Star of the Sea AC held their 19th Annual Cross Country Meeting… ….on the lands of Mary & Brendan Meade at Greenanstown, Stamullen last weekend. The damp start to the morning did not put off the seasoned cross country runners and 700 athletes and supporters came through the gates to run over the undulating East Meath fields. Athletes from as far North as Inverness Harriers in Scotland to St Laurence O’Tooles AC in Carlow all agreed that the dry undulating course was a true test of cross-country running. This year boasted our biggest attendance at this the first cross-country meet of the year and Star of the Sea AC would like to thank all our sponsors and helpers who help to make this the popular event that it is within the athletics calendar. The quality of the races excellent and this was evident in the number of closely contested finishes as the athletes cleared the final hill and raced down the final three hundred metres to the finish.
Star of the Sea AC juvenile coach Doireann Meade was very happy that so many of her charges came out and performed so well over this testing course. Ciaran Gallagher, however, deserves special mention as he came 2nd in the U12 Boys 1000m race. Ciaran ran a great race pacing him-self perfectly over the hill and making his move as they came with 300m to go. He pulled away from the chasing group but was not able to catch the winner Padraig Moran (Mullingar) and crossed the line for a fine 2nd place finish.
The U17 Boys 4000m for the Sean Higgins Memorial Cup boasted our biggest field ever with over twenty-five finishers. This turned out to be a cracking race with the Mullingar duo of Shane Boggs and Jake Byrne going toe to toe with Cian O’Reilly Annalee AC. Boggs was trying to become the first athlete to retain this cup and while over the first lap it looked that O’Reilly had the measure of him Shane was not going to give up the cup without a fight. The two and a half lap race was going to test their stamina and as they came to the final climb Boggs had moved into a lead that he was not going to relinquish. Shane retained the cup and was followed home by O’Reilly with Byrne in third place.
The Men’s Race over 6k also boasted our biggest ever field with 45 athletes finishing the tough course. Tom O’ Connor (Liffey Valley), a World Masters cross country medallist gave the younger guys a run for their money as he was still with them as the trio of athletes went out on their last lap. All through the race Lee Stenson (Mullingar) and Kevin Lawlor (St. Laurence O’Tooles) were fighting out the lead with O’ Connor sticking close behind them. With a lap and half to go Stenson had moved a few metres ahead of Lawlor with O’Connor a few metres further back. Kev Lawlor was not finished yet and over the last lap he found enough to win the race with Lee Stenson 2nd and veteran athlete Tom O’Connor in 3rd place.
