YAL 2009

Mon 3 August 2009--admin

City of Lisburn young athletes shone on a sunny Saturday at the Young Athlete?s League Final at Antrim. With the club decimated by athletes away on holiday, we had only four male athletes covering the Under 13?s, 15?s and 17?s. The girls were slightly better off with nine representatives.
Jane Atkinson and Erin Quinn started the haul of medals in the U13 minor girls? with Jane winning gold in the 70m Hurdles and 150m sprint and Erin winning gold in the 75m silver in the Long Jump and Bronze in the 800m.
The U15 girls, Cydnie McCullough, Aoibhin McManus and Anna McIlmoyle picked up two medals each. Cydnie won the 75m Hurdles and was second in the 200m. Aoibhin ran her first 800m as a trial for the forthcoming multi event competition and surprised us all by finishing second in a very respectable time. Aoibhin also finished fifth in the shot putt and won Bronze in the Long Jump. Anna, returning to competition after a year?s absence, won two bronze medals in the 75m Hurdles and High Jump.
The senior girls did equally well. Kirsty Moffit finished third in the 200m A race while Laura McBurney won gold in the 200m B race and a silver in the 100m while Aoife Kelly-McCann gained a bronze in the 800m. Karyn Dumigan cleaned up in the field events with two golds in the Triple Jump and Long Jump and silver in the High Jump. Having enough to form a relay team the girls set out to take on their great rivals, Lagan Valley, in the 4 x 100m. A closely fought battle commenced over the first three legs with Lisburn just edging ahead at the final changeover. Lagan Valley had Chloe Boomer, the NI champion in the final leg against Lisburn?s Laura McBurney. Lisburn?s changeover went smoothly but the Lagan Valley athlete, in trying to catch up, dropped the baton and were disqualified.
The senior boys, Callum Shaw and Adam Hill, were also amongst the medal winners. Callum, competing in the 800m, won Bronze in a new personal best time 2m 11.05 secs. Adam, who is new to the sport, was competing in three events and won two bronze medals in the 100m Hurdles and High Jump and finished fifth in the Triple Jump.
The Under 13 boys were supported by two athletes, Enda Kelly-McCann and Jonathan Whan. Enda ran in the 200m finishing sixth and also completed in the 800m giving the club his valuable support but unfortunately finished outside the medals. Jonathan competed in the 1500m and was challenged repeatedly by Patrick Sheridan of East Down for the lead but in maintaining a strong pace drew away from the opposition to win by 14 seconds. Jonathan deservedly won the under 13 athlete of the match and not to be outdone, two girls, Karyn Dumigan and Jane Atkinson, also received the accolade ?athlete of the match? for the Under 17 and Under 13 respectively.
All told, City of Lisburn?s young athletes produced a fantastic day?s performances. Well done to them all!