Ratoath Athletic Club Leinster Relay Club of the year

Congratulations to everybody in Ratoath Athletic Club on winning the Leinster Relay Club of the year Award!!

This is a fantastic achievement and well deserved. Well done to all our athletes, Coaches and parents.

The Leinster Star Awards will be presented in the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow on Saturday the 21st of January 2017 at 7.30pm.

https://athleticsleinster.org/8-news/122-leinster-star-awards-2016

National Uneven Age Juvenile XC - Dundalk IT

Dundalk IT hosted the national uneven juvenile cross country championships on 11 December. We were again blessed with relatively good weather on the day which made for some fantastic racing.

Our under 11 girls squad of Cara O Sullivan, Sarah Forde, Kate Rafferty, Ciara Coroner Lauren Fewer and Niamh Murphy gave it everything in s super competitive field and will have all gained invaluable experience for the future. Amelia Campbell is probably the most improved female athlete in the club this year and she once again delivered with a fabulous 9th place in the girls u 13. Aimee Doherty, Laura Smith, Laura Kelly, Eabha Toole and Emily Heather all packed well to take a wonderful silver in the club team category - brilliant for all concerned (athletes, parents, coaches).

Matthew Hayes and Marcus Clarke found things tough in the boys u 15 but like our u 13 squad of Eoin Kane, Fionn Drummond and Kyle Witter, they battled hard right to the end and all have bright athletic futures ahead of them. Philip Marron has been ultra consistent this XC season and his 10th place in the u 19 boys represented another excellent run with Alex Hunter in close attendance (17th) and Ciaran Crowther having his best race of the season in 35th. The 3 Ratoath lads were the cornerstone of a battling Meath team performance and placed second behind a strong Dublin team.

National Cross Country Championship Sunday the 11th of December

Best of Luck to the 24 Ratoath AC athletes listed below who have qualified to compete for club and county this Sunday in the National Uneven Ages Cross Country Competition in Dundalk IT. This is a fantastic achievement for our club to have such a large group of athletes competing at the highest level in the country, well done to them and well done to their coaches U11- Hugh Kelly U13 +U15 Peter Doherty U19 Gerry Finnegan for all their time and effort put in to their athletes.

 U11 Girls

Sarah Forde, Cara O Sullivan, Kate Rafferty, Ciara Coroner, Lauren Fewer, Niamh Murphy

U13 Girls

Aimee Doherty, Amelia Campbell, Laura Smith, Laura Kelly, Eabha Toole, Emily Heather 

U13 Boys 

Fionn Drummond, Kyle Witter, Eoin Kane

U15 Boys

Matthew Hayes , Marcus Clarke

U19 Girls

Áine O’Connor, Niamh Gannon

U19 Boys

Philip Marron , Alex Hunter, Ciaran Crowther, Peter Kilgannon, Ciaran Quinn

National Even Age Juvenile & Junior XC Championships

The new custom built cross country course in Abbotstown was the venue for the national even age juvenile and junior championships on Sunday 27 November. Conditions were near perfect and yet again we were treated to some superb athletics.

Our under 12 girls team were first to toe the line. The entire squad of Sophie Quinn (1st), Laura Kelly (17th), Hannah Keogh (50th), Aisling Stratford (65th), Lily Nannery (84th) and Amy Forde (105th) ran out of their skin to win the club team silver medal. Well done to all athletes, coaches and parents. It was wonderful to see Sophie and Laura right in contention from the start leading out a field of over 200 athletes before Sophie gradually turned the screws and relentlessly pulled away for a fantastic individual win.

Some of our under 13 girls squad moved up an age and competed in the u 14 championship primarily to gain some experience for their forthcoming championships on December 11th. Teak tough competitors Aimee Doherty (29th), Amelia Campbell (38th) and Laura Smith all ran impressively and will be a force to be reckoned with in 2 weeks time when competing in their own age group.
Karen Hayes was our lone competitor in the u 16 and as always put in a tough shift while Aine O Connor (46th) and Niamh Gannon assisted Meath to a fine 4th in the u 18 girls county team category.

