday but soon got into gear and the athletes started their various track events. A lot of the youngsters progressed through the heats and onto semi stage and, for some, into the finals. They are put in great performances with many achieving PBs. By the end of the day the club had achieved 5 medals as follows:-
GIRLS U 10 60M Clodagh Ferry 3RD
BOYS U11 60M Alan Francis 2ND
BOYS U16 60M Patrick Keegan 3RD
BOYS U12 600M James Woods 3RD
BOYS U14 HURDLES Matthew Behan 2ND
The Sunday was extremely cold and thankfully most of us were in the indoors to watch the field events and again our youngsters gave their all and far surpassed anything we, as coaches, hoped they could attain. The medals appeared again for our youngsters and there was a second medal for Clodagh Ferry when she jumped brilliantly in her long jump to take Ist place. We achieved another gold in the shape of the shot put winner Isabel O'Leary who started a clean sweep for our shot putters, each of whom won a medal. The individual medal winners from the day were:
LONG JUMP GIRLS U 10 Clodagh Ferry IST
LONG JUMP BOYS U11 Alan Francis 3RD
SHOT PUT GIRLS U 12 Isabel O'Leary IST
SHOT PUT GIRLS U 12 Olibhia Collins 3RD
SHOT PUT GIRLS U 14 Alix Hughes 2ND

We had to venture out into the outside for the relay events which began at 1.30 and finished after 4.00!!! with everyone getting extremely cold. The jumping up and down and shouting our youngsters on kept us warm. There were great performances from all the teams and some narrowly missing a winning place. The medal winners were:
GIRLS U 11 4X 100M 3RD
BOYS U11 4X 100M 2ND
GIRLS U12 4X 100M 2ND
UNDER 19 4X 200M 2ND
All the athletes in the U12 - U19 events will now go forward to compete in the All Ireland events in Nenagh and Magherafelt withing the next few weeks.

Marian, Moya, Roy and myself were truly proud of all our young athletes and the way that they performed and conducted themselves, with great consideration for the officials and those with whom they were competing. The attitude of the athletes in victory or defeat was wonderful and we should all be proud of our young Crusaders. Well Done to all the athletes. Many thanks too to all the parents and families who came to cheer them all on.

A full list of results and times and distance thrown and jumped etc will be prepared later.

The JuniorCru - Sharpening the Saw

2009-02-24T23:57:00.003Z

The juvenile Crusaders took their first chance at competition on track when they went to Santry on Sunday last for the Dublin 'Winter Warm Up'. The events covered were the 60M and the 60M Hurdles. Results as follow:

Girls 60M SPRINT

Age Name Club Round 1 Round 2
10 Derri Ogunsina Donore 10.2 9.7
10 Robyn O Keeffe Donore 10.4 9.8
10 Naoise Mc Gee Bros Pearse 10.5 10.3
10 Clodagh Ferry Crusaders 10.8 10.4
10 Ally Donnelly D S D 10.6 10.5
10 Saoirse Rehill Lucan 11 11
10 Laura Burke Fingallians 10.9 11.2
10 Sophie Beaddie Mid Sutton 11.9 11.5
10 Roisin Mc Donald D S D 11.4 11.6
10 Andrea Maxim D S D 11.9 11.7
10 Sarah Mc Donnell Donore 11.8 12.1
10 Eimear Keily Fingallians 12.1 12.3
10 Katie Cunningham Fingallians 11.5 12.5

11 Emily Barry Donore 9.9 9.7
11 Lauren O Flaherty Donore 9.7 9.9
11 Jennifer Moylan Mid Sutton 10.6 10.2
11 Tracy Coombes Donore 10.3 10.3
11 Sarah Maher Crusaders 10.4 10.7
11 Claire Finnegan Fingallians 10.7 10.7
11 Sophie Lobola Mid Sutton 10.9 10.8
11 Emily Labola Mid Sutton 10.8 11.1
11 Roisin Mc Quill Crusaders 11 11.2
11 Ella Thirroueiz Crusaders 11.3 11.5
11 Jennifer Graham Tallaght 11.4 11.6
11 Clara Maxwell Mid Sutton 11.7 11.8
11 Rebecca Carrick Nugent Fingallians 12.7 12.1
11 Rachel Byrne Donore 12.6 12.4
11 Juliette Guest Crusaders 12.4 12.5
11 Amanda Hickey Hedsbury Crusaders 13.2 13.3

