Young athletes have competed at the first round of the Flahavan’s Athletics NI Primary School Cross Country League, which took place at Portadown Rugby Club.
In the first boys race of the day, James Toland from St Patrick’s Primary School, Aghacommon gained the top spot, followed by Charlie McCracken from Drumdonnell Primary School in second place and Reuben Curran from Dromore Central Primary School who placed in third.
James Delaney from Christian Brothers Primary School, Armagh placed first in the second boys’ race, with Peter Rice from St Mary’s Primary School, Granemore in second and Carter Carmichael from Fairhill Primary School placing in third.
Girls Race 2 L-R – Hannah Mooney, 2, Lucia McMullan, 1, Mya McCann, 3
Kings Park Primary School saw two pupils place in the top three in the first girls’ race, with Lucia McMullen in first followed by Hannah Mooney in second place and Mya McCann from Roan St Patrick’s Primary School finishing in third.
The second girls race saw Alanna Matthews from Christian Brothers Primary School place in first, followed by Xara Billingsley from Ballydown Primary School in second and Lucy Kate Duffy, also from Christian Brothers Primary School in third.
Boys Race 2 L-R – Peter Rice, 2, James Delaney, 1, Carter Carmichael, 3
Teams of six entered the girls’ and boys’ races and collected points for their school to compete in the second round, with the hopes of qualifying for the final which is set to take place on Friday 23rd February 2023 at Mallusk Playing Fields.
The top three boys’ teams were Dromore Central Primary School, Gaelscoil Phádraig Naofa and Christian Brothers Primary School, whilst the top three girls’ schools were Kings Park Primary, Christian Brothers Primary School, and Moira Primary School.
Girls Race 1 L-R – Alanna Matthews, 1, Xara Billingsley, 2, Lucy Kate Duffy, 3
The 2023-2024 league was launched in September at Portstewart Strand, which was attended by Flahavan’s ambassador Hannah Gilliland, from County Down.
As the official ambassador for the league Hannah will provide inspiration and motivation to the young athletes taking part this year, passing on her expert knowledge and training tips and reflecting on her own career to date. Following the final, Hannah will also visit the winning schools to meet the young athletes.
Boys Race 1 L-R – Reuban Curran, 3, James Toland, 1, Charlie McCracken, 2
With the second round due to take place in December, schools will compete in two out of the three rounds to qualify for the final which is due to take place in February.
The top 20 boys and top 20 girls at will be invited to join the Flahavan’s Athletics Northern Ireland Junior Endurance Squad, which will further develop their athletic careers by providing training sessions over the next 12 months.
For further information on the league, please contact Athletics NI at info@athleticsni.org or 028 9060 2707.