The boys u 14 squad were 9th in the club team. Matthew Hayes (44th), Tom Kilgannon, Oisin Kelly, Kyle Witter, Fionn Drummond and Stephen Kiernan  gave it everything on the day and are all developing nicely and are getting better with each passing season. The combined u 18 / junior field was frantic for the start with over 200 athletes in the field. Alex Hunter  is gradually getting back to his best and finished 13th in the u 18 category with Ciaran Quinn 91st. Six places on the Irish junior team for the European Championships were up for grabs so the junior race was ultra competitive. Philip Marron (14th)  and Ciaran Crowther (38th)  were both running up an age  and will no doubt put the experience gained to good use in in 2017. Our club team were 7th and Meath finished 4th in the county team.

2016 Leinster Juvenile XC Championships

Both the even and uneven juvenile Leinster XC championship's were held at Tyrellspass

Day 2 -  29 Oct

First up were the even ages on 29 October. Conditions were near perfect and we were treated to some first class athletics.

Sophie Quinn had a gun to tape win in the under 12 girls and she was brilliantly supported by Laura Kelly, Aisling Strafford. Hannah Keogh, Amy Forde and Lilly Nannery (love those pink stockings Lily) to take silver in both the club and county team titles. Aimee Doherty was not deterred running up an age in the u 14 girls and was in the leading bunch from the off. Aimee finished 8th with Amelia Campbell, Laura Smith, Eabha Toole and Ciara WalshSubiran all in close attendance with the club team placing 5th and the county, 3rd. Track specialist, Karen Hayes was our sole representative in the u 16 girls where she battled hard all the way to take 25th with the Meath county team 4th. Our golden oldies in the girls u 18 (Sorry Aine and Niamh) lived up to their name by helping Meath win the county team gold with Aine O Connor 16th and Niamh Gannon 35th. Its fantastic to have some young women representing the club in this age category.

The boys were determined not to be outdone by the girls. Eoin Kane and Stephen Walsh kicked off matters in the u 12 boys with 2 impressive performances. The sight of 9 Ratoath athletes competing in the u 14 was a sight for sore eyes and each and everyone of them gave it their all.Matthew Hayes, Tom Kilgannon (just back from injury), Oisin kelly, Marcus Clarke (running through the pain barrier with a sore toe), Kyle Witter and Fionn Drummond (running up an age), Stephen Kiernan, Ciaran Rogers and Killian Stratford combined to take the club team bronze. Meath county won the team gold. Adam Quinn was 57th in the u 16 and helped Meath take silver in the county team. Alex Hunter, Ciaran Quinn and Naoise Mckenna also combined well to assist Meath take the u 18 county team gold


Day 3 - 13 Nov

Our under 11 girls squad of Sarah Forde, Cara O Sullivan, Kate Rafferty, Ciara Coroner, Lauren Fewer, Niamh Murphy and Caoimhe Fitzsimons all ran mighty races with the club team finishing 4th and Meath also placing 4th county team. There were high expectations for our u 13 girls team and they did not disappoint as they edged out Mullingar Harriers after a titanic battle for the club team title. Amelia Cambpell (getting better with every race), Aimee Doherty, Laura Smith, Laura Kelly, Eabha Toole, Emily Heather and Ciara WalshSubiran  battled all the way for a hard earned victory. Meath were second in the county team.

Kyle Witter, Eoin Kane and Fionn Drummond did themselves proud in the u 13 boys with Meath taking bronze largely thanks to their combined efforts. Matthew Hayes  and Adam Quinn were our only competitors in the u 15 boys and again assisted Meath in placing second in the county team.. Our u 19 squad of Alex Hunter, Ciaran Crowther, Peter Kilgannon and Philip Marron won bronze in the club team category. Meath won County Gold. Philip had the added satisfaction of taking the individual gold after a great sprint down the home straight with Jack Boylan from Dunleer

Best of luck to all those that have qualified  for the national championships over the next couple of weeks.

U12-U16 training on road tonight

U12-U16 training group will be on road tonight as track is too wet. Both sprint and endurance groups please wear runners and rain gear. Meet at container before 7pm for hi-viz vest

Training

Training will be on the road tonight as the track is too wet, please bring runners and rain gear.