12 Carla Sweeney WSAF 9.5 9.4
12 Isabel O Leary Crusaders 9.6 9.5
12 Emily Sheil Crusaders 9.8 9.8
12 Amber Hayes D S D 9.6 10.1
12 Niamh Corry Fingallians 10.2 10.2
12 Niamh Ferry Crusaders 10.2 10.3
12 Alex Doyle Donore 10.6 10.4
12 Claire O Connor Donore 10.7 10.5
12 Leanne Cunningham D S D 10.4 10.5
12 Olecia Collins Crusaders 10.6 10.9
12 Julitte Shoran Crusaders 10.8 11.1

13 Michelle Yao D S D 8.9 8.9
13 Sophie Dolan Fingallians 9.4 9.2
13 Nikita Mc Donnell Donore 9.2 9.4
13 Sarah Rehill Lucan 9.5 9.5
13 Anne Marie Torsley Fingallians 9.5 9.7
13 Ciara Barry Crusaders 9.6 9.7
13 Ciara Gallagher Donore 9.7 9.9
13 Sarah Deneher Fingallians 9.7 9.9
13 Rachel Maher Crusaders 10 9.9
13 Hannah Mc Gee Bros Pearse 10.2 10.1
13 Grainne Mc Quill Crusaders 10.1 10.1
13 Aoife Burns D S D 10 10.2
13 Emma Cunningham Fingallians 10.4 10.8
13 Abby Guest Crusaders 10.6
13 Vickey Larkin Donore 12.1
13 Olivia Storey Bros Pearse 9.9

14 Bronwlyn Keogh Fingallians 8.4 8.3
14 Fiona Tuite Fingallians 8.8 9.1
14 Alex Hughes Crusaders 9.3 9.3
14 Shannon Brown Lucan 9.2 9.6
14 Rachel Briggs Lucan 9.6 9.7
14 Caoimhe Nyland Bros Pearse 9.7 10.1
14 Lauren Hudson Bros Pearse 10.3 10.4

Boys 60M SPRINT

12 Cian O Sullivan Bros Pearse 9.7 9.6
12 Ryan O Mahony D S D 9.4 9.5
12 Daniel Keavney Donore 9.8 9.7
12 Darragh Mc Curtin WSAF 10.1 9.7
12 James Woods Crusaders 9.9 9.9
12 Liam Worthington Bros Pearse 10.2 10.1
12 Stephen Harrahan Donore 9.9 10.1
12 Oisin Murphy O Kane Donore 10.1 10.2
12 Oscar Murphy O Kane Donore 10.1 10.2
12 Barry Mc Donald D S D 10.6 10.3
12 Jack Beaddie Mid Sutton 10.4 10.4
12 Brian Jordan Bros Pearse 10.5 10.8
12 Hugh Jordan Bros Pearse 10.7 10.9
12 Stephen Raitt Bros Pearse 12.2 12.9
12 Aaron Storey Bros Pearse 10.3

14 Adam Raitt Bros Pearse 8.3 8.3
14 Conor Murray Tallaght 8.6 8.7
14 Kevin Woods Crusaders 9.1 9.2
14 Alex Whyte Bros Pearse 9.4 9.3
14 John Mc Donald D S D 10.3 10.1
14 Eoin Doyle Bros Pearse 10.1 10.2
14 Sean Jordan Bros Pearse 10.9 11.5

15 Brian Donnelly Bros Pearse 8.2 8.1
15 John Daly Tallaght 8.3 8.3
15 Marcus Martinson D S D 8.5 8.5
15 Tom Dooney Bros Pearse 8.7 8.8
15 Sean Mc Cabe Tallaght 8.9 8.9
15 Fiachra Thirroueiz Crusaders 9.6 9.5

Girls 60M HURDLES

Age Name Club Round 1 Round 2
13 Michelle Yao D S D 12.2 11.6
13 Sophie Dolan Fingallians 12.1 11.7
13 Ciara Gallagher Donore 12.3 11.9
13 Nikita Mc Donnell Donore 12.5 12.2
13 Ciara Barry Crusaders 12.5 12.4
13 Sarah Rehill Lucan 12.7 12.6

14 Fiona Tuite Fingallians 11.7 11.9
14 Alex Hughes Crusaders 12.1 12.3
14 Rachel Briggs Lucan 12.3 12.3

Well done to all those who competed and remember there is another 'Winter Warm Up' on 22 March for the Jong Jump, High Jump and Shot.

