From the AAI website The four senior and junior races at the Woodie’s DIY cross country championships produced four worthy winners. In spite of the atrocious weather in recent days underfoot conditions were excellent and Mullingar Harriers can be proud of the course and facilities. Gale force winds kept spectators moving throughout the day to stay warm.
Mary Cullen from Sligo made her intentions known from the start of the senior women’s race. She was on her own shortly after the start and continued to move away from her rivals as the race progressed, going on to win her first senior cross country title.
Behind there was a three ay battle for the two remaining medals with the Wicklow pair of Fionnualla Britton and Deirdre Byrne as well as Linda Byrne from Dublin. The Byrnes made the madals with Deirdre ahead of Linda with Britton fourth. Sara Treacy from Meath won the U23 title, while Dublin won the inter county contest.
The lead group in the senior men’s race began to break up as they went into the second of five laps and soon it was Mark Kenneally from Kildare leading from Dublin’s Sean Connolly, with Meath’s Andrew Ledwith tucked in behind them.
A lap later they were surprisingly joined by Michael Mulhare from Laois, second in last year’s junior inter counties behind Craig Murphy.
With 3k to go Ledwith made his move and surged clear, going on to win his first ever national cross country title, apart from schools.
A sprint to the line saw Connolly take second ahead of Kenneally, with Michael Clohissey from Dublin running on strongly for fourth, with David Kelly from Sligo fifth, ahead of Mulhare, who was first U23. Dublin won the team contest.
There was never any doubt about who was going to win the junior women’s race with Ciara Mageean from Antrim moving easily to the front and going on to win with ease from Laura Shaughnessy from Loughrea AC and Emma Mitchell from Banbridge AC. Antrim won the team contest.
Biggest surprise of the day came in the junior men’s race. Here Cork’s Ryan Creech set a fast pace from the start and soon had the field stretched as runner after runner dropped off the pace. Going out the last lap it was Michael McKillop from Antrim who surged into the lead and was soon clear, holding himself well to win comfortably from Liam Tremble from Dublin and Creech. Dublin won the team contest.
