29 September 2020, from Athletics NI.
Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th September marked the end of what has been an unusual Track & Field season for Athletics NI with the NI & Ulster Combined Events. Northern Ireland has been extremely lucky to be the only nation within the UK & Ireland to be able to host a full rostrum of Championships this year, with all involved adapting to the ‘new normal’ of the various Covid protocols.
For the U13 Girls, City of Derry Spartans Ava Colgan took the title, with a total of 1805 points and a PB in the Long Jump with a jump of 4.24m. In 2nd place was North Down AC’s Lucy Dow with a total of 1690 points, matching her Indoor High Jump PB of 1.30m. In 3rd place was Carrick Aces AC’s Maeve Smith, with a total of 1663 points.
On Sunday it was the turn of the U15 Girls & Boys to compete, along with Day 2 for the U17, U20 & Senior competitors.
Lifford Strabane AC’s Finn O’Neill was the 2020 Champion of the U15 Boys Pentathlon, with PBs in each of his field events with a throw of 14.59m in the Shot; a jump of 5.77m in the Long Jump and clearing 1.77m in High Jump. His impressive 3290 point total also puts him in 6th place in the All Time UK listing for U15 Boys Pentathlon. In 2nd place, Peter Gray from City of Lisburn AC, was no less impressive, collecting 2111 points and 4 PBs, with a time of 13.28 in the 80m Hurdles; a throw of 7.49m in the Shot; clearing 1.65m in the High Jump and finishing the 800m in a time of 2:34.69. In 3rd place was Carrick Aces AC’s Odhran Smith, who collected a total of 2107 points.
In the U15 Girls, it was another Lifford Strabane AC victory, with Ashleigh McArdle collecting a total of 3064 points to take the title. Ashleigh had 3 PBs, finishing the 75m Hurdles in a time of 12.00s, jumping 4.88m in the Long Jump and clearing 1.57m in the High Jump. In 2nd place was Oriel AC’s Amy Jo Kierans with a total of 2766 points and an impressive throw in the Shot of 4.92m and finishing the 800m in a time of 2:28.75. In 3rd place was City of Lisburn AC’s Brynja Brynjarsdottir with a total of 2419 points and a PB in the Long Jump of 4.48m.
Annalee AC’s Renee Crotty claimed the title in the U17 Women’s Heptathlon with a total of 3694 points. In 2nd place was Lagan Valley AC’s Sasha Wilkinson, who collected a total of 3598 points and a PB in the 200m, with a time of 28.29s. In 3rd place was City of Lisburn AC’s Faith Finney with a total of 3383 points and 6 PBs, with a time of 12.66s in the 80m Hurdles, clearing 1.27m in the High Jump; a throw of 8.48m in the Shot; a time of 28.00s in the 200m; a jump of 4.48m in the Long Jump and finally a time of 2:35.83 in the 800m.
Lagan Valley AC’s Laura Frey gained a total of 4370 to take the gold medal in the Senior Women’s Heptathlon, where she got a High Jump PB of 1.60m. In 2nd place was BlackRock AC’s Rosemary Gibson, who finished with a total of 1510 points.
The 2020 U17 Men’s Octathlon Champion is City of Lisburn AC’s Finlay Stewart, after a brilliant performance, totalling 4379 points and 5 PBs: with a clearance of 1.68m in the High Jump; a throw of 10.85m in the Shot; a time of 52.28 for the 400m; a throw of 26.64m in the Discus and a time of 4:42.44 in the 1500m. In 2nd place was team mate, Joe Williamson, who finished with 4041 points and 7 PBs: with 1.68m in the High Jump; 9.41m in the Shot; a time of 54.88 in the 400m; a time of 15.19 in the 100m Hurdles; a throw of 18.98m in the Discus and a throw of 37.58 in the Javelin before finishing the 1500m in a time of 5:00.41. In 3rd place was AthleticsNI Unattached athlete, Lexx McConville, who gained 3620 points and 7 PBs: 1.83m in the High Jump; 10.41m in the Shot; 58.30s in the 400m; 5.58m in the Long Jump, a throw of 23.27m in the Discus, a throw of 33.31m in the Javelin and a time of 6:36.99 in the 1500m.
Troy McConville (AthleticsNI Unattached) completed the U20 Men’s Decathlon with a total of 6596 points and a PB of 38.20m in the Discus to claim the gold medal. Jordan Cunningham (City of Lisburn AC) came 2nd with 6228 points and 8 new PBs: finishing in 11.19s for the 100m; a throw of 14.46m in the Shot; clearing 1.68m in the High Jump; finishing in 51.33s in the 400m; a throw of 28.48m in the Discus; clearing 2.90m in the Pole Vault; throwing 46.92m in the Javelin and finishing in 5:00.16 in the 1500m.
In the Senior Men’s Decathlon competition, Edinburgh AC’s Cal McLennan finished in 6089 points to win the competition, with Birchfield Harrier’s Jack Phipps in 2nd place with a total of 5598 points. Ballymena & Antrim AC’s Ronan Bloomer finished in 3rd place with 4131 points and 7 PBs: jumping 5.74m in the Long Jump; and 1.71m in the High Jump; throwing 9.44m in the Shot, 36.02m in the Javelin and 17.53m in the Discus; as well as finishing in 21.74 in the 110m Hurdles and 5:15.92 in the 1500m.
The full results can be found on the website: www.athleticsni.org/Results and images from the two-day competition can be found in our Gallery: www.athleticsni.org.Gallery