Preparation for Dublin Indoor Championships

2009-02-17T13:25:00.002Z

With the Dublin Indoor Championships fast approaching the juniors ran their sprint trials on Saturday with a little more intensity. There were some very good 200m times in particular amongst the girls. Results

60 metres
1. Clodagh Ferry (U10G) 10.6
2. Abby McNamara 10.7
3. Niamh Crilly 11.7
3. Emma O'Leary (U9G) 11.7
5. Laura Shaw 11.9
5. George McGovern (U8B) 11.9
7. Aoibhe Walsh (U8G) 12.1
7. Oisin McGinley (U8B) 12.1
9. Patrick Tucker (U8B) 12.3
10. Flynn Storan (U8) 12.5

100 metres
1. Alix Hughes (U14G) 15.4
2. Rachel Maher (U13G) 15.6
3. Emily Sheils (U12G) 15.9
3. Orla Murray (U13G) 15.9
3. Alan Francis (U11B) 15.9
6. Grainne McGuill (U13G) 16.4
7. Isabel O'Leary (U12G) 16.7
8. Niamh Ferry (U12G) 16.8
9. Kevin McDonnell (U14B) 16.9
10. Benen Thornton (U15B) 17.1
10. Hannah McDevitt (U13G) 17.1
12. Aisling Stokes (U13G) 17.3
13. Sarah Maher (U11G) 17.4
14. Rachel Hanley (U12G) 17.7
15. Juliet Storan (U12G) 17.8
16. Roisin McGuill (U11G) 18.1
17. Rachel Mullaley 18.2
18. Jessica Hanley (U12) 18.3
19. Roisin Crowe 18.7
20. Katie Crilly 20.3

200 metres
1. Alix Hughes (U14G) 33.1
2. Rachel Maher (U13G) 34.5
3. Emily Shiels (U12G) 35.6
4. Niamh Ferry (U12G) 36.0
5. Grainne McGuill (U13G) 36.2
6. Benen Thornton (U15B) 36.4
7. Orla Murray (U13G) 36.6
8. Isabel O'Leary (U12G) 37.7
9. Roisin MGuill (U11G) 38.0
10. Sarah Maher (U11G) 38.8
10. Aisling Stokes (U13G) 38.8
12. Hannah McDevitt (U13G) 40.6
13. Clodagh Ferry (U10G) 42.0

Success at National Indoors

2009-02-09T12:11:00.002Z

The weekend saw many of the clubs track and field athletes head to the Odyssey, Belfast. The elements were not kind this week and heavy snow fall meant conditions outside were tough and unpleasant. What better place to be than competing indoors. The 2009 event was the 5th Irish Indoor Championship to be held at the Odyssey. Athletes used to competing indoors were probably not accustomed to the warm conditions not usually experienced at our other indoor venue, Nenagh.

A number of medals were hauled in by the Crusaders bunch, first to be taken home was by new man, French Native and another Crusaders high Hurdler, Alexandre Avron, taking silver in a time of 8s38. The Saturday evening heats saw regulars Ivan Kinahan and Rob Cross run over 800 and 1500 respectively. New man and National Indoor 800 relay silver medalist Paul Breslin produced a sizzling run to take home a pb of 1.58.5 (to be confirmed on official results). Unfortunately time was not enough to get Ivan and Paul through into Sundays final as the 800m had a very tough qualification of 1 from each heat. Alan O'Brien progressed well to make Sundays 1500m final.

Up early and ready for some Arial gymnastics, Ru O'Brian returned to vaulting after a sabbatical down under. Training was not high on the agenda down there, however Ru has been seen in Irishtown logging miles on the treadmills to achieve fitness again. A jump of 4m40 was good enough for the former National Champion and European Cup representative to take home a bronze medal. Perhaps Ru will rekindle that form from a few years back to recapture that outdoor National Gold in 2009.

The last event with a featured Crusader was the 1500 final with Big Al or OB as he is known to his comrades in the barracks. Having had a huge winter, winning Dublin and National Novice titles, taking home National silver as part of the 3 by 3000m indoor relay team, Alans' confidence was high. He was excited and ready to run a big one. Michael Mc G has worked hard with Alan all winter and he himself was quietly confident. The gun went and a UK athlete who was guesting in the championships took to the front at a ferocious pace. Not surprising given Neil Speight has run 1.45 point for 800 and 3.38 for 1500. They Irish lads let him go and raced for the title of National Indoor Champion. Limerick man and previous Silver and bronze medalist at these championships Pat McCartan took up the running. He wound up the pace trying to burn off the Crusaders man. Soon it was down to 2 Pat and Alan having dropped last years champion Gareth Hill. Pat kept applying the pressure and Alan stuck to him like glue. With 240m to go it was time for Alans move, it was precise, it was all or nothing it was tactical genius. He burst to the front hitting the bell now in the Gold medal position. He hammered arounf the turn and opened up down the back straight. Head down, jets fueling he had now hit top gear, hit the boosters, turbo injection ... it was time to become a Senior Champion, a National Champion, he thought to himself "Yes I like the sound of Alan O'Brien, National Irish Indoor Champion 2009". He crossed the line in a new pb time of 3.49.12, what better way to win than in a personal best.

Well done to Alan and all the Crusaders medalists and indoor competitors at the Odyssey in Belfast.

JuniorCru at the Raheny 5

2009-02-03T21:28:00.002Z

It was a great day for the club's junior section as Kevin Woods carried off the winner's prize in the race for 12-year olds and under. Not fazed by seeing the early leader streak well ahead Kevin reeled him in coming around the back of the park and, in the end, was some 10 metres ahead for a comfortable victory.

There was more to come as Matthew Behan aquitted himself superbly in the final stages to come through to 5th place. And with Kevin's younger brother James also showing up well it would have been interesting had there been awards for teams.

Further back there were around 15 more young Crusaders, all of whom ran well and were a credit to the club.

In the junior race for the over 12's Fiachra Thirroueiz completed the mile course in under six minutes, a considerable improvement on his Christmas Day run. This race was won by a lad from Finn Valley in an remarkable 4.19.

Juniors Press on into 2009

2009-01-21T19:54:00.001Z

Junior Results 10th January

There was a good turnout on a breezy morning at Irishtown, with several new young athletes joining us. Unfortunately the weather conspired against good marks in the 600m and long jump competitions. The results were..

Long jump - Boys
1. Matthew Behan (U14) 4.31
2. Kevin Woods (U14) 3.60
3. Kevin McDonnell (U14) 3.55
4. James Woods (U12) 3.50
5. Alan Francis (U11) 3.39

Long jump - Girls
1. Jemima Mulligan (U13) 3.15
2. Emily Shiels (U12) 3.15
3. Niamh Ferry (U12) 3.06
4. Grainne McGuill (U13) 2.95
5. Hanna McDevitt (U13) 2.82
6. Clodagh Ferry (U10) 2.80
7. Isabel O'Leary (U12) 2.80
8. Olivia Collins (U12) 2.50
9. Rachel Hanley (U12) 2.50
10. Jessica Hanley (U12) 2.50
11. Ella Thirrouiez (U11) 2.47
12. Aisling Stokes (U13) 2.46
13. Niamh Kenahan (U14) 2.34
14. Roisin McGuill (U11) 2.10
15. Laura Ferry (U9) 1.96
16. Emma O'Leary (U9) 1.72
17. Lauren Hanley (U9) 1.56

600m - Boys
1. Fiachra Thirrouiez (U16) 2.11.5
2. Kevin Woods (U14) 2.14.1
3. Matthew Behan (U14) 2.28.0
4. James Woods ((U12) 2.32.9
5. Alan Francis (U11) 3.12.0
6. Kevin McDonnell (U14) 3.15.3

600m - Girls
1. Ella Thirrouiez (U11) 2.54.7
2. Grainne McGuill (U13) 3.01.9
3. Jemima Mulligan (U13) 3.04.7
4. Rachel Hanley (U12) 3.20.0
5. Isabel O'Leary (U12) 3.20.7
6. Olivia Collins (U12) 3.39.0
7. Roisin McGuill (U11) 3.46.8
8. Jessica Hanley (U12) 4.09.8
9. Emily Shiels (U12) 4.14.3
10. Lauren Hanley (U9) 4.15.6

CROSSing the line with Gold!

2009-01-11T16:52:00.007Z

What a weekend in Nenagh. It Started with the relays on Saturday afternoon. Crusaders travelled in numbers, athletes, coaches and even cheer leaders(Karl Fahy). Michael McG arrived early and had everyone checked in and the teams organised. The first race for the Cru was the 3 by 800m, Paul Breslin, Buntu and Ivan Kinahan lined up...

Paul ran stormer of a first leg, passing on to Buntu, who cancelled his flight to Germany to join the team for the day. He passed on to Ivan who came home strongly to take Silver. All 3 were delighted to take home National medals. Next up was the 3by 3000m. Al OB, Euge O'Neill, Gary Park, Ivan and Buntu all lined up. Alan, or TLac as he has recently become known, had a great race up front finishing 3rd in a pb of 8.36. Returning to some form after nearly 4 months no running and 2 stone heavier, Euge came in 4th just missing his goal for the day of sub 9 but very happy with the run and to be back in the ring again. Ivan showed no signs of fatigue after his early 800 and closed fast to take the 3rd scorers spot. Gary P in his first National wearing the red and white started well and got to 2k looking very good, he said afterwards that he just found the pace got to him as he has not worked this fast all winter, having concentrated on building his base for the summer. The lads also took silver.

So Saturday was good but Bob Cross, made his debut early on Sunday as an O35 vet. The Christmas break back home in Limerickya eating fresh cooked mealsya, running the UL trackya and the miles along the riverya seemed to go well. A text came through mid afternoon to say he had a disappointing run in the 800m.

"2.07 for silver."

Sorry guys, Bob doesn't like silvers. "Felt tired, going to give the 1500 a go". 2 hours later, to cap a medal hauling weekend for Crusaders, Bob text in to say he had done it.

WELLDONE, ROB CROSS NATIONAL INDOOR CHAMPION 2009!

(We will get more details from Rob and post them later in the week.)

JuniorCru 800m Trials

2008-12-22T09:33:00.001Z

Our young athletes had their first ever opportunity to record an 800m time at Irishtown on Saturday morning. The results were

1. Kevin Woods (U13B) 2:56.9
2. Fiachra Thirroueiz (U15B) 3:05.4
3. James Woods (U10B) 3:10.0
4. Rachel Maher (U12G) 3:12.2
5. Sarah Maher (U10G) 3:48.4
6. Ella Thirroueiz (U9G) 3:58.0
7. Grainne McGuill (U12G) 4:08.9
8. Orla Murray (U12) 4:10.5
9. Lorna Carr (U9G) 4:37.4

JuniorCru on Top this Christmas

2008-12-14T21:01:00.000Z

The age-group winners of a series of competitions held at Irishtown on Saturday were as follows.

60 metres
U8G - Laura Ferry 15.1
U10G - Sarah Maher 13.7
U11G - Isabel O'Leary 12.9
U12G - Orla Murray 12.1
U10B - Alan Francis 12.6
U11B - James Woods 12.8
U13B - Kevin Woods 11.9
...
Long Jump
U8G - Laura Ferry 2.00
U10G - Ella Thirroueiz 3.05
U11G - Laura Shaw 3.20
U12G - Orla Murray 3.07
U13G - Isabelle Flanagan 2.73

Ball throw
U10G - Roisin McGuill 8.90
U12G - Aisling Stokes 15.50
U13G - Isabelle Flanagan 9.70
U11B - James Woods 15.00
U13B - Kevin Woods 22.50

At the party that followed the young athletes were delighted to be able to meet Mr Ron Delaney who presented all those who had represented Crusaders in the autumn cross country fixtures with personalised and autographed training log books.

Training will continue as usual this week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday There will then be a break with training recommencing on Saturday 4th January.

JuniorCru 60m Timetrials

2008-12-08T09:12:00.002Z

Here are the results of the 60m sprints held on Saturday. All the young athletes were given two trials and the better of the two was recorded.

Rememeber that the Christmas Party and Awards take place next Saturday. This will follow on from an hour of competition. Participants can compete in two of the following events - 60m, long jump and ball throw. The final event will be a 600m race.

Kevin Woods (U13B) 9.0
Orla Murray (U12G) 9.3
Alan Francis (U10B) 9.3
Christina Francis (U13G) 9.4
James Woods (U10B) 9.6
Isabel O'Leary (U11G) 9.7
Alix Hughes (U13G) 9.8
Rachel Maher (U12G) 9.8
Grainne McGuill (U12G) 10.3
Emma Eustace (U12G) 10.5
Sarah Maher (U10G) 10.6
Jemima Mulligan 10.7
Clodagh Ferry (U9G) 10.7
Hannah McDevitt (U12G) 10.9
Roisin McGuill (U10G) 11.1
Ella Thirroueiz (U9G) 11.5
Juliet Storan (U11G) 11.6
Roisin Crowe 11.9
Emma O'Leary (U8G) 12.7
Laura Ferry (U8G) 12.7

National Novice Cross Country

2008-12-08T09:11:00.000Z

On Saturday at the Irish National Novices Cross Country Championships we had 7 Crusaders running with Alan O'Brien winning the men's Irish senior title. Alan is the first Crusader to win this title .

On a mucky and hilly course, Alan was completly comfortable throughout. He queried with the crowd (yes he did!!) whether he was on the last lap before kicking with 500 m to go, to easily win his first Irish Championship. Rob Cross ran his usual very gusty race and Alan Johnson finished despite twisting his ankle on the first lap.

Aoife Joyce led the Ladies team home of Niamh Boland (on a break from Poland), Bronagh Gavigan (welcome back to competion, Bronagh) and Rachel Watters.

2008-12-06T12:56:00.002Z

St. Annes Park in Raheny hosted the Dublin Senior Cross-Country on Sunday last. The sole Crusaders representative was Alan O'Brien (pictured), having previously won both the novice and intermediate grades. In his first outing in the senior, Alan finished a creditable 13th in a time of 33.05.

Swords Meet & Train

2008-12-06T12:53:00.000Z

Results of Swords meet and train were

Marlon Davies 15.19 (she got there late and didn't have time to register so it's unofficial)
Sarah Heal 15.29
Hillary Wright 19.36
Miriam Edge 21.29

And they nearly got frost bite doing it!

CruJuv Time Trial 2

2008-12-06T12:51:00.000Z

On a frosty morning the young Crusaders ran a second 600m trial. Pleasingly, most of the athletes improved on their times from three weeks ago, Ella Thirroueiz remarkably by more than a minute! Patrick Tucker, just six years of age, finished very well in 3:11.9.

1. Fiachra Thirroueiz (U15B) 2:16.9 PB
2. Rachel Maher (U12G) 2:25.8 PB
3. Sarah Maher (U10G) 2:30.4 PB
4. Alix Hughes (U13G) 2:33.3
5. Roisin McGuill (U10G) 2:33.4 PB
6. Orla Murray (U12G) 2:43.1
7. Ella Thirroueiz (U10G) 2:45.7 PB
8. Alan Francis (U10B) 3:03.7 PB
9. Patrick Tucker (U7B) 3:11.9

Juvenile Christmas Party

2008-12-01T17:29:00.001Z

13th December

Starts at usual training time of 10am until about 12pm.

Races & relays on the track if the weather permits!

Prize giving and party upstairs, in Irishtown stadium, afterwards.

Meet & Train Race Series

2008-11-24T20:30:00.000Z

Final call for all Crusaders ladies looking to take part in the Meet & Train series. First race is this Sunday at 11a.m. at Fingallians A.C. in Swords. Directions (thanks, Emma Mc!) are as follows :

a) Head towards the airport and then take the old Swords Road to the right, going through 4 roundabouts - at the 5th one take the 3rd exit to the right and the club house is immediately on the left in the GAA grounds
or
b) Take the M1 and at the turn off sign-posted for Newbridge, Skerries and Swords, at the roundabout take the 1st exit to the left signposted towards Swords. At the next roundabout take the 1st exit to the left and the club house is immediately on the left in the GAA grounds

Would suggest everyone interested in being on a team meets out there around 10 to form teams, register and get in a warm up lap. Don't forget to hang on to your numbers for the next race !! Best of luck to everyone participating.

Hall of Famer!

2008-11-14T17:42:00.002Z

Club Olympian and Irelands number one throws coach, Phil Conway, was recently inducted into the Irish Schools Athletics Association Hall of Fame for his unmatched contribution to the sport at this level. Undoubtedly a hugely popular nominee, Phil has for years not only been a pillar of strength from the associations official point of view but has also dominated the Track and Field competitions as the head of P.E. in Belvedere College. This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the clubs 2008/2009 season and all of our members congratulate him thoroughly.